Storiesonline.net ------- Wanna Bet? by Eon Copyright© 2006 by Eon ------- Description: Keely "Dork-Girl" McKenzie pushes her lucky streak when she bets that she can get the most popular boy in school to take her to prom. She enlists the help of supposed badboy Xan Dayton, who hates having to ride a motorcycle to school and could be class valedictorian if he wanted to. They make the ultimate troublemaking duo, but there was one thing neither of them was betting on: each other. Codes: MF slow humor rom 1st cons het ------- ------- Chapter 1: Dork-Girl Makes a Bet Introduction to Theater was a required course for senior year at Westland High. Otherwise, Keely McKenzie—or Dork-Girl, as she was more commonly known by her peers—wouldn't have attended it. Technically I'm not attending it now, she thought, as she hurried down the hall, clutching her one-strap backpack to her chest, rather than slinging it over her back. She hadn't had time. Keely knew it was pointless to hustle, because Mr. Barton, the Theater teacher, never believed she was actually late by accident. That was the great thing about being a latch-key kid all throughout middle school and high school: her parents never knew she had detention. And she knew she was in for detention. Mr. Barton always gave her detention for being late, which meant she had it at least twice a week. Keely, however, would rather have detention than get pushed down the amphitheater stairs again, like she had the first day of Intro. Gina Halloway had told her the reason she hadn't gotten hurt was because she had so much extra padding. It was actually because she'd been pushed so many times, she knew a hell of a lot more about falling than the average person. Although, Gina would know all about extra padding, Keely thought, as she shoved open the door to the amphitheater. She is Westland High's resident expert on stuffing her bra. As she came crashing down the stairs, her fellow students looked up at her and started laughing. Only her small group of friends didn't laugh, although they were hard pressed not to smile. Mr. Barton looked resigned. He pushed his glasses up on his nose and reached for his pen, to make a notation on his roster, as Keely came skidding to a halt next to her friend Shauna. She dropped her backpack at her feet, stood up straight, and gave Mr. Barton a brisk salute. "Dork-Girl reporting for duty, sir!" Keely barked, keeping completely serious. Mr. Barton sighed. "I'm sure I don't have to tell you what you'll be doing after school today, Keely." "Going home to do my homework because you're such a nice, understanding, forgiving man?" Keely ventured hopefully. "Don't push it," Mr. Barton warned, "or I'll give you Saturday detention too." Keely pushed her own wire-framed glasses back up onto the bridge of her small, upturned nose and shrugged. She glanced sideways at Shauna, Bridget, and Mardea, her three best—and only—friends. Shauna and Bridget rolled their eyes, but Mardea flashed a wicked smile. The tall, slender black girl was always on Keely's side when it came to making trouble—and therefore always in detention with her. Mardea, with her exotic, cat-like features and wild mane of long, thin black braids, would have been popular if it weren't for her Voodoo priestess grandma; the only member of her all Christian family that Mardea actually liked. Her other friends had more slightly mundane problems than bragging about Voodoo-practicing grandparents. Bridget was given the title—by the rest of their class—of 'the fat one'. And unfortunately she was. Not like Keely, whose mother referred to her extra weight affectionately as puppy fat. Bridget barely topped five-foot even, and weighed in at well over two-hundred pounds. She was also a genius with a ridiculously high I.Q., and very nice, if you got to know her. Only most people never did, because she didn't really give off a warm, fuzzy vibe. The first time Keely had sat with her, Bridget had told her—rather scathingly—that there was no need to pity the fat girl. Looking back, she supposed it must have been pity, or she probably would have told the fat girl to go to hell. But they got along much better now. Shauna's problems were really of her own making, like Mardea's. She took the gothic Queen of the Dead look way too far. The only time she ever wore anything other than black was when she wore dark purple, dark blue, or dark red. She liked the so-called Lolita look, so often she came to school in a short, lace-edged PVC skirt with layers of ruffles underneath, or something quite similar. There were always spiky metal things coming off her clothes and boots and jewelry, and even her face. And Shauna's hair, which was a big, crimpy mass, had faded from dark red to orange, so she looked like a burning bush. Due to her bizarre ability to predict things, like how many points the football team would lose by, or which days of the year they'd have snow days, she was too eerie for most people—even Keely found her a bit creepy at times. "What's your excuse this time?" Bridget asked, looking huffy. Bridget didn't approve of being late on purpose. "Had to pee something fierce," Keely answered cheerfully. "Hit me all of a sudden when I was halfway here. You know how it is." "No, I don't," Bridget said, frowning. "Keely..." "Give her a break, Gidge," Mardea said, using the nickname Bridget hated most (even more than 'the fat one'). "It's not like her grades suffer or anything." "Don't call me—" Bridget began furiously. "Girls!" Mr. Barton snapped. "Quiet! And you, Mr. Dayton... would you care to join us?" Keely lifted her head to look. Up in the stands, absorbed in a book so battered that the cover was missing, was Xan Dayton. Nineteen-year-old Xan looked like a man among boys, with his slender but toned frame, and strong hands roughened from work. Somewhat curly, dark-brown hair fell into his face in what she thought of as the Harry Potter haircut—although she was dead positive he combed it, and even got it trimmed from time to time, it never actually looked like it. His eyes were dark gray-green, and although they remained trained on the book for a long moment after Mr. Barton had spoken, they finally raised to stare, unblinking, at the Theater teacher. The school bad boy, that was how people referred to Xan. Certainly the six month spat in Juvi that had held him back a grade, and the motorcycle he rode to school everyday supported that title. Keely, however, wasn't convinced. For one thing, he was really smart, almost as smart as Bridget; he'd have straight As if he wasn't so bored by what he was being taught, she was sure. He read all the time, too. And if anyone asked him advice on motorcycles, all he ever said was that a good one would get them from Point A to Point B for quite a few years. Most of all, Xan was always polite. Okay, maybe not to the teachers, but to her, definitely. He was the best person to be behind when going into school, because he never dropped the door on her. "No, sir," Xan said finally, in a soft voice that nonetheless carried across the amphitheater. Mr. Barton glowered. "So I take it you'll be joining Ms. McKenzie in detention, then?" "Love to," Xan responded, ignoring the snickers of the rest of the class. Then he went back to his book. Knock it off, Keely told her pounding heart. We graduated from the sixth grade a long time ago, so stop acting like we're still twelve! How she'd managed to hide her crush on Xan from her friends for as long as she had was really a miracle. It was ridiculous, really. She was going to be in college next fall, and she still had it bad for the same guy she'd liked since the ninth grade. I just can't help it, Keely thought, glancing up covertly towards the seat where he was sitting. I mean, we don't actually really talk, but he's still nice to me. And he is just so drop dead gorgeous... "... even if he is really cute," Bridget was saying. "Mmhmm," Keely murmured in agreement. It was weird, though, because her friends never mentioned thinking Xan was cute. "Imagine going to prom with him," Shauna said. "It would probably be boring as hell..." "No it wouldn't," Keely protested, turning to look at her friends. "Not that he'd go with one of us, anyway," Bridget pointed out. "So we're never going to find out." "I'm sure I could get him to go with me," Keely said confidently. Mardea's dark eyebrows rose. "You and Brad Faraday?" Oops, Keely thought, trying not to show her surprise. I thought they were talking about Xan... The chances of her going to prom with Brad Faraday were pretty slim, and not just because she thought he was a slimeball. He was also on the Westland High basketball team—the only sports team that had won anything for years. Gina, the bra-stuffing, bubblehead cheerleader was pretty much always at his side. Those were the kind of people who only looked at Keely twice in order to make fun of her. It was Brad, in fact, who had dubbed her Dork-Girl—a nickname so lacking in originally or creativity that she'd once taken it upon herself to slip a list of better ones into his locker. Apparently, though, Dork-Girl was easier to remember than any of her choices. Brad was pretty typical of his kind, with his short brown hair, low-hanging Tommy Hilfiger jeans, unlaced Timberlands, and an ego built for five-hundred or so. Bridget insisted he was just insecure. Which Keely imagined must be true. The flashy sportscar he drove proved he was insecure about his penis, if nothing else. Of course, that's pretty much a given, with a guy like him, she mused, watching Gina lean over to him, simpering and battering her eyelashes. Mr. Barton, she noticed, didn't threaten her with detention. "I could convince him," Keely said, shrugging. "If I really wanted to. But—" "So do it," Mardea cut in. Her dark eyes flashed with mischief. "Come on, Keely... I bet you that you can't." "No!" Bridget went white. "Mardea, don't!" Keely grinned. "You're on, Dea. Hope you like losing," she said. Mardea was always quick to exploit her gambling nature. "And I also hope you like waiting tables, because guess what you'll be doing when I win?" Bridget sighed and rolled her eyes. Shauna, however, decided to get in on the bet. They ended up deciding on a cash bet. I guess I'd better get some scratch off cards, Keely thought. I always get lucky with those things. She'd need some money if she lost. When she lost, most likely, because she had absolutely no idea how she was going to convince Brad Faraday to go to the prom with her. Especially since she couldn't stand him. Why do I agree to these things? Keely wondered, glancing again in Brad's direction. Oh, yeah... my pathological inability to say no whenever I hear the word 'bet'. ------- "Oh, cat poop!" Xan paused in mid-reach. He forgot about his helmet and stared at Keely McKenzie, who stood several yards away, glaring at the back of the late bus as it left the parking lot. Cat poop? he thought, feeling the urge to laugh. Oh, come on... she's not that naïve... Sure, she was one of those dweeby outsider types, and relatively quiet in most cases, but anyone who had a few classes with her knew that the whole shy girl act was just that: an act. In fact, the only person in school with a bigger, louder mouth than Keely McKenzie was her friend Mardea Richards. She stood there with her hands planted on her somewhat pudgy hips. In some ways, she was even a bigger weirdo than her friend Shauna. Her hair hung past her shoulders and had been dyed black; he knew it was dyed because her eyebrows were still strawberry blonde. She was wearing a worn, black Pink Floyd shirt over a camouflage thermal with thumbholes at the ends of the sleeves. Her nails were painted a bright, acidic green to match—assuming she was color blind, of course. Keely's jeans were too big, and the holes at the knees were so large, they had to be safety pinned at the side. The soles of her Doc Marten's were starting to come off, and the ends of the bright green laces on them were frayed. Which was odd, considering that her parents were rather well off. Maybe she felt his eyes on her, because she turned suddenly to look at him. Keely's eyes were such a bright blue that even at a distance they were intense. She was actually rather cute, with her heart-shaped face, too-large eyes, little button nose, and a rather pretty mouth that, when it wasn't open to speak, was usually set in a stubborn line. Too bad she's against the rules, Xan thought, eyeing her warily as she approached. Good girls were a no-no; they took too much time and energy to have a relationship with. "So," Keely said cheerfully, smiling brightly at him, "gonna be a gentleman and offer me a ride?" "I'm going to assume you mean a ride home," Xan said, once again fighting the urge to grin. "I guess I can give a fellow detainee a ride... couldn't hurt." Keely held out her hands for his spare helmet. "So, you like motorcycles, huh?" "Nope," Xan answered. She blinked at him. He was pretty used to that reaction, actually. There was little use in trying to explain. The last thing he was going to do was tell this girl his life story. Xan sometimes did try to explain, in a way, though. After all, all those kids who drove their parents' twenty-five year old rust buckets didn't do so because they liked them, did they? But his fellow students didn't seem to get that. Keely, who was smarter than the average eighteen-year-old Westland High student tended to be, might actually get it, but he wasn't in the mood. "Well, that makes two of us, then," Keely said finally, surprising him. She pulled on the helmet, settled her backpack over her shoulder, and climbed up behind him. "Ready when you are, cap'n!" She put her arms around him, and he took half a minute to reflect on two things: one, that she felt kind of nice against him, and two, that he'd obviously gone completely out of his mind, because he never gave anyone a ride home. For some reason Xan had just decided to say yes this time. Sighing, he pulled his own helmet on and started up the bike. It was kind of weird, having a girl he had no intention of sleeping with riding on his bike with him. Keely shouted her address over the roar of the bike engine. He knew that part of town, all right. The pretty, picture postcard suburbs, all the way at the far end of the city. Fortunately there was a rather large stretch of highway between the school and there, which was relatively clear of traffic at this hour. Or at any hour, really; that was the kind of town they lived in. Despite the annoyingly large gaps from one place to another, it wasn't very big population wise, and everyone knew everyone else. Xan hated living there, but since he had a good thing going, helping his uncle, he hadn't left. "I've changed my mind!" Keely shouted to him a few minutes later, as they were racing down the highway. "I love this thing! Go faster!" Now Xan did grin. That was the one thing he actually did like about his motorcycle. He picked up speedy, cruising by the only other vehicle on the highway—a beat up old blue Toyota. Keely tightened her grip on him, but judging by her laughter and shrieks of delight, she wasn't a bit afraid. My kind of girl, he thought, even if she is against the rules. How she'd gotten to be the 'against the rules' type was a bit of a mystery, though. Sure, her bravado was only to cover up her insecurities, but then, so was everyone's. Xan supposed she was an outcast for the same reason he was: the In crowd wasn't worth the bother. He had to slow down when they reached her neighborhood. You just didn't roar through a street lined with nearly identical white houses, all with brightly painted shutters, emerald green lawns, and perfectly shaped topiary. What's really amusing, Xan thought, is that she looks even more out of place here than I do. Especially in front of her house, which was the epitome of adorable, with light pink shutters and flower boxes—although no flowers—beneath the windows. It might be relatively warm, this far south, but it was still a bit too early for flowers. "Home sweet hellhole," Keely said cheerfully, as she shook back her hair. "I know it looks really wholesome and all, but it's really possessed by Satan and will one day kill us all in our sleep." "Pleasant thought," Xan said dryly. Keely stumbled off the bike, as graceful as she always was. "Well, I guess I owe you one, now." "Don't worry about it," Xan told her. "I'd better get going." She nodded slowly, her eyes looking elsewhere, down the street a ways. Curious in spite of himself, Xan turned and followed her gaze. He scowled when he saw Brad Faraday, the one person he'd actually consider going to jail for murdering. She can't possibly like him, he thought, looking up at Keely. I thought she was smarter than that... She didn't look like a girl with a crush. Her expression was calculating, and he got the sinking feeling that she was planning something. Keely frowned, then looked down at him, and started smiling again, this time sheepishly. "It's a long story," she said, as if she'd read his mind. "Know how I'd get his attention? Assuming I wanted to, of course." Xan's eyebrows raised. "Become something he covets," he answered. "Again, assuming you wanted to." "I'll keep that in mind." She tilted her head, studying him, and he got the feeling she was sizing him up. Then she shrugged. "Well, thanks again for the ride. See you at school tomorrow!" And then she whipped around and trotted up to the house. Maybe not that much of a good girl, he thought, watching the way her hair swung as she yanked open the front door. Proof that a girl doesn't need sex and alcohol to be hell on wheels. Xan shook his head, flipped down the visor of his motorcycle helmet, and started his bike up. He tried very hard to feel disgruntled, but he found himself grinning instead. Maybe he'd have to play anti-social again next theater class, so he'd end up with another detention. That way Keely would have a ride home. As he turned, he glanced quickly up the street, but Brad had gone inside already. It brought Xan back to earth, though. The long-standing feud between himself and Brad Faraday could be dangerous to innocent bystanders. Keely might be a bit mischievous, but she was a sweet kid; he wasn't about to get her stuck in the middle of this. Not after what had happened last time. Even though Xan had been the one to wind up in trouble and Brad had gotten away clean. Time for work, anyway, he thought, as he headed back down the highway. It'll be the accounts tonight. He helped his uncle with the financial aspects of the garage as well as the actual work. Preparation, his uncle said. Xan knew plenty about managing his finances now, thanks to his uncle. He was set for college, due to all the work he did in the garage, and he had extra money from the construction jobs he did on the weekend; he liked to build things more than fix them. It was his plan to finally get his own car, and close the door on that part of his life forever. Maybe he'd wait a little bit longer, though. The memory of Keely's shrieking laughter made him smile, and Xan could always use some of those. ------- Keely tossed her backpack on her bed and grabbed the portable phone hanging above her bed. She hit the speed dial for Mardea's number, then plopped onto the bed and began unlacing her boots, waiting for her friend to answer. Her heart was pounding so hard, she'd been amazed that Xan hadn't commented on it. I've lost my mind, she thought, kicking her boots off and springing to her feet. First I'm making impossible to win bets, then I'm going right up to Xan and asking him for a ride home. Hell, she'd practically demanded he give her a ride home. Keely stumbled into her bathroom, unbothered by the fact that Mardea hadn't picked up yet, and opened the medicine cabinet above the sink. "'Lo?" She could barely hear Mardea's voice over the music in the background. "Turn that down, Dea!" Keely grabbed a bottle from the cabinet, tucked the phone between her ear and shoulder, and struggled to open it. "I have something to tell you." "Okay, okay," Mardea said, and a second later the music faded. "Don't have a coronary, Keely. What's up?" While Keely explained what had happened, she dumped a dose of anti-anxiety pills onto the counter. She didn't usually take them until bed time, but it wouldn't hurt her to take them now; it would just make her a little drowsy. I really am pathetic, she thought, when she'd finished relating the whole thing to Mardea. And how am I supposed to win this stupid bet when I can't get my mind off the guy I'm not supposed to be chasing after? Keely swallowed her pills, than almost choked on her water when she realized that Mardea was laughing. "What?" Keely demanded. "I knew it!" Mardea crowed. "I've seen you looking at him... and I knew that was who you were talking about today, too. I mean, seriously... Brad Faraday? Girl, you'd end up strangling that arrogant sleaze." Keely sighed. "True enough," she agreed. "But a bet is a bet. Besides... you can't tell me it wouldn't be worth it. Just picturing the look on Gina's face is bliss." Mardea's wicked laughter echoed back at her. "Forget her! I just want to see Brad Faraday dumped by Dork-Girl!" ------- Chapter 2: Pizza and Perfume Ads Keely had a dilemma. What she wanted more than anything—even more than she wanted to win her bet—was to get a ride home from Xan again. She had no classes with him today, though, and so no way of knowing if he'd be staying for detention or not. Currently she didn't have detention of her own, but what if he did? And if it turned out that he didn't, and she missed the bus because she was waiting for him, how was she going to get home? I'm beginning to understand why my parents keep bugging me to get a license, Keely thought, sighing. That would make this a little bit easier, at least. She supposed she could call Mardea for a ride. Dea was on her side in this, and had even refrained from telling Shauna and Bridget about it. The whole trying to spend more time with Xan because she had a major crush on him thing. Shauna probably wouldn't care too much, but Bridget would go on at length about why someone like Xan would never look twice at someone like Keely. Keely's mother, who was a psychologist, said that Bridget was just projecting her own insecurities onto everyone else. Keely was not about to let her friend's desire to be abjectly miserable twenty-four seven get in the way of her own happiness. "Hey! Keely!" That was a male voice. Male voices didn't generally call her name, and she was pretty certain this one wasn't in her head. Xan, she thought, grinning broadly. Because really, who else could it be? She whirled around, planting her hands on her hips, and opened her mouth to say hello. It wasn't Xan, though, who'd call her name. What the hell? Keely thought, as Brad Faraday came trotting up to her, somehow managing to not trip over the flopping laces of his light blue Tims. Did I miss something here? She knew for a fact that she was the only girl in the school with her rather unique name, so he couldn't be calling someone else. Which proved to be true when he came to a stop before her. "Something I can help you with?" Keely asked, blinking up at him. He was kind of cute, she supposed, in a boy-band member sort of way. "Just wanted to, you know, make sure you were okay," Brad explained. Seeing her puzzled expression—or perhaps just enjoying hearing himself talk—he added, "You were with Dayton yesterday, weren't you? You want to watch out for him." Keely stared at him blankly. "Why?" "He's bad news," Brad told her. "Don't you know why he was held back before the ninth grade? He was in Juvi." She hadn't realized that a short spat in Juvi made someone dangerous; maybe he'd just been into shoplifting. Keely remembered the first time she'd seen Xan, actually. She'd been huddled under a picnic table in the quad, afraid her tormentors were waiting for her just beyond, when a narrow face with gray-green eyes and a faint smile peered in at her. He'd been tall and painfully thin, as if he'd just hit a major growth spurt, his hair had been a bit shorter, but no less messy, and he hadn't yet been old enough to ride his motorcycle. He'd also been the one to pull her out from beneath the picnic table, dust her off, and help her inside. Keely wondered if he even remembered that. "Look, just be careful, okay?" Brad forced a smile, as if he'd had all he could take of being near Dork-Girl. What the heck was that all about? Keely thought, watching him walk away. I didn't even think he knew my real name. Even though he'd lived a few houses down from hers since they were in nursery school. He must really hate Xan, she thought, shifting her backpack back up onto her shoulder and heading up the steps into the high school. There's no other reason he'd risk Dork-Girl cooties. It did explain why he'd stood there and stared at the two of them, yesterday. Well, sort of. That was when it hit her. Become something he covets, Xan had said. If he really disliked Xan as much as he seemed to, then Brad would do anything he could to make him miserable. Including warning even Dork-Girl away from him. Keely was pretty sure there was a scientific term for that—her mother had probably told her several dozen times—but it was enough to just sum it up as a pissing contest. That was when she knew what she had to do, and fortunately for her, it just happened to coincide with her plans to wrangle a ride home from Xan. Lucky, Keely thought, bouncing cheerfully up the last few steps. Fortune is still on my side! ------- "Why not?" Innocent as a kitten. That had been his first impression of Keely McKenzie, when he'd found her huddled beneath a picnic table, frightened out of her wits. A chubby, strawberry blonde kitten in a long, patterned hippie skirt, brightly colored scarves that she'd tied around her waist, and an old Jerry Garcia t-shirt. Xan had assured her that it was safe and helped her out from beneath the table. He'd half fallen in love with her shy smile, but the next day, when he'd gone to find her, Mardea Richards had already taken her under her wing. Xan had just moved on, but he'd never really forgotten it. He wondered if Keely remembered. At the moment she was not looking like an innocent kitten. More like a devious kitten that had discovered away to get to the fish bowl. There was a part of him that could not believe that she was asking this of him. She stood there in her badly torn jeans, her beat up Docs (the laces today were electric yellow), and a faded shirt that might have had The Doors on it, he wasn't sure. Typical Keely, except she was looking at him as if he'd denied a request to borrow a pencil. I wish she wouldn't look at me like that, Xan thought, scowling. She shouldn't look disappointed in me... she's the one who's asking me to do something I don't want to. "You need me to explain it to you?" Xan shook his head and turned to his motorcycle. "Honestly, Keely, I thought you were smarter than this. Faraday is an asshole." "Now wait just a minute," Keely said. He could practically hear her planting her hands on her hips. "There's more to it than that." Xan snorted. "Sure there is. If you want a date to the prom with someone like him, get it yourself." He got on his motorcycle and reached back for his helmet, but stopped when Keely put a hand on his arm. Startled, he looked up into those blue, blue eyes, and knew he was in for trouble. The look of disappointment was gone; instead she gave him that sheepish, shy smile that had made his fifteen-year-old self want to scoop her up and cuddle her. Actually, Xan thought, it's kind of having that same effect on my nineteen-year-old self, too. That was what made him think of her as a kitten. She could go from a mischievous pain-in-the-ass, poking her nose where it didn't belong, to a small, vulnerable creature that needed love and protection, in a very small space of time. "I started this out wrong," Keely said quietly. "It's not what you think it is... look, can we just... go somewhere and talk?" "I really can't," Xan hedged, looking away from her so he wouldn't feel that desire to cuddle her. "I need to grab something to eat before work." Keely brightened. "Great! We'll get some pizza. My treat!" She paused, and he looked back at her. "You do like pizza, don't you?" "I'm a nineteen-year-old guy," Xan reminded her. "That's like asking if I like... oh, never mind. Get on." He looked away and pulled on his helmet, so he wouldn't have to see her grin of delight. Xan felt her settle behind him and shift around. When she had her helmet on, and her arms around him, he started up his bike and drove out of the school parking lot. She was warm and soft against his back, and it felt really nice. I'm in for so much trouble, he thought. I never go through this much trouble for a girl I'm not having sex with. Even though he was hungry, the last thing he wanted was to sit in a booth with a sticky table top, amid a crowd of chattering teenagers. To his surprise, Keely shouted directions to him, ones that he knew for a fact didn't lead to the most popular pizza place in their small town. Her directions took them to a small, cobbled plaza in the older part of town, with a few small shops, an arcade, a pizzeria, and a magazine stand. As Xan brought his motorcycle to a stop, he couldn't help but stare a little. Keely took off her helmet and slid off the bike right away, but he waited a minute, watching her. For a girl who wanted to go to the prom with the school's most popular jock, she was really out of touch with where the In crowd hung out. "Here." Keely fished a camouflage wallet from her backpack and gave him a twenty. "Get an extra-large, okay? I like pepperoni, sausage, and ham on my half." And before he could say anything she'd scampered off to the magazine stand. Pepperoni, sausage, and ham, Xan thought, as he turned and headed into the pizzeria. That's absolutely disgusting. Not to mention a heart attack waiting to happen. Sure, he'd heard of worse combinations, but that was pretty gross to him. He was a simple guy; extra cheese and pepperoni, and he was good to go. That was what he ordered on his side of the pizza, along with a pitcher of Coca-Cola. Xan grabbed napkins and straws from the dispensers on the counter, then took a seat at one of the small, circular tables tucked to the side of the pizzeria. Keely came back a few minutes later with a stack of magazines. There was a Cat Fancy magazine, a Nintendo Power, and a National Geographic featuring penguins on the front, all of them seeming to him like the sort of magazines she'd buy. It was the other two—a Glamour and a Cosmo—that he found puzzling. Xan would never have taken her for the type to read those magazines. Even more peculiar, the first thing she did when she sat down was open one of them and start flipping through it, pausing once in awhile to tear out a page. "Perfume ads," Keely explained, setting another on her pile. She wrinkled her nose. "They stink. And they make the magazine stink. I can't read it if the smell is giving me a headache." Xan couldn't help raising his eyebrows. "I'm kind of surprised you read them at all." "There's some interesting stuff in them," Keely said, looking a little defensive. "Health stuff and... well, you know." "I see." Xan reached over and picked up the Cosmo, glanced at the cover, then set it back down. "I can definitely see how really hot foreplay would be interesting." Keely turned bright red and started stuffing the magazines away in her bag. "You never know... the information might come in handy someday." Xan had to swallow his laughter; he didn't want her to think he was making fun of her. She set her bag down on the seat next to her and jumped into an explanation of her request so fast, he didn't realize at first what she was talking about. When he caught on, he sat back in his seat, ignoring the hard plastic chair back even though it dug into him, and eyed her speculatively. A bet, he thought, frowning. I don't think I like the sound of that. It was a really foolish thing to do, and pretty immature, too. Keely changed the subject when the pizza came out. Xan watched, fascinated, as she shook parmesan cheese onto her pizza, then proceeded to eat it with knife and fork. She asked him questions while they ate, avoiding the subject of her bet, and he found she was actually very nice to talk to. Keely asked him questions of the non-offensive sort, like where he worked. Xan told her about his uncle's garage, but left out the construction on the weekends; even his uncle didn't really know about that. "So you're a mechanic, then?" Keely asked. Xan watched her chase her straw around with her tongue until she caught up with it, then spoke. "Yeah," he said. "For now, at least. I work there, and in return, I get one of the apartments in the building my uncle owns. It's a nice setup." "So what do you do for fun, then?" Keely wanted to know. "I mean, obviously you read fashion magazines, since you know so much about them, but..." "Watch out," Xan warned. "Two can play that game." He ended up smiling though, unable to resist. "I like music... play the guitar, a bit of keyboard... few other things. And I like to read." That started them on a discussion of the publishing industry. Keely complained emphatically about the high price of books, and how cheaply many of them were made. Xan couldn't disagree; he couldn't stand paying more than eight bucks for a paperback, only to have the ink come off on his fingers, and the binding fall apart when he was barely halfway through the book. He couldn't remember the last time he'd had a conversation with someone and really enjoyed himself. More than that, the pizza was good. Really good. Way better than that crap they served at the In crowd's favorite hangout. By the time they were finished, they'd demolished the whole pizza, and almost three full pitchers of soda. Xan was going to be late for work, but he figured his uncle would understand, when he explained. I'm impressed, he thought, watching Keely as she set the pizza tray back on the counter. I've never seen a girl eat pizza like that. No self-conscious nibbling with Keely, or proclaiming she was full after half a slice; she had thoroughly enjoyed herself. "Best pizza in town," Keely said, as they headed back to his bike. She was licking traces of sauce from her fingers. "You are really... weird," Xan said, staring down at her. Keely peered up at him through a veil of strawberry blonde lashes. "So I've been told," she said. "Weird how?" "You're very... unconventional," Xan explained. "The clothes and the pizza place and everything, that I get. But the magazines and the betting you can get dates with Brad Faraday... that doesn't fit." "Date," Keely corrected. "Singular." She frowned at him. "I'm not a puzzle piece, you know. It's not like I'm supposed to fit perfectly anywhere. I like to gamble. I hear the word 'bet', and I can't say no. And I happen to like my magazines, thank you very much!" She let out an indignant huff and stomped off towards his motorcycle, but somehow Xan knew she was just playing around. Indeed, she was giggling by the time he reached her side. Such a quirky little kitten, he thought, as he settled on the seat of his bike. The chubby little runt of the litter with the weird color splotches and one notched ear. Keely climbed up behind him, put on her helmet, and wound her arms around him; motions he was already becoming used to. Xan found he didn't even mind his bike so much, because she enjoyed it so much. ------- Stupid, stupid, stupid, Keely thought. I did a bang up job of explaining that one. It had sounded so childish to her, when she'd tried to explain it to Xan. But she couldn't back out now; it was against her nature. Besides, he hadn't said 'no' yet. He could still agree to help her, and then she'd be able to spend more time with him. I need to talk to Dea about the terms of this bet, Keely decided. Did she have to get the date and attend it? Or could she just get the date, then drop Brad on his ass and go with Xan instead? Now that was a pleasant thought. Keely's mind was full of worries during the ride home. Like had Xan thought she was a pig, eating half an extra-large pizza by herself? It wasn't something she did often or anything; it was just that once in awhile she liked to really enjoy herself where food was concerned. And did he think she was shallow because she read magazines like Glamour and Cosmo? Unlikely, Keely thought. Xan isn't like that. Still, the thought went through her mind. Normally she wasn't a very self-conscious person, but when she was around Xan she found herself pausing now and then, wondering if what she'd done or said was a bit too weird. She was disappointed when they pulled up in front of her house. Keely moved slowly and reluctantly, pulling off her helmet, then climbing off the back of the bike. Not all of it was feigned, of course; she was clumsy to begin with, and she struggled to get off that thing. "Don't hurt yourself, kitten," Xan said, in a teasing tone of voice. "Hard to go to prom with a broken leg." Keely perked up. "Does that mean you'll do it?" she asked. "Well..." Xan paused, looking thoughtful. "It's not usually the type of thing I get involved in. But it's been awhile since I've stirred up some trouble." He shrugged, looking completely nonchalant. "Besides which, you're going to try it even if I don't agree to help you. Someone should hang around, keep that bastard in line." "Very astute," Keely said, grinning; she definitely would try even if he didn't agree to help. "And so you know, I'll give you half the bet money. Since you're doing half the work." "Good," Xan said. "I'm going to need it, after we do a little something about your look." Here Keely stopped, frowning. My look? she thought, looking down at the frayed bottoms of her jeans, and her beat up Docs. He can't mean my clothes, can he? That didn't seem like the Xan she (sort of) knew at all. Without thinking, she planted her hands on his thigh and glowered up at him. He turned his head, gazing back at her with those gray-green eyes, completely serene and slightly amused, judging by the half-smile on his face. Keely swallowed hard, suddenly very aware of how close she was to him, but she went on determinedly. "Is there a problem with my look?" she demanded. "Not so far as I'm concerned," Xan replied, his smile broadening slightly. "But I do have a reputation to uphold, as far as the kind of girl I hang out with. And it is that reputation you need to get Faraday's attention, right?" Keely backed off. "Good point," she admitted. "What do you propose we do about my... look?" "Meet me after school tomorrow," Xan told her. "And if you get detention, I'm going to tell Mardea to smack you. I'd do it myself, in fact, but I make it a point not to hit women." Keely grinned. She took a step back as he pulled his helmet back on and started up his motorcycle. Mardea'd do it, too, she thought, watching him drive away. She's always smacking me when I screw up good opportunities. When Xan was completely out of sight she turned and headed into her house. It was as she was yanking off her boots—she'd gotten yelled at yesterday for not taking "those nasty things" off before going up to her room—that she realized something. He called me kitten, Keely thought. He gave me a nickname! A cute one! She raced past the kitchen, yelling a quick 'hello' to her parents, then dashed up the stairs. In one motion she kicked the door shut and flung her backpack aside, then she leapt up onto her bed. Still bouncing, Keely grabbed the phone from above her bed and quickly dialed Mardea's number. Of all her friends, Mardea understood best why she was so crazy about Xan. "Dea!" Keely cried, as soon as she'd heard Mardea's familiar "'lo". "He called me kitten!" ------- Chapter 3: The Makeunder There was only one thing more shocking than Keely McKenzie being on time for Theater class, and that was that she'd beaten him to his bike, as well. There she stood, her dyed-black hair in disarray from the wind, looking much the same as she always did, except that today her nails were a blindingly bright shade of orange. Her backpack was at her feet, her hands were on her hips, and she was staring expectantly in his direction. Kitten, he'd called her. He hadn't meant to; it had just sort of slipped out. At the moment Xan found it hard to picture her as any creature so vulnerable as a kitten. Other students, heading for the buses or their cars, glanced curiously at Keely as they passed. She ignored them. The stares doubled as Xan approached her, and a few people tripped over their feet, or came to actual stops. Well, at least we're off to a good start, he thought wryly, as he came to a stop in front of Keely, folding his arms across his chest and giving her look for look. She had no ability to stare him down; a smile tugged immediately at the corners of her mouth and she looked away, giggling. Xan stepped past her and climbed onto his bike, then paused, looking down at her hands. "Your nails are orange," he said. "Yes, they are," Keely agreed. She climbed up behind him, struggling a little. "They don't match your outfit," Xan pointed out. Not that her nail polish ever did, but he was curious. Most girls wanted to match. Keely just shrugged. "So what?" I figured as much, Xan thought, hiding his laughter by pulling on his helmet. He'd never even seen a girl wear bright orange nail polish for any occasion other than Halloween. He glanced down at her hands when she wrapped her arms around him; the color looked strange under the tint of the helmet's visor, but it still made him grin. At least this might be entertaining, he thought, as he started up his bike. If I'm going to get involved in someone else's bet, I should have fun doing it. No one was safe from a bet like this, not even innocent bystanders. He hadn't told Keely where he was taking her or what he had planned. Xan knew she'd been kind of insulted when he told her she'd have to change her look. But he had no intention for her to become someone other than herself. Just a lightly tidier version of herself, really. The jeans had to go, for one thing, even if they did give him peeks of her legs, which were actually rather attractive. It wasn't just for his benefit, though. Xan knew that nothing he could do would get Brad to take her to the prom with him if she continued to look like a kitten that had just crawled out of a dumpster. His destination was his apartment building, although he wasn't about to tell her he lived there, not yet. A few floors beneath Xan lived a woman named Olivia; the only woman he would ever consider calling an ex-girlfriend. He'd been fifteen and she'd been twenty-one when they met. She'd told him how adorable he was the first time she met him. Somehow the difference in their ages hadn't had an effect on their relationship. Xan had related to her better than anyone else. He'd felt relaxed around her, comfortable, and he supposed that he would have fallen in love with her, if he hadn't known better. The only person Olivia loved that much was herself. "Nice place," Keely commented. "If a little grim looking." The warmth of her against his back was far too distracting. "It's nicer on the inside. Let's go." Keely scrambled off the bike; he followed in a much more dignified manner. Xan pressed the buzzer for Olivia's apartment, rather than taking out his keys, so Keely wouldn't realize that he lived here, too. Inside was dim but comfortable, with thick carpet in coal gray beneath their feet, and small patterns of purple, green, and blue decorating the cream-colored wallpaper. Olivia's apartment was on the first floor. Xan approached the door, dark lacquered oak with the number three in gleaming bronze, and knocked loudly. The door swung open and there stood Olivia, looking like a goddess. She was tall and slender, with skin a perfect, creamy shade of honey. Waves of black-as-night hair hung free down her back, gleaming beneath the overhead lights of her apartment. She had big, blue eyes with long, thick lashes, a small, straight nose, a lusciously full mouth, and high cheekbones like a model. Olivia was perfection, and yet Xan was struck by how oddly uninteresting she looked next to Keely. It was as if he was a small boy again, and he'd just been offered the choice between a prissy, purebred show cat, and a scrappy little tom that was game for any adventure he had in mind, no matter how messy. "There you are," Olivia said, flashing a smile that was maybe not quite warm, but welcoming, at least. "You must be Keely." Keely rolled her eyes up at him. "If you're trying to make me feel ugly and inadequate, it's working nicely." "Get in there," Xan said, giving her a little push into Olivia's apartment. "What I'm doing is trying to help you, and Olivia here is the only person I know who works for free." "Only for you, Xan, darling," Olivia assured him, shutting the door behind the two of them. "My, my, my... when you said she was going to need some work, you weren't kidding!" "You wouldn't happen to have a copy of How to Win Friends and Influence People, would you?" Keely asked, looking up at Olivia, the picture of innocence. Olivia's smile became a bit forced. She grabbed Keely by the shoulders and marched her forcefully into the kitchen, where she pushed her down into a chair. I hope I can leave these two alone together and come back to find them alive, Xan thought, frowning. He had no intention of staying the whole time. First of all, Olivia would never let him. It wasn't as if he knew anything about this sort of thing. And besides which, he had to get to work soon. Xan made his way to the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching from a safe distance as the two girls got acquainted. Olivia wrinkled her nose at Keely's orange nail polish, and Keely rolled her eyes behind Olivia's back when she stood to get a glass of lemonade, flicking her hair prissily behind her. By the time they got down to discussing what they were going to do, though, Xan felt confident he could leave them alone for awhile. They might not like each other—possibly they never would—but they wouldn't murder each other as soon as he was out the door. "I've got to take off," Xan said, straightening. "You two behave yourselves while I'm gone, understand?" Keely turned around in her chair and stuck her tongue out at him. "See you later, Xan," Olivia said, doing her best to ignore Keely's not-so-ladylike habits. "Don't worry... one way or another, I'm going to clean this little kitty up." ------- Don't go, Keely thought, staring at the closed apartment door. Don't leave me here with her. The last thing she'd been expecting was for Xan to bring her to some drop dead gorgeous woman who looked like she must be a model. And then to leave her with said woman, in an elegantly—not to mention richly—furnished apartment that screams 'hands off'. Keely slumped in her chair as she heard the main door of the apartment building swing shut, followed shortly by the sound of a motorcycle, very faint. She turned back around and found Olivia watching her thoughtfully. "The boy has to work, hun," Olivia said, finally smiling in a way that was friendly. "He was right, though. You are just about the most adorable thing I've ever seen. Or you will be, with some work." Keely felt her cheeks turn red, and she decided to ignore the first part of that. "What kind of work, exactly? I'm not real big on the whole makeover thing." "This is not a makeover," Olivia assured her. "Think of it as more of a... makeunder. You're cute, but a little too... grunge. I mean, your hair... what do you call that, exactly?" "Eternal Midnight," Keely answered, lifting a strand of her hair. "Although they really should have named it Ephemeral Midnight. Eternal things are not supposed to come off on your pillow every night." Much to her surprise, Olivia actually laughed. It was a small, quiet sound, and she put her hand over her mouth, but it was definitely a laugh, despite all the prissiness about it. Feeling a little more comfortable, Keely rose when Olivia did and followed her into the bathroom. This is a really nice apartment, she thought, taking a seat at the vanity—this time without Olivia's help. It made her wonder what kind of place Xan lived in; he'd never said. Now that she thought about it, she'd never heard him mention his parents. Only his uncle. "I am definitely doing something about this hair," Olivia said firmly, standing behind Keely. She toyed with the dark strands, her perfect nose wrinkled in distaste. "I'd like to do a little something about your wardrobe, too, if you've got some money on you." I knew there was going to be some kind of makeover thing, Keely thought, sighing. She wriggled in her chair and pulled her backpack off, ignoring Olivia's impatient huffing. It took a bit of fishing around—her backpack was as bad as some women's purses—but she finally managed to find her wallet. It was camouflage, and had originally come with a chain so she could clip it to her belt, but she never carried it in her pocket, so Keely had taken the chain off. She opened it up, grumbling as her student I.D. and her library card fell out; she stuffed them back in, then opened the wallet up for Olivia to see. "Wow," Olivia said, sounding impressed. "I wasn't expecting you to be carrying so much." Keely shrugged. "I told my mom about this whole changing my look thing," she explained, shoving her wallet back in her backpack. "When she realized that meant I'd be getting new jeans, she got a little... overzealous." Olivia laughed again, a little more freely. If she thinks that's funny, Keely thought, she should have seen the way my mother was acting. Her mother always wanted her to buy new clothes, most especially something "a bit more like what other girls your age are wearing". When Keely had pointed out that there were boys her age wearing the same things she did, her mother hadn't been very amused. Of course, her parents weren't the ultra-strict controlling types who wouldn't even let her buy the clothes she liked, but they would have loved it if she liked something other than what she did. Keely stared in the mirror curiously while Olivia brushed out her hair. She could see black dye coming off on the brush. Does she think she's going to be able to get it all out? she wondered, studying the other woman skeptically. It may not be eternal, but it is stubborn. Olivia hardly seemed fazed by her hair, though. For all her prissiness, when she'd finally persuaded Keely to stick her head in the kitchen sink, she was very efficient at scrubbing the dye from her hair. Keely herself was far less enthusiastic about the whole thing. She stood there, shifting from foot to foot, trying hard not to wriggle even though the counter was digging into her belly. Water, blackened from the hair dye, splashed in her face. She didn't know what Olivia was doing to get so much of it out, but she supposed she shouldn't be so surprised. It was only Manic Panic, and it had been wearing out anyway. Damnit, I don't want to be a blonde, Keely thought, wiggling her nose as the water tickled it. Cheerleaders are blonde! Bimbos are blonde! I don't want to be blonde! "There we go," Olivia said, allowing her to straighten up. "It's still a bit darker than it's natural color, but that will fade in about a week." "Wonderful," Keely muttered, brushing her sopping hair back from her face. "What's wrong with me being dark-haired, anyway?" "I won't beat around the bush, Keely," Olivia said, pushing her towards the bathroom again. "We both know that you care more about spending time with Xan than winning this stupid bet. I know more about him than you do, so you're just going to have to trust me." That shut Keely up. Did he say something about my hair? she wondered, as Olivia pushed her down in front of the vanity again. I mean, aside from the fact that something needed to be done about it... Maybe Olivia was just saying that to get her to cooperate. She couldn't imagine Xan coming to a woman this beautiful and talking about another girl, especially one like herself. But she said she knew more about him than I do, Keely thought, glancing in the mirror and Olivia. Which means she must have known him a long time... I wonder how much she knows... "So um..." Keely began hesitantly. Something simple. Something Olivia would be willing to answer. "Xan... is that short for Alexander or something?" Olivia set down the brush she was using and reach for a pair of scissors. "As far as I know, it was supposed to be," she answered, in a somewhat distracted tone of voice. "But then his mother, who is a total fruit loop, decided to call him just Xan. And the thing is, people kept pronouncing it with an 'ah' sound rather than an 'an' sound... even the people at the hospital. It just kind of stuck." "Interesting," Keely said. Well, that was successful, she thought. Maybe I'll try something a little more... "You know, the people at school... they're not very nice to him. There's this rumor going around that he went to Juvi a few years ago..." "Nice try, kitty," Olivia said, giving her a sharp poke in the back. She leaned down and Keely could see her face in the mirror, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Xan is a good friend of mine... and he doesn't like talking about that. So let's get one thing straight... start pestering him about any of it, and it won't be curiosity that killed the cat. Got it?" ------- It was getting dark by the time Xan returned home. He saw that Olivia's car was parked in the lot, and he hoped he hadn't gotten back too soon. She'd told him that he couldn't see Keely's new look until the morning after; why, he couldn't even begin to fathom. But she was the expert, not him, so he followed her orders. As he made his way into the building, he couldn't help wondering what had gone on while he'd been at work. He trusted Olivia to do what he asked of her, but he wouldn't be surprised if she'd given Keely a bit of a fright. Or tried, Xan thought, grinning. I don't think much of anything scares her. His knock wasn't answered immediately, although he did hear movement in the apartment. It took a minute or two, and when the door swung open, Xan caught the faint smell of cigarette smoke; Olivia knew he hated cigarettes, so she always put hers out before inviting him in. She only smokes when something gets to her, he thought, forcing his grin from his face. Which means Keely didn't let her get away with anything. Somehow Xan wasn't surprised by that. Olivia looked a bit frazzled, but there was a smug air about her, too, which meant she'd accomplished what she'd set out to do. He followed her into the apartment and sat next to her on the huge, leather upholstered couch against the far wall of the dimly lit living room. His apartment wasn't quite so elegantly furnished, but it was just as big and nice. Xan had been excited for his uncle when he'd purchased the building; it had been doubly exciting when, after it had been renovated, he'd been offered a place to live. Even working at the garage in order to live here couldn't dampen that. "Your little kitten has claws," Olivia told him, as soon as they had both settled down. "I think I might actually like her." Xan grinned. "I don't think I've ever heard you say that about anyone before," he said. "Especially not the girls I usually bring home." "That's because they were all little tramps," Olivia said, making a moue. "None of them were good for anything other than sex." Xan rolled his eyes and shook his head. Olivia was always like that. No matter who it was, she turned her nose up at any girl he brought home with him. Not that he did it very often, but every now and then he found one that seemed like a possibility. Unfortunately, aside from Olivia, he'd never found a woman whose company he enjoyed for anything other than sex. It wasn't as if there weren't a lot of wonderful women out there; it was just that he could never seem to connect with any of them. With Olivia, yes, on a weird, twisted level, but no others. Sighing, Xan sank down on the couch and rested his head in Olivia's lap. It was one of the things he liked about her, that she didn't mind easing his need for human—namely female—contact. He closed his eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair, stroking it back from his forehead. I'd be all alone in the world if it weren't for her and Zoë, he thought. Not that I'm ungrateful to my uncle, but... But the truth was that the two of them weren't close, despite the fact that they were family. "Poor baby," Olivia murmured, leaning closer to him. "She's really getting to you, isn't she?" Xan opened his eyes. "Who?" "Your little kitten," Olivia said, sliding her other hand beneath his shirt. "It isn't like that," Xan insisted, shivering as her hand ran along his stomach. Unfortunately, though, he couldn't help imagining what Keely's small hands would feel like in place of Olivia's. Xan closed his eyes and tried to relax, as Olivia shifted until she was straddling his hips. He raised his arms for her to take his shirt off, but didn't open his eyes. Even when she was settled on top of him, her head resting on his chest, he kept his eyes closed. I hope I haven't bitten off more than I can chew with this whole bet thing, Xan thought, closing his arms around Olivia, grateful for someone to hold onto for a little while. I'm not even sure why I agreed to it in the first place... ------- Chapter 4: The First Day It was so early that the sky was still gray, and the grass was heavy with morning dew. Xan stared at Keely's house, waiting for her to come out. She knew he was picking her up, so he was a little surprised it was taking so long. They'd planned to meet earlier so they could be right in the center of things when students started arriving at school. Also, he wanted to give her a bit of advice. Sure, he wasn't as good as Olivia, but he knew a few things about getting a man's attention, seeing as how he was one himself. Although generally as long as a girl's breathing, a man's going to notice her at least once, Xan thought. Not that you can explain that to them... At last the front door swung open and Keely stepped out. Xan was startled into immobility; Olivia really had done an amazing job cleaning up this particular kitty. The first thing he noticed was her hair, which was only a few shades darker now than the strawberry blonde she'd had when he'd first met her. It had been trimmed to give it some shape, but it was still about the same length. Now, though, the front was shorter than the back, cut so that it framed her face rather than just doing whatever. It brought out the heart shape of her face. And there was something else, too, a change to her face that Xan couldn't quite put his finger on. Looking at her clothes, he could tell there'd been some serious compromise. Olivia must have put her foot down on band t-shirts, because the shirt she had on was a regular t-shirt, cut to fit a feminine figure rather than a masculine one. It was a dark shade of blue. Another compromise was the shirt beneath it, a long sleeve thermal like the ones Keely had a habit of wearing, except that this one was a light lilac in color. Her jeans were obviously brand new, with a slightly flare-legged cut, and they clung to the shape of her legs. Even her sneakers were brand new, and another compromise: they were feminine lilac in color, but funky in style, actually made like clogs even though at first glance they looked like sneakers. "Something on my face?" Keely demanded, stopping before him and planting her hands on her hips. I like her hips, Xan mused. Nice and curvy, none of that stick-figure crap you see in magazines. "Not at all," he answered, shaking his head. "Ready to go?" "Ready as I'll ever be," Keely responded, climbing up onto the back of his motorcycle. "God, this had better be worth it. I thought you wanted to change my look, not torture me." "Oh, come on," Xan said, waiting for her to get her helmet on. "It couldn't have been that bad." "Have you ever had a part of your body waxed?" Keely asked, glaring at him. "Because I don't recommend it!" "Um... where, precisely..." Xan began hesitantly. "My eyebrows, you pervert," Keely said, poking him sharply in the back. She was grinning, though. Xan shook his head and looked away, starting up his motorcycle. He couldn't keep looking. When he looked, he noticed how full her mouth was, and how soft her hair looked. He was no better off facing away from her, though. Keely wrapped her arms around him, and he could feel the warmth and softness of her body against his back. Xan couldn't help thinking about the curves of her breasts and hips, which he could actually see now that she wasn't wearing something way too big for her. Knock it off, he told himself. She's off limits, goddamnit. The ride to school was long. It shouldn't have been, but it certainly felt that way. It wasn't just Keely that was getting to him, either. It's one date, Xan reminded himself. She'll be okay as long as it's only this one. At least, he hoped. She was a smart girl, and she really did seem uninterested in Brad. But he'd known Brad for a very long time, and he didn't trust him one bit. Maybe I'll have a talk with Mardea, Xan thought. I doubt I'll have to explain... she'll believe me if I tell her to keep an eye on Keely. He couldn't be there to protect her every moment of every day, after all. Students were milling in front of the school, gossiping and smoking while they waited for the bell to ring, when Xan and Keely arrived. He saw Brad immediately; hard to miss him, really, leaning against his shiny red sports car with a tan, blonde cheerleader on his arm. Brad noticed them, too, even before they pulled their helmets off and climbed down off the bike. By the time they were walking across the lot towards the school, nearly everyone was staring at them. Partially, Xan knew, because of Keely's new look, and partially because he had his arm around her. Really around her; her hip was pressed up against his thigh, and he'd settled his hand low, so low that she gave him a startled look. "What are you doing?" Keely hissed, glancing around anxiously. Xan leaned close to her. "I'm the bad boy, remember?" he murmured. He felt her shiver. "If this is going to succeed, it needs to look like I'm possessive of you." "You're doing a good job of it," Keely shot back. But he noticed that she'd relaxed a little. "You can do better than that," Xan said, keeping his voice low. He gave her a tug, pulling her firmly back against his side. "Make it look like you really want me." Keely made a soft sputtering sound and her cheeks turned red. She looked up and him, her eyes narrowed. Xan grinned down at her, knowing she'd rise to the challenge. And she did, giving her newly style hair a carefree toss and leaning into him. Whoa, he thought, maybe that was a bad idea. Women just shouldn't be allowed to have curves like that. Or maybe he just shouldn't have allowed her to press hers against him. Keely looked up at him, and his challenged echoed back at him from those startling blue eyes. God, she is so much fun, he thought, grinning. But two can play this game. And he leaned down and gently kissed her neck, causing her to turn red to the tips of her ears. ------- For all his morning had started out well, Xan was having a very bad day. He had only U.S. History with Keely, and that wasn't until seventh period, so he found himself going to her locker every chance he got, to make sure she was okay. At one point he found Brad Faraday escorting her, and it was annoying to see her flashing him that shy smile of hers. The only consolation Xan had was that, when Keely turned away from Brad, she rolled her eyes and flashed him a conspiratorial grin. At least she didn't seem to be falling for Faraday's false charm. At lunch time he planned to find Mardea and talk to her, but Keely caught up with him instead. There was a frown on her face, and she beckoned him toward the quad. That made Xan nervous; although they had warm winters, usually students didn't eat out in the quad until it got a little warmer than it was now. He followed her outside reluctantly, into the crisp air and almost blindingly bright sunlight. He couldn't keep himself from noticing the way Keely's hair swayed as she walked. It was no longer heavy with dye, and it had almost taken on a life of its own, swinging around with every tilt of her head. They sat on a picnic table; the same one, he noticed, that he'd found her under during lunch on that first day of freshmen year. She sat close to him, close enough that he could smell flowers in her hair, most likely her shampoo. Or maybe I sat close to her, Xan thought. After all, she'd gotten up on the table first. But he didn't want to think about that right now. The last thing he needed was to fall for a girl who was trying to win a prom date with Brad Faraday. "So... looks like things are going well..." Xan began, after a long stretch of silence. "Yeah," Keely responded quietly. She looked up at him. "Is Olivia your girlfriend?" Xan stared at her, taken aback. He wasn't used to girls being so blunt, but then, that was Keely. It was one of the things he liked about being around her. She's jealous, a voice in the back of his mind whispered, but he ignored it. Deep down inside he'd like to believe that frown was because she was jealous, but that was ridiculous. Why would Keely ask him to help her get a date with someone else, then? Stop overanalyzing things, Xan scolded himself. You already know that that gets you nowhere. "Once, a long time ago," Xan answered hesitantly. He was unsure how much to tell her, but he also didn't think Keely would appreciate it if he lied. "I mean, she sort of was... but..." "You slept together," Keely finished for him, her voice matter-of-fact. "Do you still?" That's none of her business, Xan thought. Still, he answered her. "Occasionally..." "Did you yesterday?" Keely asked. That was really, really none of her business. He couldn't believe she was even asking him. She has to be jealous, Xan thought. Why else would she be asking? But Keely was off limits, he had to remember that. Especially because of this whole thing with Brad. There was no telling what would happen afterward, of course. Actually, there was: if he lied to her now, she'd never fully trust him. Looking into her eyes, he knew Keely was looking for something, and not something to condemn him to the reputation others had given him. Xan had a feeling she didn't really believe what was said about him, and that made him want her trust. "Yes," he said finally. "There's nothing romantic between us... it's just that Olivia has been there for me through a lot. It's..." "It must be nice," Keely said, when he ground to a halt. "To have someone there for you, I mean." She looked at him again, and her smile was back. The shy one that he liked so much. "Thanks for being honest." A call from one of the doors that led back into the school caught their attention. Xan looked around to see Mardea standing there, waving to Keely. Keely waved back, then leaned over and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before springing off the picnic table. She has got to be the strangest girl I've ever met, he thought, staring after her. What the heck was that all about, anyway? He lifted a hand to touch the spot on his cheek that her lips had brushed, then shook his head. Xan was certain of only one thing: he really had bitten off more than he could chew. ------- Olivia must have been used to guests, because she didn't hesitate to buzz Keely up, even though she couldn't have known who it was. And she wasn't expecting Xan, either, because he was at work. Keely had made sure of that before calling Mardea for a ride; she needed to talk to Olivia alone. There had been something about the way Xan had spoken today, something she couldn't quite put her finger on. And he was so honest with me, she thought, as she raised her hand to knock. I had no right to ask him any of that, I know. But I'm glad he was honest. Olivia was only startled to see her for about half a minute. Then she smiled, a smile that lit up her whole face and made her look radiant, even if it wasn't sincere. Although they'd managed a true, Keely still wasn't sure she liked Olivia, and she knew the feeling was mutual. Still, Olivia invited her in, and didn't even flinch when she took a seat on the couch. They ended up sitting next to each other, although Keely scooted over when Olivia lit up a cigarette. She hated cigarettes. "Don't tell Xan," Olivia said, smiling guiltily. "He thinks I only smoke when I'm upset." She ashed the cigarette, took another drag, and went on. "I'll make you a deal, in fact. You don't tell Xan about this, and I won't tell him you came here to ask me questions about him." Keely blinked at her. "How did you know?" she asked. There was really no use denying it, after all. "Oh please!" Olivia flicked her cigarette again. "He might be oblivious, but I see the way you look when he's around. And I know that you care more about being around him than about winning some stupid bet." Keely looked away, blushing. At lunch, on the picnic table, she'd almost lost her nerve. She'd almost decided to just forget about her questions and enjoy having him so close. There was always the faint scent of some sort of wood on him; cedar, oak, pine... she wondered if he ever did any kind of construction work or something. She would have been content, sitting there with him, but she had to know if she stood a chance in hell against someone as beautiful as Olivia. Keely didn't think anyone except for perhaps someone like Mardea could hold a candle to this woman. So she explained—leaving out the part about Olivia being beautiful—what had been on her mind, and what she'd asked Xan about. Olivia's perfect eyebrows rose when she told her about asking him if the two of them had slept together yesterday. I know I shouldn't have, Keely thought, glancing away, but I couldn't stop myself. God, what she would have given to have been Olivia yesterday. Which was kind of a frightening thought, because she didn't usually think that way about guys; most of them were just dull and uninteresting. "Wow," Olivia said, when she had finished. She sat back and let her burnt out cigarette drop into the ashtray. "This is more serious than I thought." Keely looked at her, alarmed. "What?" "Well, if you didn't mean anything to him, he would have just told you that it was none of your business," Olivia explained. "To be that honest... you must be really special to him." "Oh." Keely tried to keep herself from grinning like an idiot. "I was glad he told me the truth, actually. I know a lot of girls who would get angry at him, but... I have no right to be angry. It's not like he's made me any kind of promises... or like he even knows I exist." She sighed; there she went, feeling sorry for herself again. It was very uncharacteristic for her. Keely was by nature happy-go-lucky, even when people were calling her Dork-Girl or making fun of her weight. Those just seemed like such trivial things to get upset over. Xan wasn't trivial to her, though. You never forgot the first time someone reached out a hand to you, or said a kind word. He's different from the others, she thought. He's honest and interesting... I'm not dead bored when I'm around him. Unlike Brad Faraday, who'd nearly bored her to death in the three minutes it took for him to walk her to her locker. "He knows," Olivia said, startling her from her thoughts. "Look... if you want him, you've got to learn how to get close to him." "Like... sex?" Keely asked, looking up at her. Olivia shook her head. "With Xan, most of the time it's more innocent than sex," she said. "He likes the physical closeness... the feeling of protecting and being protected. But I don't think he realizes just how much. That's why, if you get him comfortable with your closeness, he'll come to really appreciate you presence. And when he does need sex..." "Let's not jump the gun here," Keely said, feeling indignant. "Who says I'm just going to sleep with him?" "Oh, you will." Olivia leaned forward, her eyes alight and almost wicked. "There'll come a day when you'll look up into those green eyes, and see how much he wants you and needs you. And you'll say yes. You know why?" Keely just shook her head. Her mouth had gone dry as dust. "Because he's quiet and gentle," Olivia said, her voice low. "He's unassuming, he never expects or demands anything. Xan will never try to force you or coerce you, he'll just be so obviously happy to have you near him that saying 'no' will never cross your mind." Keely couldn't help thinking that Olivia was right. She'd gotten the impression from her yesterday that for her, once it was over, it was over. And yet she kept welcoming Xan back, even though she gave a very strong impression—most of the time—that she didn't think of him as more than just a friend. There's just something about him, Keely thought, resting her head in her hands. He really is so gentle... even this morning, when we were pretending... They were playing around, and she hadn't felt for a moment that he would take it any further than she was comfortable with. Now, the problem was, was that a good thing or a bad thing? ------- Xan shook back his wet hair, ran his fingers through it, and then gave up. He knew it was no good trying. Olivia will be happy that I took a shower before coming to visit, he thought, smiling to himself. She hates it when I smell like mechanic. She always had. Right now, even though the very thought set him on edge, he wanted to tell her just what a great job she'd done with Keely. Somehow the girl looked different and yet still herself. Xan had always known there was an even cuter kitten beneath the scrappy little tomcat she came across as, and Olivia had really brought that out. His knock wasn't answered immediately, which meant that Olivia was probably putting out a cigarette. Because she had clients—doing the same thing she'd done for Keely, only for money—and many of them visited her apartment, she was usually ready for the buzzer or a knock. Why she was smoking now was a mystery, but when the door opened he heard her speaking, talking over her shoulder to somebody who was sitting on her couch. "I think you should try contacts. It would make it easier to see those eyes of yours." She turned to face him, and her eyebrows rose slightly. "Why, hello, Xan. Just entertaining a friend of ours..." "Ours?" Xan looked past her, to see Keely springing up off the couch. "Just came for a little more advice," Olivia said mysteriously. "I imagine she could use a ride home, couldn't you, Keely?" Keely, who was hopping around on one foot, trying to get her sneakers on, glanced up. "Oh, it's okay... I was just going to call Mardea..." "Xan, take the little kitty home," Olivia said, ignoring Keely's response. "And get something to eat on the way home. I've kept the poor thing here all afternoon with only a glass of water or two." Xan stared at Olivia in surprise. Yesterday he'd gotten the impression that she hadn't liked Keely very much; now she seemed to be telling him—not so subtly—that he should go for it. At first he had no clue what to say, and just stood there rooted to the spot as Keely finished pulling on her sneakers, then sidled past him. He felt the brush of her breast against his arm, and immediately gave himself a mental kick for acting like a twelve-year-old who'd just discovered boobs and masturbation. Why am I even noticing these things!? Xan wondered, doing his best to hide his exasperation. "Go wait by my bike," Xan told Keely, forcing himself to smile. "I just need to say a few words to our friend here." As she bounced away, looking cheerier, he turned back to Olivia. "Is there something I should know?" "I like her," Olivia said, shrugging. "She's a complete oddball, but she's a sweet, genuine complete oddball. And yes, I know I did a spectacular job. Now get going." She gave him a shove, grinning at him. Knowing he was even more defeated by her than by his hair, Xan turned and left. He found Keely waiting for him, her helmet already on, the visor pushed up so he could see her grin. He gave her a playful swat, and she danced away, just barely avoiding him. In minutes the two of them were on his bike, heading down the road. Keely's arms were tight around him, her body warming his, and he decided her might as well just enjoy it for the moment. Since he had no doubt that Olivia had been telling the truth about the water thing, Xan headed to the pizza place that Keely had taken him to. Just like the last time, she bounded off for the magazine stand, and he was left to order their food. Figuring what they'd had last time was a safe bet, he ordered and then sat down, waiting for her to come back. Within a few moments she came dashing into the pizza place, carrying another stack of magazines in her arms. This time, much to Xan's surprise, she slid into the booth next to him, ending up pressed against her side. He could only look down at her, startled, as she slapped the magazines down on the table. "Okay, I've always wanted a guy's opinion on this," Keely said, grabbing a magazine from the top of the stack. It was a People magazine proclaiming the best and worst outfits of the year. "I don't know how much help I'll be on this," Xan hedged, still feeling uncertain with her pressed so close. Suddenly he wondered just what kind of advice Olivia had been giving her. "It's easy," Keely said, opening the magazine to a two page spread. "Look... Sarah Jessica Parker... she always wear the same thing! Tea length dresses with wide skirts... and I think she looks terrible!" "I um... well, it's not exactly the most enticing style I've ever seen..." Xan said, trying not to commit to an opinion in this. He really had no clue what she was talking about. "But all the magazines think she looks so great," Keely went on, with a great amount of enthusiasm. "But I don't! Is it me? Am I just crazy?" Xan gazed down at her. "You're just crazy." Keely gazed back, unblinking, then started to laugh. She gave him a sharp poke in the arm, which he returned in the shape of tweaking her nose. Xan would never have considered looking at magazines to be fun, but there was something entertaining about sitting there with her, eating pizza and staring in amazement at some of the things people wore. She kept him smiling the whole time, except for when he had to stop her from choking on a piece of pizza; he'd pointed out a few actresses and said they should just wrap up their pizza and send it to those poor girls, which had made her laugh until there were tears in her eyes. Must be a girl thing, Xan thought, but even though he wasn't quite sure he got the joke, he was grinning all the same. ------- Chapter 5: Getting to Know Keely It felt like those pink shutters were mocking him. Xan stood at the front door of Keely's house, trying to get up the nerve to knock. She'd assured him that her parents would be there to let him in; which, he hadn't gotten the chance to inform her, wasn't actually reassuring. He couldn't imagine why she wanted him to go to her, either. Xan had told her that he'd pick her up, if she really needed to talk to him. Keely had insisted that she couldn't, though. And she didn't seem to want to tell him why she couldn't. He would much rather have just taken her somewhere else—the pizza place, maybe—and talked with her. I suppose fair's fair, Xan thought, finally knocking on the door. After all, I still haven't told her where I live. He was a little surprised that Olivia hadn't spilled the beans. Then again, maybe she had, and Keely just hadn't said anything about it. That would be just like her, waiting for a particularly awkward moment to spring it on him. The thing was, Xan knew she wouldn't be angry with him for it. Keely didn't get angry about things like that. In fact, she didn't get angry about too much of anything; most things were too trivial to waste the effort, she said. "Can I help you?" The door had swung open, revealing a small, plump woman with hair the same strawberry blonde as Keely's, but with much less luster and life. She wore a pair of ratty gray sweatpants and an over-sized t-shirt, and she was holding an open package of Twinkies. Yikes, Xan thought, trying not to let his surprise show on his face. Does Keely know her mother answers the door like this? Keely always gave him the impression of being naturally chubby, but this woman had the look of someone who just ate too much. She was eyeing him suspiciously, and he couldn't help wondering if Keely's family wasn't quite as friendly and outgoing as she was. "I, um... I'm here to see Keely," Xan explained haltingly. "My name is Xan Dayton... I'm a friend of hers. Maybe she told you..." The woman continued to stare at him. "Well, I'll be damned," she said. She looked back over her shoulder, into the house. "Patrick! You'll never believe this! There's a boy here to see Keely! A boy!" The incredulous expression on the face of Keely's mother—who else could she be?—was disconcerting. She didn't look happy, just disbelieving. A man appeared behind her, tall and thin, with Keely's magnificent blue eyes and dark hair that looked like he ran his fingers through it far too often. There were dark circles under his eyes and his face was pale. He, too, looked surprised to see Xan. Unlike his wife, though, a hint of a smile tugged at his weary features. The expression in his eyes was kind, and some of the exhaustion faded from them. "What a surprise," Keely's father said, in a quiet, soothing voice that was slightly hoarse, probably from lack of sleep. "I was under the impression that my darling daughter found the male of the species in general to be rather uninteresting. Please, come in." "I thought the problem was that they found her uninteresting," Keely's mother sniffed, as her husband took her by the arm and pulled her away from the door. "Men! Don't know a good thing when it's right in front of their face..." "Keely's in her room," her father said, nodding towards the stairs. "Go on up." Please, his eyes seemed to say. Xan nodded and headed straight for the stairs, ignoring his surroundings. The house, at least, seemed relatively clean, although he doubted that had anything to do with the mother. Keely's never mentioned anything like that, he thought, frowning. She doesn't even act in the slightest like there's something wrong at home. He'd gotten the impression that his little kitten had a loving family like something out of The Cosby Show. Apparently he'd been wrong. Not your kitten, Xan reminded himself, as he knocked on her door. Absolutely not. Keely called for him to come in, and he pushed the door open slowly. The first thing he saw was Keely sitting on the floor in front of her bed, reading a magazine and painting her toes lilac to match her fingernails. It was a very subdued color for her, but then again, he was pretty sure he'd seen it on Olivia before, so he could guess where it came from. Keely looked up at him and smiled as he stepped in. Xan took a look around and found himself fascinated. Who knew what color the walls were, because they were covered with posters (mostly cats and penguins), pictures, some in frames and some just tacked up, magazine and newspaper clippings, and a variety of things he didn't quite recognize. Little glass penguins sat on top of one of her dressers, and stuffed ones were perched on bookshelves. A shelf built into the wall held glimmering crystal cat figures that looked like they came from a set. There were magazines and books strewn on the floor and the bed. The bedspread was blue camouflage, the carpet was rosy pink, and the cushion on a plush reading chair in the corner was dark green. It was a very Keely-ish hodgepodge. "Nice penguin," Xan said, pointing to a squashy looking penguin with earmuffs and a bowtie, that was sitting on her bed. Keely looked up at him and frowned. "Do not," she said, in a dignified voice, "mock Mr. Squish." "Mr... Squish?" Xan stared at her. "That's his name," Keely explained, capping her nail polish and leaning back against the bed. "Actually, it's Sir Squish Percival de Penguin the Third, but he prefers to be called Mr. Squish for short." Xan continued to stare at him. She gazed up at him, her blue eyes so serious that he couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing. In fact, he was laughing so hard that he had to sit down on the bed. Keely rolled her eyes at him and began tidying up the space around her, putting bottles of nail polish, files, clippers, a bunch of things he didn't recognize, and the little foam things holding her toes apart, into a shoebox. My god, Xan thought, pressing a hand against his ribs. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard. She was so adorable; he found himself squashing the fierce desire to scoop her into his lap and cuddle her close. "If you're quite done making fun of Mr. Squish," Keely said, in that same dignified tone of voice, "I'd like to ask you something." "What kind of something?" Xan wanted to know. He would have liked to just curl up on her bed at the moment; everything here smelled like her, and it was oddly soothing. "You said you could play guitar," Keely said, turning partially to look at him. "Would you play for me sometime?" Xan found himself staring again. "You couldn't ask me that on the phone?" Keely scrambled up onto her bed, being careful of her freshly painted toes. She'd discarded the jeans Olivia had made her buy for her old, torn ones, and she had on a long-sleeved Metallica shirt. Her hair, which had nearly faded back to its original color, was pulled into some crazy, twisty hair gizmo the likes of which he'd never seen before. Xan looked into her eyes, and found her expression to be completely serious, with not even a hint of her usual sense of humor. She laid back on the bed and stretched out, apparently unbothered by his presence next to her. He was definitely bothered. Even though her clothing was big on her, he could still see the shape of her body, especially with her stretched out like that. Xan looked away, so he couldn't see the curve of her breasts between the worn-out cotton t-shirt. God, what is wrong with me? he wondered. This is even worse than when I first met Olivia. He'd wanted Olivia because he was a fifteen-year-old boy and she was his wet dreams come to life. With Keely it was something different. He couldn't define what it was about her that made her so desirable. "Isn't your music personal to you?" Keely asked, and he looked back at her. "It usually is, to musicians. It seemed to me that I should ask you in person, because over the phone just didn't seem... right. And if I waited until Monday, I might have forgotten." "Well..." Xan paused. She was right, in a way; his music was personal. "Well, I won't make any promises... but maybe someday..." "Someday?" Keely pouted. "But that could be years! What about the keyboard?" Xan raised his eyebrows. "I thought you knew it was personal." "Well... yes," Keely said, sighing. "It's just... I've never known anyone before who can play even one instrument. And I bet you play really well." Xan gazed down at her. He found himself riveted by her eyes, so blue and full of curiosity and laughter. Now, though, they were solemn and serious; never had such words sounded so genuine to him before. He forced his eyes away from hers, and found himself staring instead at her lips, which were slightly parted. She had such a sweet-looking mouth. Xan would very much like to know if kissing her would taste as sweet as it looked like it would. "What?" Keely asked, when he'd been staring for too long. Xan shook his head. "Nothing," he told her. God, he needed to go home and see Olivia, before he lost control of himself and did something really stupid. He forced himself to look away again, and stared instead at the walls. "So, you really like penguins, huh? And cats..." "Yeah." Keely sat up. "I've wanted a cat since I was little, actually. But my mom doesn't like them, so I can't get one." As Keely rose from the bed, Xan studied her. For the first time in a long time he thought he saw sadness in her. I don't like her mother one bit, he decided. The way she acted when she heard I was here for Keely... and the things she said... Poor kitten. He would have liked very much to wrap his arms around her and make that smile come back to her face, but he knew better. Keely was fast becoming a good friend. She was funny and laidback, so easy to get along with. The last thing Xan wanted to do was spoil that. He just needed to get a handle on his lust and everything would be just fine. ------- Keely slammed her locker shut and turned, only to find Brad Faraday looming over her. For the past week he'd been coming to her locker every day, sometimes offering to walk her to it. He'd been so friendly that she thought he should win an award for his acting. She'd played her own part well, acting like a girl who was disappointed in the guy she was with, but was reluctant to admit it. I could never be disappointed in Xan, Keely thought, looking up at Brad. He's not the type of guy who disappoints. So long as she didn't get her foolish hopes up, that was. Xan would never do anything to deliberately hurt her, she knew, but she could end up hurt all the same. Attention from Brad, and her new and improved wardrobe, was getting her in a sticky situation with the popular girls in school. The smiled so sweetly, and seemed so friendly, but when no guy was around to witness, they quietly warned her off, threatening to "destroy" her, whatever that meant. Keely wished Brad would just go away right now, but she knew that was unlikely to happen. He'd made himself very hard to get rid of, and he kept giving her cryptic warnings about Xan. Sometimes he was followed by his entourage of girls and jocks, which made her want to climb into her locker and hide. Too bad they'd begun making the damn things half the size. "Well, there you are," Brad said, with that smile that charmed even cranky old Ms. Felix, the English teacher. Where else would I be? Keely wondered. Out loud she said, "Yep, here I am. And here I go... to class." "Let me walk you," Brad said, even though they didn't have a class together. "You know, you're looking really cute today." Oh, god, spare me, Keely thought, resisting the urge to make loud gagging sounds. Instead she glanced up at him and then away, quickly, dropping her head and smiling shyly, as if she couldn't believe he'd given her such a compliment. Xan, who'd seen her with Brad quite a few times now, said she was far too good at manipulating men. Unfortunately, the only man she actually wanted to manipulate seem to think of her as one of the guys. Well, okay, manipulate isn't the right term for it, Keely thought, paying not a wit of attention to Brad. But I'd much rather hear that I'm looking cute from Xan than from this moron. Keely almost ran into someone, she was so distracted. Hands grabbed her shoulders, and she founding herself looking up into a pair of startled brown eyes. She jerked away and looked up—way up—and the guy he'd ran into. With shaggy, sandy blonde hair that was long enough to be pulled into a very short ponytail, Sean Lawrence was generally considered the oddball of the jock crowd. He was a friend of Brad's, since they were both on the basketball team, and he was Keely's lab partner in Biology. She actually liked Sean; he was soft-spoken, polite, and intelligent. With him as her partner she'd never had to worry about doing the work all by herself. "Hey, man," Brad said, in very typical high school guy greeting. "Just dropping off Keely here. She's got class." "I see." Sean smiled, and Keely thought he was biting back a 'Well, duh!'. "Well, I've got Spanish. See ya later, McKenzie." And with that he ruffled Keely's hair and walked off. "Jerk!" Brad called after him. "Is that any way to treat your captain?" Keely stifled a giggle as Sean simply waved, not even looking back over his shoulder. Brad scowled after him, and she used that moment of distraction to slip into the classroom, leaving him behind. At least, for a little while. There was only one thing she loathed more than algebra, and that was having Brad Faraday walk her to her locker and classes. This whole thing is stupid, Keely thought, as she stepped out of the classroom again almost an hour later, her head aching from math problems, and ran into Brad again. I should just drop out of this damn bet. It isn't worth this. But if she wasn't trying to win the bet, she wouldn't be spending all that time with Xan, either. In fact, they passed Xan on their way to Keely's next class. She paused when she saw him standing there by his locker, watching them. Much to her surprise—not to mention disgust—Brad put an arm around her shoulders and began leading her away, grinning smugly over his shoulder at Xan. For a moment Keely forgot that she was supposed to be pretending to have a thing for Brad. She looked back over her should at Xan. The expression in his gray-green eyes made it hard for her to resist the urge to shove Brad away and go to him. He looks sad, she thought, looking forward again as Brad steered her around a corner. And lonely... Maybe she'd be able to cheer him up later, when she got a chance. ------- Xan was staring morosely at the contents of his near empty fridge when someone knocked on his door. Who the hell is that? he wondered, straightening and turning to look at the door. His rent wasn't overdue, so it wasn't the landlord. And Olivia was supposed to be going out right about now. Besides, she almost never came up to his apartment, unless she was in the mood and didn't have a date, which was rare. Usually when Xan was in need of her, it was her apartment or bust. Still, he doubted it could be anyone else, so he went to answer the door, completely unprepared to find Keely waiting for him instead. His first reaction was panic. For one thing, he'd never told Keely where he lived, and now that she knew, he wondered if she would indeed be angry. Maybe she wouldn't have before, but after this afternoon, Xan wouldn't even blame her. It had become their habit, in the short time they'd been working on this whole bet thing, to grab something to eat after school, before he had to go to work. They'd sit around and talk, and sometimes flip through magazines. Today Xan had just dropped her off at home, saying he needed to get to work early, but he was pretty sure he hadn't been very convincing. But Keely wasn't angry. On the contrary, she smiled when he answered the door, a smile that seemed to light up his dim apartment. In her arms she held a gigantic brown paper bag that, based on the smell, had Chinese food in it; a lot of Chinese food. Hanging from her wrist was a smaller plastic bag, and he was pretty sure it held DVDs. Xan immediately reached out and took the bag from her, since it was obvious she was having trouble with it. Keely gave him a grin of thanks and stepped into his apartment, politely closing the door behind herself. "I hope you don't mind," she said cheerfully. "I figured since you didn't have time earlier, I'd just come and visit you." "Oh," Xan said, staring at her blankly. Lovely. Now he felt like an even bigger heel. "Well, I uh... I mean, that sounds great." "I brought Chinese food," Keely told him. "I don't have a clue what you like, so I just ordered a bunch of stuff." And here he'd been so sore because she'd been hanging around Brad so much. Okay, so that was their goal, but Xan had gotten so used to her presence already. I'm getting greedy, he thought, smiling at her. She was still wearing the jeans from earlier today, but she'd pulled on a large, worn sweatshirt that looked really comfortable and snugly. Much to his amusement, she was also wearing a pair of slippers, rather than sneakers. Xan handed her back the bag of Chinese food and pointed in the direction of his bedroom, then went to get plates, utensils, and something to drink. His T.V. and DVD player were both in his room, since he hardly ever had enough people over to justify a full living room setup. When he came into his room, he wasn't surprised to see Keely kneeling on the floor, inspecting the chest at the foot of his bed. Anything wooden in his room, including the bed frame, his night tables, the bookshelves, and the dresser he used for his clothes, had been made by him. Most of it was simple, but the chest and the bed frame were both decorated. The chest in particular was a piece of work he was exceptionally proud of. Vines ran around the edges, with huge leaves dripping from them. Carefully carved birds winged across the top. At the front, on the side, was a pack of wolves, the alpha male sitting in the center, higher than the others. On the sides and back other animals hid within the jungle of vines and leaves, a buck and a deer on slender legs, several furry-faced monkeys, sluggish sloths, and numerous others. It had taken Xan months to carve them all; every single one was in raised relief. "This is beautiful," Keely murmured, running her fingertips along the vines. "Where did you get it?" "I, um..." Xan actually felt himself flush. "I made it, actually." Keely looked up at him, her eyes wide. "Really?" "Yeah," Xan answered, shrugging. "Everything in here... the wooden stuff, at least. I made it. Even the carvings." It was as if she simply couldn't take in the room fast enough. Suddenly his simple furniture seemed far from simple, he knew. Only the chest was carved so decoratively, but everything was well-made and elegant. Keely stood and reached out, touching the footboard of the bed. She turned a full circle, taking in the dark wood bookshelves, and the occasional freestanding carving, usually of some animal or other. Finally she turned back to him, grinning, her blue eyes shining with astonishment and admiration. "I don't even know what to say," Keely admitted. Xan grinned at her. "There's a first." "Oh, hush!" She stuck her tongue out at him, then started to laugh. "Okay, so are we really going to eat in here? I mean, all this stuff is so beautiful..." "It's just some Chinese food," Xan said. "Here, set up and I'll go get some towels or something. Just in case." He went to the bathroom and grabbed a few old towels from the closet to spread out on his bed. When he returned he found Keely pulled cartons and containers from the brown paper bag, her eyes straying around the room. Xan usually didn't tell people that the work was his. Olivia knew, but he never told any of the girls he brought home with him. Granted, it had been a while now since he'd actually brought a girl home. Keely was the closest he'd come, and she'd more or less brought herself. She'd like to have something like that, I'm sure, Xan thought, watching her reach out and stroke her fingers longingly along the chest. Normally he didn't make too many things for other people—Olivia had a small dolphin he'd carved years ago and it was the only piece she had—but he could thing of a number of things he could make for Keely. Xan had to reassure her several times that the wood was well protected before she'd put the containers of food on the chest—and even then, there was a towel over it. Sure, he'd made it to be beautiful, but he wanted it to be useful as well. And he kind of liked the idea of curling up on his bed with her without having to get up for more food. Keely really had bought all kinds of different things. It looked like she'd ordered one of everything on the menu. Soon they were stretched out on the bed, eating and watching a movie called 'The Beautician and the Beast' (something he'd never normally watch, but of the half dozen different selections it seemed the most interesting one). Keely hadn't known what kind of movie he liked, either, so she'd gotten a bunch of different ones. Actually, Xan found it was a pretty amusing movie, as far as that sort of thing went. And he could enjoy anything with Keely's hip pressed up against his thigh like that. She supported herself with one elbow, using chopsticks to pick the noodles out of a carton of Beef Lo Mein until finally letting out a frustrated sigh and using her fingers. "I take it you don't like the rest of that stuff," Xan said, smiling. Keely looked at him, her fingers at her mouth, greasy from the noodles. "I... um..." she stammered, her eyes wide. "Well, I..." "Not to worry," Xan assured her, as he reached over and plucked a noodle from the carton with his fingers. "Works better like this anyway." "Yeah." Keely giggled. "Hey... I was wondering... it's Shauna's birthday next Saturday... usually it's just the girls, but I thought... well, would you like to come?" Xan looked at her, his eyebrows raised. "Well... if it's only supposed to be the girls... I wouldn't want to get in the way." "You wouldn't be in the way," Keely assured him. "And well... I thought maybe you could bring your guitar. I mean... I know it's probably a lot sooner someday than you originally planned, but..." Xan stared at her. She looked down at the bedspread, fiddling with a noodle and looking anxious. For a moment he wondered if that was the reason she'd come here with the food and the movies, but he couldn't imagine that of Keely. She seemed worried that he was going to get angry with her. Oh, hell, he thought, sighing. I should tell her no. There was a lot of things he could tell her. Like, for example, that shouldn't they be working on winning her bet, not hanging around watching Fran Dresher movies? But Xan would much rather she was hanging around with him than with Brad. "I'll think about it," Xan told her. He drew back a bit, because she looked like she was about to jump on him. "No promises... but I will think about it." ------- Chapter 6: Shauna's Birthday Xan slouched on a kitchen chair, propping his head up with one hand. Occasionally he glanced up from the article he was musing over to watch Keely as she worked. It was only stirring pasta and cutting vegetables, but it was interesting to see her actually cooking. While she was busy running carrots under the faucet, he reached over and snagged a cheese and garlic crouton from the bag sitting on the table. Until about forty-five minutes ago, Xan had never even heard of cheese and garlic croutons. As it turned out, they were, as Keely had said herself, one of the most awesome things on the face of the planet. In fact, Keely had insisted that everything she'd picked out was the most awesome-on-the-face-of-the-planet of its kind. Never before had Xan heard of butter lettuce, or the brand of pasta she was making, but she assured him he was in for a treat. As far as he was concerned, so long as her parents—most especially her mother—stayed away as they were supposed to, the whole night should be a treat. He'd finally gotten a chance to talk to Mardea about keeping an eye on Brad, and she'd taken the time to inform him that he'd be privy to something only Keely's closest friends had ever experienced. Whatever that was supposed to mean. "Fascinating," Xan said, as Keely turned the faucet off. He was reading her latest issue of Cosmo. "I wonder what my tattoo says about me... they don't cover it here..." Keely turned to look at him, her eyebrows raised. "You have a tattoo?" she asked, her eyes widening in her usual kittenish curiosity. "Where?" "Don't forget to stir the ziti," Xan said, pointing at the pot on the stove. "And I'm not going to tell you. Honestly... do the people who write this stuff actually believe it?" "One would assume," Keely answered, tending to the pasta. "I mean, some of it makes an awful lot of sense..." "True," Xan agreed. "And some of it is the biggest bullshit I've ever read." She gave him an exasperated look that made him grin, then went back to the salad. She looks cute, Xan thought, studying her as she worked. Keely had taken to wearing her good jeans even at home. Today she was wearing just a simple black t-shirt, and beneath it one of her beloved thermal shirts; this one pink with zebra stripes. She wasn't wearing any shoes, and her socks were also pink, except they were decorated with fat, bowtied penguins instead of zebra stripes. Silly as it was, it had to be Xan's favorite outfit yet. It was a perfect mesh of the old, scraggly kitten, and the new, sleeker one. At that moment the doorbell rang, much to his relief. He found himself wondering if either her bra or panties matched her socks—or perhaps her thermal—and that was not a good thing to be thinking about. Although, really, Xan thought, as he rose to get the door, it's hard not to be curious. How could anyone not be curious about those ridiculous socks? Shaking his head, he pulled the door open, comforted by the knowledge that Keely's parents wouldn't have to ring the bell. It was bad enough that he was contemplating her underwear, without her parents turning up. Now that's impressive, Xan thought, staring at Shauna as she and the others filed in. Even in a pair of sweatpants and a hooded sweatshirt, she still looked like the Queen of the Damned. Right down to the "Bite Me" on the seat of her sweatpants. Bridget was also wearing sweatpants, although she looked frumpy in them. She was wearing her usual scowl, too. Mardea wore a bright orange tube dress with a handkerchief hem; looking at her, you'd think she was going out clubbing, not hanging around with her friends. You gotta give them all one thing, Xan thought, following them into the kitchen. They're all consistent. "Yes!" Shauna cheered, bouncing across the kitchen to give Keely a hug. "I knew you'd make what I wanted." "Well, duh," Keely said, nudging her away. "What's got you so damned cheery?" Shauna rolled her eyes. "It's my birthday! Duh!" "She's just thrilled about her present," Mardea said, grinning. "If it weren't for birthdays, we'd never get to hear it. So..." Here she paused and turned to Xan, planting her hands on her hips; suddenly he realized where Keely got that mannerism from. "Did she convince you to bring your guitar?" "She did," Xan answered. "Although she still won't tell me what it's for. And I'm betting that you won't, either." Mardea's dark eyes sparkled and she shook her head, sending her braids bouncing wildly. Well, that figured. Xan dropped back into the chair he'd been occupying earlier and stared down at the magazine. He wondered what the experts would say about him spending his evening with a bunch of girls. I suppose it's brownie points for me, he thought, that I'm not drooling over the tall, thin, leggy one who looks great in a mini dress. Xan realized that he fit right in here, with four of the weirdest girls in school. After all, he found those ridiculous penguin socks much sexier than that mini dress. ------- Keely sat on the chair with her legs tucked up to her chest, picking the chocolate coating off her Dove Bar. She listened to her friends chattering away, grinning whenever Xan stuck in a comment of his own. When he was around other people he rarely spoke unless he had something to say, but as he began to relax, his good humor and quiet, gentle personality showed through. Although she wouldn't have called him 'one of the girls', he didn't seem at all uncomfortable. He sat between Bridget and Mardea, and every time Keely glanced at him he was leaning forward or slightly to the side, physically putting himself between the two girls, who had started off the evening on the wrong foot. That was pretty typical of them, actually. Bridget complained that Mardea wore skimpy clothes all the time, to show off the fact that she could eat like a pig and still be skinny. To which Dea, who'd always been low on tolerance when it came to Bridget's complaining, would smile sweetly and say that she, unfortunately, was not a genius, and had only her looks to make her way in the world with. Keely knew Dea too well to believe any of that; she just said it to irritate Bridget. Mardea dressed in what she wanted to wear, regardless of what anyone else though of it, and she wasn't about to change because of Bridget's whining. And Keely, who was closest to Mardea, knew that her friend struggled with an unnaturally fast metabolism—which was apparently no more of a picnic than being overweight. "Keely," Xan said suddenly, startling her from her thoughts, "what are you doing?" Keely knew exactly what he was talking about. "Eating my ice cream," she said, flicking away another piece of chocolate shell. "The chocolate is too rich for me." "Keely has an inability to eat without being disgusting," Bridget explained, rolling her eyes. "That's not true!" Keely frowned at Bridget. "I'm just quirky, is all." Across the table, Xan grinned. "Keely just has an inability to eat with inhibitions." He didn't seem disgusted by it, though. In fact, he never did. Keely never felt uncomfortable eating in front of him, which was kind of odd, when she thought about it too much. The only one of them who wasn't completely at ease around him was Bridget, who'd nibbled at her salad and pasta, and refused to eat any ice cream. She kept throwing Mardea dirty looks. Xan's become like a human Great Wall of China, Keely thought, nibbling at the end of her popsicle stick. Better him than me, though. He'd taken up the position of silent referee without having to be asked. "Okay, so I think Keely should give me my present now," Shauna said. She tossed her popsicle stick in the waste bin, then turned and grinned at Keely. "Please?" Keely sighed. "You're not going to give me peace and quiet until I do it, are you?" Shauna grinned at her. Resigned to fate, Keely rose and started clearing the dishes from the table. Xan helped her, quiet the whole time, but he kept glancing at her questioningly. I hope he doesn't get angry at me, she thought, staring down into the sink as she rinsed the dishes off. I guess I kind of wanted it to be a surprise... She left the dishes to soak, then followed her friends into the living room. Shauna was already sitting on the couch, looking far more angelic than she really was. Xan picked up the case of his guitar and sat down in an armchair. It was an acoustic, and Keely couldn't help wondering if he'd made it himself. He seemed to be in his own little world as he tuned the guitar. Lucky guitar, Keely thought grumpily, watching the tender way he strummed the strings with his fingertips. Looking up, she caught Mardea's eye. Dea grinned, a slow, wicked smile that changed quickly to surprise as the doorbell ran. Xan jumped and looked up, smiling sheepishly. Who the hell is that? Keely wondered, springing out of the chair to answer the door. She thought for a moment that her eyes were playing tricks on her when she opened the door to find Sean Lawrence holding up a rather drunk Brad Faraday. Sean, at least, looked apologetic, and more than a little embarrassed. Brad, however, caught sight of Xan and immediately pushed Sean away, drawing himself up. Oh, for crying out loud, Keely thought, as Xan set his guitar aside and rose to his feet. She took a step back and Brad took the as an invitation. He barged in, and Sean, looking like he wished the floor would open up and swallow him, followed. "Jesus, Dayton," Brad said, his voice slurred. "What do you call this, your emasculating party?" "Oh, I don't know," Xan said, folding his arms across his chest. "I'm the one spending the evening with four lovely young women while you're hanging out with Sean." He paused, glanced at Sean, and shrugged. "No offense, man." "None taken, I assure you," Sean said. He shook back his hair, which was coming loose from his ponytail. "Hell, I'm more than willing to trade." Brad rolled his eyes. "Stop being such a sissy, Sean," he grumbled. He took another stumbling step forward, towards Keely, and she backpedaled, nearly crashing into Xan. "Let me just do what I came here to do, and then we can go back to partying." "Why don't we just go back?" Sean suggested. "As I said before, I'm pretty sure that Keely is seeing Xan." Don't I wish, Keely thought. She glanced up at Xan, but his face was expressionless. Come on, damnit, she thought, biting her lip. I am trying to believe in fairy tales here, so tell him to screw off and leave your girl alone already! Ha, now that was wishful thinking. Maybe the heavy scent of alcohol coming off of Brad was making her insane. Still, Keely felt a little safer with Xan near her. She didn't like Drunken Brad. If it weren't for Sean, who seemed relatively capable of keeping him under control, she might have threatened to call the police. "Well, I don't think so," Brad said, his gaze focused on Keely. "He's not taking you to the prom, is he?" When pigs fly, apparently, Keely thought. She smiled faintly and shrugged. "No..." she said quietly. "Ha!" Brad shot a smug look at Xan. "I knew it. Which is why I came over here to ask you to go with me." He was such an asshole. Keely stood there for a long moment, chewing on the inside of her lip, trying not to tell him just that. He was so sure that she would fall all over herself to go to the prom with him. No, she thought, no, I don't want to anymore, I just... oh! She thought she might melt through the floor at the gentle touch on the small of her back. That was Xan, supporting her just like she said she would. I need more time, Keely thought. I need to make him realize I exist... "Sure," she said quietly, summoning up a smile that he'd probably think was shyness. "I mean... that would be fun..." "Great!" Sean said brightly, grabbing Brad's arm. "Mission accomplished. Let's go—" "Knock it off!" Brad snapped, jerking away from Sean. He looked back at Keely and smiled again. "What about the movies Saturday? I'd like you to get to know the gang. I mean, aside from Sean the Tight-Ass." Uh oh, Keely thought. That wasn't supposed to happen. She didn't want to go to the movies with Brad, but she nodded in agreement anyway; anything to get him to leave. Behind her Xan was radiating tension and annoyance. Brad helped that along with another smug, self-satisfied smile, then finally turned and left. Sean followed, looking relieved, but he paused for a moment in the doorway. The whole room was silent and still as he looked directly at Shauna, who turned as red as her hair had been a few weeks ago, when she'd given it another treatment of Manic Panic. "Happy birthday," Sean said quietly, flashing her a smile that would have thawed ice. Well, I'll be damned, Keely thought, looking at Shauna, who was red to the tip of her ears. She didn't have much time to think about it, though, because she was suddenly being hauled into the kitchen. Tripping along gracelessly behind Xan, she glanced over her shoulder for one last look at Sean, who seemed to have forgotten the rest of the world for the moment. She nearly fell when Xan came to an abrupt halt in the kitchen. Keely looked up at him, feeling a twinge of annoyance that faded when she met those gray-green eyes. "You can't go to the movies with him," Xan said firmly. Yes! Keely thought, her heart thumping wildly. Pleasepleaseplease tell me that you love me madly and that I can't go to the prom or the movies with him because I'm supposed to be going with you! There was that wishful thinking again. Maybe she was spending a bit too much time with Xan. It was unlike her to get so attached to anyone, especially a guy, but she couldn't seem to help it. His eyes were so intense, and when he looked at her, Keely felt faint. "You should never be anywhere dark with Brad Faraday," Xan went on, shaking his head. "God forbid he tries to pull something, then it's going to be my fault for not looking after you." "Oh." Keely suddenly knew what it felt like to be a rapidly deflating balloon. "I can look after myself. Aside from which, there's going to be a whole bunch of other people there." "He's only using you to get at me," Xan pointed out. "Come on, Keely, I thought you were smarter than that." Ouch, Keely thought, stung. "Look," she said, peering up at him uncertainly. "Can't we take a rain check on this discussion? It's Shauna's birthday..." Xan stared down at her for a long moment. She couldn't read the expression on his face, but the hopeful side of her liked to think he was contemplating taking her in his arms and kissing her. I might as well keep my eyes open for winged piggies, Keely thought. Finally Xan sighed, as though she was the most frustrating creature on earth, and nodded. Feeling relieved that he wasn't going to argue with her—and disappointed that he wasn't going to kiss her—she followed him out of the kitchen. ------- Xan stared down at his guitar, only half-listening to the girls' conversation. He was still fuming from their encounter with Brad. Although he wasn't sure who he was angriest with, Brad, Keely, or himself. He should have stopped the whole thing. He should have... done something. Instead I said nothing, he thought morosely. I argued with her, I insulted her, and then I damn near kissed her. She'd been standing there in the kitchen, looking up at him, her lips slightly parted and a sad expression in her bright blue eyes. Xan had managed to keep himself from giving in, and instead he was now sitting in the living room, wondering what the heck he was supposed to be doing. "So, what songs do you know?" Shauna asked, startling him from his thoughts. "Anything," Xan replied, before he'd really thought about it. He slouched down in his chair a bit. "I mean... as long as I can hear it once..." Shauna grinned. "That is so cool! You know what this means, Keely." "Oh, hell." Keely's eyes widened. "Guilty pleasures at Keely's house," Mardea said, flashing a grin as Shauna began rifling through her backpack. "She's going to make you do Rascal Flatts, you know." Keely sank down onto the floor with a loud groan. Xan had no idea what Mardea was even talking about. He glanced around the room as Shauna sprang up from the couch, clutching a CD, and went to the stereo set at the far end of the living room. He closed his eyes and listened, and was pretty shocked to think that Shauna liked this kind of music. So much for the Queen of the Dead thing, Xan thought, opening his eyes to see Keely with her head in her hands. "I hate country!" Keely wailed. "I have to be the only person in the world who has a gothic punk friend who likes country music!" "Make that one of three," Mardea said, grinning. "Come on, Keely, you promised." Keely looked up at Shauna. "You are a disgrace to your kind!" Shauna didn't seem perturbed by this. In fact, she just went on grinning, as if she was quite used to it. Still not sure what was going on, Xan turned his attention to his guitar. It took him a few minutes, and a bit of adjusting, but he had the song down before long. He'd made it a point, long ago, to know and understand all of the chords, even though he could play anything just from hearing it. It was a good thing that his fingers tended to do so much of the work for him, because Xan almost lost his focus when Keely started singing the first verse. He'd never heard a voice like hers. It was rich and soft, and he could almost feel it on his skin like velvet. That was bad enough, but the look on her face was one of pure bliss. Xan would have looked away if he could, but it was impossible. It wasn't just the look on her face; it was the fact that she stared right back at him as she sang. He didn't even realize that he'd begun singing along with her until they came to the ending of the last chorus and the room was silent except for their voices, ringing out in unison. "This much I know is true... That God blessed the broken road that led me straight to you..." Normally Xan couldn't stand such songs, but anything would be good in that miraculous voice of hers. She was quiet, still staring at him, and he realized that everyone else was staring at the two of them. She is going on dates with another guy, Xan reminded himself desperately. You cannot fall in love with her, because she's only spending time with you for this bet thing, and besides which it would ruin your friendship. For once in his life, though, he just wanted to enjoy himself, to take pleasure in something special. That was why he suddenly found himself grinning. "Well, kitten, you've got one hell of a meow." ------- It was the middle of the night, but he knew Olivia was awake. There were two people in the world who would understand what he was feeling right now, and since he was feeling it for one of them, he'd have to go to the other. This is not fair, Xan thought, as he waited anxiously for Olivia to come to the door. It's bad enough she's got to be the most adorable thing on earth... why does she have to sing like an angel, too? Mardea, Shauna, and Bridget had teased Keely mercifully about her hidden talent. Why she wanted to keep it hidden was something Xan couldn't fathom. Finally Olivia came to the door. Her hair was ruffled and she was wearing her robe. Crap, Xan thought, I was wrong, she was asleep. She didn't look irritated, however. She'd once told him that she'd rather a guy who woke her up by knocking on her door, rather than one who woke her by poking her with a certain body part. Her eyebrows went up when she saw him, so she must've realized something was wrong. Which was good, because it meant she wouldn't be offended by him stumbling through the doorway to lean against her heavily. "Help," Xan pleaded. "Uh oh," Olivia said, quickly nudging the door closed with her foot, then leading him to the couch. "Sit down before you fall down." Xan dropped down onto the couch. "This isn't good. This just is not good." "Tell me," Olivia said. And so he did. He told her everything, from those stupid damn penguin socks, to Keely's stunning voice. There were two things that were really important to Xan; carving and music. Carving was more of a hobby, though; music was something close to his heart. No one, not even Olivia, knew that he wanted to be a music teacher. It probably wasn't a job that anyone would ever think he'd go for. Still, Olivia knew how much he loved music, and she frowned through his whole story. Finally, when he'd finished, she shook her head and rose to her feet. "Come on," she said, tugging him up with her and heading towards the bedroom. "I've got something that will make you feel a little better." "Um... actually..." Xan began, as she pulled him along. "I'm really not in the mood for—ouch! What was that for?" He rubbed the back of his head where she'd smacked him. "You shouldn't assume I'm going to give you sex, you know," Olivia said. "Hey, in my defense, you're taking me into the bedroom," Xan pointed out. Olivia looked back at him and rolled her eyes, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. It was then that he realized that she really did understand. He sat on the end of her bed while she went through her closet, grumbling to herself and swearing under her breath. She is not as cold and indifferent as she likes to pretend she is, Xan thought, smiling to himself. Olivia finally found what she was looking for and closed the closest door. She held out something to him, and though it was mostly dark in her room, he was pretty sure it was a DVD set. "That's supposed to be for your birthday," Olivia said, as he took it from her. "I thought maybe that would cheer you up." She paused, and put her hands on her hips; she was spending too much time with Keely, too. "Although what you should really do is tell that girl to call off the bet and go out with you instead." "Assuming she would." Xan climbed down from the bed and turned on the T.V. " 'Assuming... '? God, you cannot be that dense." Olivia flopped down onto the bed and waited for him to get the DVD player running. "You are like catnip to that kitty." Now there was an image. His sister kept cats, and sometimes she found it amusing to pour catnip on the floor and watch them roll around in it. Xan took a deep breath, trying not to imagine Keely rolling around in the sheets. He went back to the bed and stretched out next to Olivia, who was manning the remote. It doesn't matter anyway, he thought, sighing. She's going on dates with Brad Faraday... she'll get hurt if I try and take her back. Back? Hell, she wasn't his to begin with, he couldn't take her back. Xan forced himself to focus on something else. "You know," he said, "my birthday isn't until July." "I know that." Olivia's voice was even as she spoke. "I'm also the only person in the world besides Zoë who knows you like Andromeda, so shut your mouth or it won't be long before you get laughed off the face of the planet." ------- Chapter 7: Kisses from Heaven and Hell The curtain twitched, and Keely turned, glowering through the window at her mother. She'd chosen to wait outside, rather than have Brad come into her house. Maybe that would make her seem too eager, but she was in no mood to deal with her mother's cynical crap tonight. It was bad enough that she was stuck going to see some stupid movie with idiotic Brad; Keely had been in a bad mood all day, because Xan wasn't answering his phone. She'd tried calling Olivia, to see if she could get through to him, but he apparently wasn't answering his door, either. The sun was going down when Brad finally came out of his house. Ugh, Keely thought, I can see the grease in his hair from here. Why guys felt the need to slick their hair back like that was beyond her. She rose, smoothing down her pleated jean skirt with her palms. Olivia had convinced her to go along with the outfit, but she was uncomfortable in it. Heck, Keely couldn't even remember the last time she'd worn a skirt. She wished more than ever that she could have talked to Xan before this stupid date. Mardea had been there for her, assuring her that the skirt did not make her thighs look chubbier than they already were, but somehow it just wasn't very convincing. She braced herself, and managed not to gag as she was overwhelmed by Brad's cologne. He grinned down at her, no doubt thinking he looked charming; in fact he just looked sleazy. Keely scuffed at the ground with the toes of her new boots—Olivia would kill her if she saw it—and peered up at Brad from beneath her eyelashes. It was more than just playing the shy, smitten girl; it made it less likely that he'd see the expression of pure disgust on her face when she looked at him. "Looking good, Keely," Brad said, getting far too close to her, as far as she was concerned. "Ready to go, I take it?" Keely forced a smile. "Um... yeah..." Brad's seedy grinned widened, and he put an arm around her, his hand low on her hip the same as Xan had done. Suddenly she was glad that Mardea had given her a can of Mace. And that she'd stuck it in the small purse she was carrying. She couldn't imagine that he was stupid enough to pull something in a crowded movie theater, but it didn't hurt to have the Mace, just in case he got handsy. Like now, Keely thought, glancing down at his hand. Eww, I feel gross. She wanted to run to Xan and huddle against him. He'd smell like wood and soap, not nasty cologne. It wasn't until she was actually in the car that she realized she was alone in it with Brad. She sank down in the seat and slipped her hand into her purse—which she had wisely kept open—closing her fingers around the can of Mace, just in case he got any ideas. Fortunately—or unfortunately, depending on how you looked at it—Brad was content to just talk about himself. Keely tuned him out, occasionally nodding or letting out a distracted 'mmm', and she tuned out his music, too. What she wouldn't give to be curled up next to Xan on his bed, watching a movie and eating Chinese food. She did get one pleasant surprise, when they arrived at the movie theater. Sean was there, waiting for them. A short, pixie-faced blonde stood next to him. She was even shorter than Keely, but had the same chubbiness about her. Weird, Keely thought, studying her. If it weren't for the fact that she's not me, she could be me! Her Doc Marten's were newer, and painted so they looked zebra-striped; her jeans were just as beat up as Keely's old ones, though, and her My Chemical Romance t-shirt had been modified by someone—perhaps herself—so that it came off her shoulders, and the sleeves were black fishnet. "Hey, McKenzie," Sean said, grinning at her. "This is my sister, Katranne." Keely's eyes widened. "Your sister? Cool!" "You only say that because you don't live with him." Katranne shook back her hair, which was about chin-length and board straight. "So this is Keely? I don't think she looks like me." "Not right now, she doesn't," Sean said. "But I imagine she'd love it if you modified her band shirts for her like you do your own. That's more Keely's style." "And those boots are totally rockin'," Keely added, falling into step beside Katranne as they all headed into the theater. "Did you do that yourself?" At this, Katranne perked up. "Yeah. They were boring, just straight black. I want to get this pair of pink sneakers I saw and make them leopard spotted." Keely decided than and there that she liked Katranne. The two of them chatted happily about Katranne's design ideas, while Sean and Brad got the tickets. In fact, they talked the whole time, while the guys got popcorn—something Keely didn't even eat, because she loathed getting it stuck in her teeth—and as they made their way into the actual theater and up towards the back row. There was only one theater in their small town, and it was old. It hadn't even been renovated to put in stadium seating. That was how Keely found herself squashed into a corner at the back of the theater, with Sean and Katranne sitting in front of her and Brad. She continued to talk with Katranne until the lights in the theater went down, and the screen in front of them starting showing previews. Then Keely hunkered down in her seat, trying to huddle away from Brad's arm, which was around her shoulders. Think of Xan, she told herself, staring at the screen. Think of Xan and his nice wood-and-soap smell, and his Harry Potter haircut, and his quiet voice... It was no good. The stink of Brad's cologne made it impossible for her to escape the reality around her. Keely really thought that she was going to make it through the whole thing. They had to be at least twenty minutes into the movie, at least, when suddenly Brad tapped her shoulder. Thinking he was offering her the popcorn, she turned to tell him no thanks, and found herself being smother by his mouth on hers. Ew! Keely thought, as he forced his tongue between her lips. Ew! Ew! Ew! Ew! Yuck! She tried to shove him away, but he was a whole lot bigger and stronger than she was, and hunkered down in the chair the way she was, it was hard to get leverage. Okay, Keely, she thought, you can handle this. After all, how long could he possibly keep this up? She knew she couldn't breathe, so she doubted he could, either. Wow, he is really, really bad at this, she thought, trying to keep her lips too tightly closed for him to get his tongue in her mouth. If this is what kissing is all about, it's really nothing spec—whoa! At that moment Brad put his hand on her breast, and she jerked back so hard that she smacked her head against the wall behind her. "What do you think you're doing?" Keely hissed, shoving his hand away. In front of them Sean turned around in his seat. "You okay, Keely?" "She's fine," Brad answered him, sounding annoyed. He lowered his voice and leaned closer to Keely. "Just chill, babe." Do that again, Keely thought, glowering at him in the dark, and I'll show you a whole new definition of the word 'chill'. Brad settled back in his seat and went back to watching the movie. She sat there, biting her lip, annoyed at herself because she wanted to cry. That was not by any means how she would have imagined her first kiss. Granted, up until rather recently, kissing hadn't much interested her. And now I know why, Keely thought miserably. And here everyone was convinced that I was just a late bloomer. She would be a never bloomer, if she kept getting kissed like that. At least she was more prepared, the second time he leaned over and kissed her. Why me? she thought. He doesn't even like me, he's only trying to make Xan jealous. Except that Xan only likes me in the platonic sense, so he's not going to get jealous. That was even more depressing than Brad's lousy kissing. He topped off his lousy making out skills by basically slobbering on her neck, which she supposed he thought was some kind of sexy move. And I'm supposed to have some sort of crush on him? Keely thought. I don't know if I can keep up this—oh no he did not! She brought a hand up and slammed her palm hard against the side of his head, causing him to jerk back and pull his hand out from beneath her skirt. "Move!" Keely snapped, stomping down hard on one of his feet. "You dickhead!" Heads swiveled around to look at her, but she didn't care. She delivered a sharp kick to Brad's shin, then scampered past him as he leaned back, swearing. Keely raced out of the theater and out into the night, which would have been pitch black if it weren't for the lights over the parking lot. She skidded to a halt a few feet out the door and looked around. Now what? she wondered, frowning. The night air had gotten chill, and she was soon shivering, dressed as she was. There were payphones up against the side of the building, and she headed toward those. Xan, Keely thought, as she reached for the phone. I need Xan. "Keely! Wait!" Brad's voice rang out behind her. She whirled, clutching the receiver. "Leave me alone!" "Just hold on a second, will ya?" He stopped a few feet away from her. "Look, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have done that... but you know... you just look so hot tonight." He grinned his snaky, faux-charming grin at her. Am I supposed to buy that crap? Keely wondered. Oh, wait... right, I'm Desperate, Never had a Date in Her Life Dork-Girl. Duh. She looked down at her toes, which served two purposes; it made him believe she was listening to what he was saying, and kept him from seeing the expression of contempt on her face. Assuming of course that he'd even recognize it, him being so damn stupid. Argh, this sucks! Keely thought. I never want to go near the slimeball again, but the thought of dumping him in front of the whole senior class is so tempting... "I don't know," Keely said out loud, cutting Brad off. "I'm going home." "Let me take you," Brad offered. Keely shook her head. "No. I'm going to call Xan." Brad's face went pale. Aha! Keely thought, I think I said the magic words! At that moment Sean and Katranne came running out of the theater. Katranne glowered at Brad, and Keely decided she needed to introduce her to her other friends. Sean came over and put himself physically between Brad and Keely. Ooo, she thought, peering out from behind him. Big, strong, hot man protecting me... I could so get used to this. Sean glared at Brad for a long, silent moment, then reached back and put an arm around Keely's shoulders and began ushering her towards the parking lot. "I'm taking her home," he said. "Come on, Kat." "Happily," Katranne replied, throwing another glare at Brad. "Although I wish you'd let me kick him too." "Keely!" Brad called, as the three of them headed into the parking lot. "Come on, baby, I'm really sorry!" I'll just bet, Keely thought, huddling close to Sean. She felt kind of jealous of Katranne; it would be so awesome to have a brother like Sean. He'd protected her, but he hadn't felt the need to get all uber-macho and actually make a scene. Although she didn't kind of wish he would have punched Brad. Heck, I wish I'd punched Brad, she thought, sighing. Ugh, this was a total disaster. She wanted Xan. She wanted his soft voice and his wood-and-soap smell. Keely imagined curling up next to him in bed, until the scent of Brad's cologne was washed away. "Hey, Sean," she said, as she slid into the backseat of his car. "Do you know where Xan lives?" ------- Xan had just pulled on a clean t-shirt went someone rang his buzzer. Curious, he brushed his damp hair out of his eyes and went to let the person in. Keely's out, and so is Olivia, he thought. Aside from which, she wouldn't need to buzz. Maybe it's Zoë. He hadn't seen her in a very long time. It wasn't Zoë, though, that he found when he opened the door. A mix of emotions made him almost dizzy, as he gazed down at Keely. Of all the people he'd expected, she was the last. She's supposed to be with Brad, Xan thought, frowning. Oh god, what happened? She looked both cute and distraught at the same time. He imagined the outfit—a pleated jean skirt, light pink camisole top, cropped denim shrug, and ankle-high heeled boots—was Olivia's idea. Her strawberry blonde hair hung loose to her shoulders, but it was ruffled, as if she'd been running her fingers through it. Keely smiled sheepishly as she peered up at him, her blue eyes glowing beneath her golden lashes. She looked so happy to see him that Xan reached out and took her hand, pulling her into his apartment. "Um... I hope I'm not bothering you," Keely said quietly, as she slid the denim shrug off her shoulders. "I just... didn't feel like going home at the moment." "You okay?" Xan asked. "Want something to drink?" Keely nodded. "That sounds good," she replied. "And I'm fine. Mostly." Xan led her into the small kitchen. Instead of sitting at the table, Keely lifted herself up onto the counter and sat swinging her legs, tapping her heels against the door of the cabinet beneath her. He got a pitcher of water from his refrigerator—Olivia had introduced him to a wonderful little device called a Brita water filter—and poured a glass for Keely. Really, Olivia had a great eye for clothing. Xan kept his eyes trained on her face as he handed her the glass. That camisole clung to her breasts in a way that was really distracting. "I take it the movie wasn't very good." Xan kept his voice light, trying to inject some levity into the situation. "Not really," Keely said. "I left early. Sean drove me over here." Xan decided not to ask what Sean was doing there in the first place. He'd never seen Keely unsettled like this before. She was trying to hide it, but she couldn't seem to make her smile reach her eyes. She's hiding something from me, he thought, feeling a prickling of annoyance. There was no way he was going to let Brad get away with upsetting her. Xan took a step forward, then another, until he was right up against the counter, looking down at Keely; even sitting on the counter, she was about an inch or so shorter than him. Her eyes widened as she gazed back at him. "What's wrong, kitten?" Xan asked, keeping his voice low and soft. "What happened tonight?" "Um... well..." Keely began, her teeth worrying at her lower lip. "Actually... in the theater... Brad kissed me... um..." Xan stared at her. "He what!?" "It was pretty lousy." Keely's sheepish smile came back. "Really lousy. So much for those amazing first kisses, like in books, huh?" She let out a small, forced laugh. Poor kitten, Xan thought. He reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek, gently tucking it behind her ear. Keely might be outgoing and happy-go-lucky, but she was also the sweetest person he knew. There was a quiet, gentle side to her, a side that was vulnerable and got scared. He was seeing that now, more than he ever had before. He had no right, Xan thought, sliding his hand to the back of her neck. He knew it was unlikely that Keely would have kissed Brad on her own, so he probably hadn't given her much choice in the matter. Xan wasn't quite sure what came over him then. She was just sitting there on the counter, looking up at him, her lips slightly parted. Her mouth looked so tempting that he simply had to lean down and kiss her; he couldn't resist. Keely let out a soft, breathless half-gasp as he kissed her, a sweet little sound that made everything in him feel like it was on fire. Xan made sure he was gentle, just brushing his lips lightly over hers until he felt her relax and lean into him. Her hands settled on his arms, holding onto him as though she was afraid she might fall off the counter. Reluctantly, Xan leaned back away from her, ending their kiss. She was staring up at him again, the same as before, except that this time her lips were slightly swollen and her eyes were wide. I could do that again, he thought, letting his fingers slide through her hair. And again, and again, and again... That had been such a chaste, innocent little kiss. He wanted more, but he didn't want to scare her. She went on a date with Brad Faraday, Xan reminded himself. She's a good friend, but... oh hell. "Wow," Keely said, after along moment of silence. She seemed to have perked up quite a bit. "Now that's more like it." She tilted her head, and her hair fell across her cheek like a curtain of silk. "You know, he groped me, too..." Xan frowned. "Don't push it, Keely." "Well, he did!" Keely gave a grumpy little huff as she slid down off the counter. "And then he put his hand under my skirt, which is why I left." Xan was busy watching the way her skirt rode up her thighs as she slowly dropped to the floor, but that didn't distract him from what she was saying. He suddenly felt cold, as if all the blood in his veins had frozen. Keely might joke about groping, but she'd never lie about something like that. Panic seized him, and he reached out, catching hold of her and drawing her up against him. I'm going to kill him, Xan thought. He rested one hand, which was shaking with anger, on the back of her neck again, so he could tunnel his fingers in her hair. She felt good, and she smelled like jasmine. Keely didn't seem bothered by any of it. She leaned against him, resting her head against his chest, and stood still while he held her. With one hand on her back, he could feel the warmth of her skin through the thin camisole. His worry eased away, replaced by a sudden curiosity. Xan had to fight with the urge to take his kitty to bed and make her purr all night long. Instead he pulled back from her, keeping his hand on the back of her neck to tilt her head up. "You can't go on dates with him like that," Xan told her. "Not if I can't be there to make sure you're safe." "I won't." Keely's voice was only a whisper. "I promise." "Good," Xan said, feeling relieved. "I should probably take you home now." Keely's lashes lowered until all he could see was a hint of blue. "Oh... I was just... I was wondering if I could stay... just for a little while... I thought we could watch some T.V. or something..." "Sure," Xan said, smiling. He paused. "Can you see okay without your glasses?" Keely returned his smile with a slow, cheerful one. "No one else noticed," she said. She tapped her cheek idly. "Contacts. They were Olivia's idea. I have to say, it's nice not having to worry about them sliding off my nose all the time." Here she paused again, scuffing at the floor with her toes. "You don't suppose you could lend me something? To wear, I mean. I'm sick of this skirt..." ------- Surrounded by the smell of cedar and soap—she suspected it was Irish Springs—warm and comfortable in a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt that were far too big for her, with her hip pressed against Xan's, Keely was feeling worlds better than she had earlier. In fact, she was pretty sure she was in heaven. It had been hard to believe at first that Xan had really kissed her. And it had been such an amazing kiss, too. He hadn't shoved his tongue down her throat, or slobbered all over. The only disappointing thing he'd done was stop. They were flipping through the T.V. channels, occasionally pausing to watch something, but never really getting into anything. That was okay; they had fun making cracks about the asinine crap that was put on television. Heck, she would have had fun watching paint dry, if she'd been doing it with Xan. Keely huddled closer to his side, smothering a yawn; she didn't want him to take her home yet. She was only just getting the smell of Brad out of her nose. "I forgot to tell you," Keely said, as Xan started flipping channels again. "Sean has a sister. She's got awesome taste! You should see her boots!" She chattered happily for a while about Katranne. Keely was really hoping to talk to Sean, to see if his sister would be willing to do some stuff for her. All her old band t-shirts that Olivia had deemed unsuitable stood a chance of being revived, if Katranne would help her. Xan seemed greatly amused by the notion that there was another person out there with Keely's "unique" sense of taste. He watched her, rather than the T.V., as she spoke, as if she was the most fascinating thing on the planet. Which goes to show you, she thought, that there really is nothing good on T.V. "Keely," Xan interrupted her, as she let out a jaw-cracking yawn. "It's late. I really should take you home." "I don't want to go," Keely grumbled. What little energy she'd found was quickly fading. "I want to stay here. It's safe here... and warm." And she snuggled even closer to him, burying her nose against his arm. Silence met this proclamation. For once, Keely felt a stirring of discomfort. Xan hadn't said a thing about kissing her, or about Brad, since they'd curled up together. Maybe he was worried—even jealous—that she was going to date him again. A girl could dream, couldn't she? As it was, she wasn't even sure she was going to go through with the bet. Keely most certainly was not about to go to anymore movies with Brad Faraday. Although threatening to sic Xan on him had been more than a little amusing. I don't think it's a good thing, she thought, for me to be so vindictive. Oh well. "Are you still going to go to the prom with him?" Xan asked, as if he'd been reading her mind. "I don't know," Keely replied, around another yawn. "I was thinking I'd wait and see if he made a real moron of himself, trying to get me to forgive him." She could practically hear him frown. "I don't think you should. Don't you think it's a bit childish, doing this just for revenge?" You know, Keely thought, scowling, if you would just ask me to go out with you, I'd call off the whole goddamn bet. She propped herself up on one elbow and looked down at him. Sleepy as she was, she found the energy to be annoyed. This, she suspected, was more because she couldn't pounce on him, the way she wanted to, than anything else. I don't owe him anything, Keely thought. I don't want to talk about it. I hate talking about it... She dragged herself up, suddenly wishing she'd let him take her home. There was little in her life that got her down, but this was one of those things. "Brad was the reason I was under that picnic table, you know," she said quietly. "He didn't know me at all, he'd only seen me for the first time that day, yet he decided to pick on me." She glanced over at Xan. "And his cronies all follow his lead. I hid under the table because they were throwing things at me—empty soda cans, crumpled paper bags... that sort of thing. So then they found sticks and surrounded the table, so they could jab me with them." It had been the most humiliating experience of her life. She'd suddenly understood what animals at zoos went through, when little kids threw things through the bars of their cages. When Xan had first peeked under the table, she'd been terrified. Keely had flinched when he reached his hand out to her. But he'd turned out to be so sweet, she'd fallen head over heels for him after five minutes. For some reason, she'd never been able to shake that. Rustling broke the silence between them. Keely looked down to see Xan tugging the blankets out from underneath her. He lifted them up, inviting her beneath. All her bad memories rushed away as she crawled under the covers with him. He kissed her gently on the forehead, then settled back against the pillows. I don't get it, Keely thought. Does he like me or not? His kiss earlier seemed to indicate that he did, not to mention him holding her and all. But if he did, why didn't he say something? It didn't have to be anything elaborate. Hell, he could just kiss her again. Would he? she wondered, lifting her head up. "Are you going to wriggle all night?" Xan asked, his voice muffled and a bit drowsy. "I'll lay still if you kiss me again," Keely replied. That was bold, even for her. She didn't think he would do it. To her surprise, he rolled onto his side and found her mouth was his. Even in the dark room, it was easy for him. It was just as sweet as the first kiss, but this time, when she parted her lips, he gently teased the tip of her tongue with his. That's more like it, Keely thought, disappointed when he pulled away. God, I could do that all night long. "Now go to sleep, kitten," Xan murmured. His breath was warm against her neck. "I will," Keely murmured back, finally settling still against his side. She sighed happily as his fingers ran through her hair. "Good kitty." ------- Chapter 8: Belonging There was nothing better than a Friday. At least, that was how Xan felt as he shoved his books in his locker at the end of the school day. As summer crept closer and closer, the days seemed impossibly long. Perhaps some of that was from the sheer amount of studying required for finals. His every afternoon was spent studying with Keely—much to Brad's irritation. She was surprisingly focused when it came to studying, and Xan was finding that she was helping him a lot. Her presence was really the only thing that made the days bearable. I'm going to need my history book, actually, Xan thought. With a sigh he reached in and wiggled it loose from the pile of books in his locker. Since they had a test in history class on Monday, Keely had decided that they would study only that this weekend. Thank god, he thought, tucking the book under his arm. He'd get Keely to carry it for him, since his motorcycle didn't lend much to toting around schoolbooks. Really, it was past time he got himself a car. Xan wasn't sure why he hadn't yet. Okay, well, he knew exactly why he hadn't, but he was dead certain he didn't want to think about it. "Hey! Xan! Wait a minute!" He paused at the doors and turned to see Sean trotting down the hall towards him. What does he want? Xan wondered, trying not to scowl. He hadn't yet had the opportunity to ask Sean just what, precisely, he'd been doing on that date with Brad and Keely. Not that he wasn't glad there'd been someone to drive her when Brad showed his true colors; he just wished it was someone a bit meaner and less attractive. It was a bit unnerving, to think that he was getting so jealous. Protective, Xan told himself. I'm not being jealous, I'm being protective. If she were a kitten, she'd have been hit by a car a long time ago. Sometimes he wondered if she was more trouble than she was worth—but very rarely. "Man, you're a hard guy to get a hold of," Sean said, as he came to a halt in front of Xan. "I've been trying to find you all week." He grinned. "I thought I'd find you wherever Keely was, but..." Xan rolled his eyes. "What do you want?" he asked, turning and pushing open the door. "Just wanted to make sure Keely's all right," Sean explained, following him out into the bright, early afternoon sun. "She's always so cheery and all, and she's said she's fine, but I figure if something is really bothering her, you'd probably see it." "As far as I can tell, she's fine," Xan said, shrugging. "I think she was happy for an excuse to hit him." Sean laughed. Not to mention a way to coerce me into kissing her, Xan thought. She is way too good at that sweet, vulnerable thing. He'd spent the past week thinking about how it had felt to have her lips part beneath his. Oh, and also how good it would feel to strangle Brad, who had taped a rose to Keely's locker for each day of the week. She was enjoying it far too much. Brad was, as she'd hoped, making a total idiot of himself, all in the attempt to get to Xan. So for now at least her prom plans were still on, which was making him grumpy. "Well, I'm glad she's okay," Sean said, shaking his hair out of his eyes. "She reminds me so much of my sister, Kat. When I found out that she was going to the movies with Brad, I invited myself along." "I heard all about your sister." Xan grinned. "I think Keely is getting her to paint her shoes or something." Sean chuckled. "Yeah, they're a lot alike," he said. "Or at least, on the surface. Kat isn't quite as cheerful or anything, but she's a good kid. I'd kill Brad if he even looked at her the wrong way." Xan eyed Sean for a long moment before deciding that he probably wasn't any sort of threat to Keely's wellbeing. In fact, he seemed to regard her as a sister, just like his real sister. Brad is the bigger worry, anyway, Xan thought, frowning. Where the hell is he? The parking lot was empty except for a crowd standing off to the right. At first he thought there was a fight going on, because the crowd was circling someone. Then he caught a glimpse of a mane of wild braids, and he realized that Keely had to be in that crowd somewhere. She'd never leave Mardea to handle trouble alone, although he had no idea what kind of trouble they could have gotten into. Actually, he did, but he'd rather not think about it. With Sean following close behind him, he made his way down the stairs and across the parking lot towards the crowd. Xan had to push his way through to get to the center. Mardea was there, with her arm around a skinny freshmen with a lot of carrot orange hair that stuck up all over the place. Keely and Shauna were with her. The crowd around them was laughing and making jokes, although for once Brad was strangely quiet. He stood near the front, not too far from Keely, and he scowled at Xan. "Ignore them," Mardea said to the kid who was huddling against her. "These losers are just jealous." The kid looked up at her, his eyes widening until they were absolutely gigantic beneath the thick lenses of his glasses. "So... so then you'll... y-you'll..." he stammered, sounding as if his tongue was in knots, "g-go with... me?" "Sure thing, cutiepie." Mardea bent down—she was nearly a foot taller than the poor kid—and kissed him on the cheek. "I was wondering when I'd get an offer worth accepting." The kid turned red to the very tips of his ears, but he looked pleased. In fact, he wasn't as bothered when the crowd around them started jeering again. I like Mardea, Xan decided. She's a good person. He was kind of surprised to see that, although Shauna and Keely were there for their friend, Bridget was nowhere to be seen. A quick look around revealed that she wasn't in the crowd, either. The three friends trapped in the middle of the circle didn't seem bothered by it, though, so he shrugged it off. Xan didn't know enough about most of them to judge, anyway. The crowd quieted down as Sean stepped forward, grabbed the redheaded kid's hand, and shook it firmly. No one looked more startled than the boy. It was one thing to have the arm of someone like Mardea around his shoulders; being greeted in such a way by one of the school's most popular athletes was a whole other ballgame. "Thank you," Sean said, smiling. "For being so brave, I mean. I really ought to be ashamed of myself, for being such a coward." And with that he suddenly turned towards Shauna, focusing his smile on her. "Will you go to the prom with me?" The crowd went completely silent. Keely leaned over and nudged Shauna, who stood there like tree. "This is the part where you say 'yes'," she hissed in her immobile friend's ear. "I, um... yes..." Shauna stammered, grabbing onto Keely as though she was afraid she might fall over. Sean continued smiling at her. He didn't say anything, but his eyes were focused on hers. The crowd began to disperse, grumbling, and some of the more popular girls shot venomous glances over their shoulders at Shauna as they walked away. After a few minutes only Brad remained, waiting with an impatient scowl on his face. Life is weird, Xan thought, turning his attention to Keely and her friends. The little redheaded kid took a slip of paper with Mardea's number on it and—his face glowing like a sunset—took off to catch the bus. I definitely feel like I missed something, Xan thought. He watched as Sean, walking as close to Shauna as he dared and looking just as nervous as the redhead, headed off across the parking lot. Now there was a couple that redefined the word 'bizarre'. Shauna, in her full Queen of the Dead getup, looked very strange walking next to Sean, who wore a t-shirt with his number on the back and the basketball team's logo on the front. "Man, that's disgusting," Keely said cheerfully, coming up beside him. "Sean and Shauna? I mean, totally yuck. It's like a bad romance novel." Xan looked down at her, fighting a grin. "Does this mean you're going to spare me the jumping up and down and squealing bit?" "Oh, fine!" Keely huffed, folding her arms. "Come on, let's go get some pizza." I really must stop following her around like an eager puppy, Xan thought, even as he let Keely grab his arm and pull him towards his bike. They didn't get very far, though, before Brad cut them off. Keely came to a halt with a barely smothered, exasperated sigh. Having seen Brad's persistence over the last week, Xan knew it was pointless to say anything. Instead he opened her backpack and, ignoring her annoyed glare, put his history book in it. "Do you mind?" Keely planted her hands on her hips, focusing her irritation on Brad. "I have studying to get done." "Don't be like that, Keely," Brad said, trying to look remorseful and pleading. "I've told you how sorry I am. Please tell me things are still good between us." Keely leaned against Xan, and he was reluctantly impressed by her ability to make it look as if she didn't even realize she was doing it. "Well..." she began, pursing her lips. "I just don't know... if you behave like that at the prom..." "I won't," Brad said quickly, eyeing Xan. He wasn't even looking at Keely. "I swear I won't." Fed up with this interaction, Xan let go of Keely and headed toward his bike. Suddenly he'd lost his appetite for pizza. Not to mention anything else. He just couldn't understand why, after what Brad had done, Keely still wanted to go through with her damn bet. Maybe she likes him more than she's willing to admit, he thought. God, he's such a shallow, disgusting, over-inflated... He shook his head. Xan knew there was nothing he could do. No matter what Olivia said, Keely was going to do what she set out to do, regardless of anything he might say. ------- Keely wiped her hand across the foggy glass of the bathroom mirror and scowled at the distorted reflection that stared back at her. She didn't think she could possibly be in a word mood. For some reason Xan had just dropped her off at home this afternoon, rather than going to the pizza place. He hadn't even really said anything about it to her, just mumbled some half-baked excuse. Keely had been so hurt that, for the first time in years, she thought she might cry. Well, what did you think? she demanded silently of her reflection. That if you hung around long enough, he'd look at you one day and say 'Where have you been all my life'? And now, even though she didn't want to, she was stuck going to the prom with Brad. Shauna had been her friend for a long time now, and Keely knew she'd need her. This would be Shauna's first date, and it was bound to be nerve-wracking. Keely was going to be there for her friend, even if it meant another date with Brad. After this afternoon, even if she could have worked up the courage to ask Xan, she doubted he'd say yes. By the time her hair was blow-dried and she was dressed in a t-shirt and comfy sweatpants, she'd managed to talk herself out of the worst of her depression. There was simply no use in getting upset like this when she had no idea what Xan really felt. Keely tossed her history book and her notebook onto her bed, then stretched out and reached for her phone. It was true that she had to study, but she wasn't in the mood at the moment. Instead she dialed Shauna's number and waited, humming softly to herself (Nine Inch Nails' "Only", which was Shauna's ringtone). "H-Hello?" Shauna's voice was soft and hesitant. "Look at your ID, silly," Keely said, laughing. "It's safe." Shauna let out an explosive sigh of relief. "Geez, Keely," she grumbled. "I don't know how to deal with this. I mean, Sean? Mr. Basketball himself?" "He's really into you," Keely told her. "You can see it in the way he looks at you. And he's a really nice guy, too. He's my lab partner, you know. He's actually very smart." "I know that," Shauna said. "Except he's horrible at languages. I never told you, but I've been tutoring him since ninth grade. First with Spanish, then Italian, now French... he's determined to take it, even though he's not very good at it." This was news to Keely. Shauna had never said so much as a word to any of them about it. "Why didn't you tell me?" she demanded. "You guys give me a hard enough time as it is," Shauna replied. "Besides, it's not like anything has ever gone on between us." There was a distinctly wistful tone to her voice, as if she wished more than anything that something had gone on between them. Keely could understand that very well; she felt that way when she thought of Xan. Of course, all her friends knew she was spending time with Xan. None of them had known about Sean and Shauna. I guess it really shouldn't come as much of a surprise, Keely thought. Shauna's better at languages than even Bridget, so they ask her to tutor a lot of people. Still, though, as far as she knew, Sean didn't have trouble with languages. He was always able to pronounce long, weird science terms and Latin phrases. Not to mention he'd helped her a couple of times when she ran into issues with Spanish. It took some time to coax the story out of Shauna, who was surprisingly shy for a girl who wore blood red lipstick and dressed in more PVC than should even be legal. Even though she helped him study, the two of them apparently didn't often talk much about other things. Shauna had always thought those awkward silences were because Sean didn't like her. I wonder, Keely thought, if Sean's awkward silences mean he likes Shauna, then does Xan's lack of awkward silences mean he doesn't like me? Men were just too confusing. "Look, don't tell Dea or Bridget, okay?" Shauna said, her voice sounding strained and panicked. "They're teasing me enough over the whole 'Sean and Shauna' thing." "Your secret is safe with me," Keely assured her. "And it's not like Dea can talk. She's going out with a short, skinny little freshmen kid." "This is true," Shauna agreed. She sounded a little less nervous. "So I suppose this means we need to go dress shopping. Actually, I think we should have done that weeks ago..." "Don't worry, I know someone who can help us out," Keely told her. "At least, I think so. Heck, we'll go in potato sacks if we have—" She broke off at the sound of something shattering downstairs. Shouting voices drifted up the stairs, not yet loud enough for her to make out exactly what was being said. Keely bit her lip. It used to be that her parents never even raised their voices at one another, but now they fought almost every night. For as long as she could remember, her parents had been so crazy about one another, but reflecting on it now, she realized how strained that had been, these last few years. Something had changed in Keely's mother; she was bitter and paranoid, always making snide comments implying that her husband was cheating on her. "Look, I've got to go," Keely said into the phone. "We'll talk later, kay? Plan a shopping trip. Bye!" Before Shauna could say anything more, she hung up the phone. Keely felt guilty, but she shoved it aside. She slid down off her bed and crept to her door, opening it slowly to keep the hinges from squeaking too loudly. Her mother had ears like a dog and could hear just about everything and anything. Without bothering to close her door, Keely made her way silently towards the stairs. She figured her parents were probably fighting about the usual—her—and winced as her mother's voice, full of scorn and anger, reached her ears. "She'll be like that the rest of her life if you keep encouraging her!" Keely's mother shouted. "Like what?" her father demanded, sounding angrier than she'd ever heard him before. "Fat!" her mother spat. "Keely is not fat!" her father shot back. "Just because she isn't a size two... just because you have never been who you wanted to be... unlike you, Keely is not destroying her life because she isn't skinny!" Keely had never heard her father speak like that before. He sounded fed up. Not that she blamed him or anything. Her mother was a very difficult person to deal with. There must have been a time when she'd had more self-confidence, but these days she was so unsure of herself, she was always angry. And always taking it out on everyone else. Keely took the stairs two at a time and came to a halt in the living room, where her parents stood on either side of the couch, staring each other down. Both of them turned to stare at her. "Go back upstairs," her mother said. She was much closer than her father was. "Not until you stop fighting," Keely said, frowning. "Keely, please." The look her father gave her was tired but concerned. "Go on back up—" "Don't you talk back to me!" her mother snapped, cutting her father off. "When did you become such a spoiled little brat?" Keely planted her hands on her hips and glowered up at her mother. "When did you become such a paranoid bitch?" She had half a second to stare into her mother's fury-twisted face. Then suddenly the side of her face was burning and her lip stung where she'd bitten it. The room around her was silent. Keely could taste blood, coppery-sweet, in her mouth. It took her a long moment to realize that her mother had hit her. She looked up slowly, her hand pressed against her cheek, to find her mother still glaring, and her father pale and horrified. Tears made Keely's eyes prickle. She had not cried in years. Ignoring her mother, who shouted after her, and her father, who tried to stop her, Keely burst out the front door and into the warm, late evening air. The pavement was hard and it made the bottom of her feet hurt as she ran, but she didn't care. There was, she knew, only one place she could go, only one person who'd understand why she was so upset. ------- Xan sprawled on his bed, on his stomach, staring at the bathroom door as though he could will himself into the shower. If it weren't for the fact that he smelled like grease and felt gross, he would have simply gone to bed. It had been a long day, made longer because he'd ended up working overtime, and he was exhausted. He hadn't even had anything to eat, even though his stomach growled demandingly. Xan was actually considering asking Olivia for help, he was that tired. He wasn't entirely sure he could stand up. Not that he was given much choice in the matter. As the buzzer rang, he thought, Keely. He knew it was her. Probably she wanted to know why he'd ditched on her this afternoon. I am so sick of this goddamn bet, Xan thought, managing to drag himself up from the bed. After what he tried to do... and she still... ugh! It was so frustrating. Never in his life would he even consider going to such lengths for a bet. He was just going to tell her that he was too tired tonight, and hopefully she wouldn't argue with him too much. When he opened the door and saw her, Xan's energy came back in a rush. She was barefoot and in her pjs, for one thing. Her hair was ruffled and tears streaked down her face. A bruise was raising on one cheek, and her lower lip was swollen and bleeding where it was split. As he pulled her inside, he saw small, red scratches on her cheek where it was bruised. Keely leaned against him heavily, shaking with an effort to keep herself from sobbing. Xan nudged the door shut with his shoulder, then held her tight, unsure what to do. She was only still standing because he was holding onto her. "Shhh..." Xan murmured, rubbing her back gently in an effort to quiet her down. "Come on, kitten... it's all right... shhh... tell me what happened..." It was difficult to get the story out of her. At first, when she opened her mouth to speak, she just let out a soft choking sound. Her kept her in his arms, continuing to rub her back until her tears had eased, and she'd caught her breath enough to tell him the story, sniffling and stammering the whole time. He might have been the younger of the two, but Xan was used to comforting his crying sister. There had been plenty of times when he'd had to coax a story of heartbreak from her, and it helped him now to calm Keely down. What she told him infuriated him. He hadn't really liked her mother, but he wouldn't have guessed she would go so far. Xan scooped Keely up in his arms and carried her into his bedroom, where it was dark and still. He sat with her on his bed and toyed with her hair was the last slow-falling tears ran down her cheeks. There was one thing he knew well: usually, when a woman was upset, all she really wanted was for you to shut the hell up and hold her. Keely was no exception. She huddled in his arms for a long time, even after her tears had dried up. Xan only felt a little guilty, because he was pleased to have a reason to hold her. "There now..." Xan murmured, when she finally lifted her head and looked up at him. "I'm so sorry, kitten... I'm going to get you some ice, okay?" "Okay..." Keely's voice was soft and a little hoarse. She seemed reluctant to let go of him, but he was able to get a plastic bag filled with ice from the kitchen, and a towel from his bathroom, to put on her cheek. Nothing could change the fact that she'd have a bruise and some scratches for awhile. Her mother must have hit her hard, Xan thought, using a tissue to wipe the blood from her lower lip. What an awful woman... He seriously hoped Keely's father opted for a divorce. It would be difficult on Keely, who obviously wasn't used to a great deal of turmoil at home, but she'd be better off in the end. "I'm sorry for bothering you," Keely said quietly. "I know I'm being silly but..." Xan shook his head. "Don't worry about it. And you're not being silly. Keely, has anyone ever hit you?" "No," she answered. "I guess not... I just..." "Shhh." Xan kissed her gently on the cheek that wasn't bruised. "Why don't we curl up and watch a movie, okay? I'll get some Chinese food for us, too. How does that sound?" Keely smiled. She tilted her head up and gave him a timid kiss that ended up only reaching his jaw line. "It sounds nice." Xan ended up calling Olivia and asking her to get the Chinese food for them. He knew she wouldn't ask questions, and it meant that he only had to leave Keely's side once, when he went to get the Chinese food from Olivia. The rest of the time was spent on his bed with her pressed close to his side, her head on his shoulder. He'd forgotten about being tired or needing a shower. It seemed as though he forgot everything, when she was around. ------- It was the middle of the night when she woke up. She knew, because the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was bright red numbers proclaiming one-thirty in the morning. The smell of wood and soap surrounded her, and she could hear water running in the bathroom. Xan, Keely thought, shifting a little. This is Xan's bed. As soon as she remembered, the ache in her cheek and lip started up again, but she didn't care. This is wonderful, she thought, snuggling back down under the blankets. I love staying here. She'd ended up staying the whole night after her disastrous date with Brad, too. As she lay there, warm and content, the bathroom door opened. Yellow light spilled across the floor, and quickly disappeared again as Xan stepped out and closed the door behind himself. A tower was wrapped around his hips, and his hair hung in damp strands that curled up at the bottom. Keely peeked out from under the covers, watching with appreciation the flex of muscle beneath his skin as he moved. He wasn't big or bulky, just really pleasant to look at. She also noticed tattoos—what looked like simple bands from here—circling his upper arms, and when he turned to rummage through the drawers of his dresser, she saw another on his back, spread across his shoulders and tapering down to a point. Keely sat up quickly when she realized he was about to get dressed. Xan spun around, looking startled. She thought he might be angry at her, but instead he just raised his eyebrows, giving her a wry, lopsided smile. Sitting up straighter, she let the blankets fall away and returned his smile, although hers was a lot more sheepish than his. "Can I see your tattoo?" she asked. Xan sighed, trying to sound exasperated, but he was smiling. "Can I at least put some pants on first?" Much to her embarrassment, she started to blush. Keely drew her knees up to her chest and buried her face against her arms, waiting for him to get something on. She could hear rustling and had to fight the urge to just take a peek. He's right when he calls me 'kitten', she thought, smiling to herself. I'm too curious for my own good. She managed to resist her curiosity, though, until she fell the bed dip under her as Xan sat down. Up close, she could see that the bands around his arms were actually flames. It took longer to figure out the tattoo on his back. After studying it awhile, she realized it was a diving bird—the point was the tip of the bird's beak. She didn't need light to know the bird was done in colors of red and orange, because it had a crest of flame, and fire tipped its wings instead of feathers. Wow, Keely thought, gingerly touching the bird's beak with her fingertips. The warmth and softness of Xan's skin made her shiver, and she felt an echoing tremor from him as her fingers traveled further upward. "It's beautiful," Keely murmured. "It's a phoenix," Xan told her. A creature that rises from the ashes each time it dies, she thought, tracing the edge of a wing. A strong creature... one that wouldn't cry just because it gets slapped across the fact... Of course, she wasn't even certain phoenixes had mothers, seeing as they were born out of ashes and all. Keely leaned forward and rested her head against Xan's shoulder, taking comfort in his presence. He's the only one that understands, she thought. And he's always here for me, no matter what. She was not strong like the phoenix was. If she was, she'd just tell him how he felt, instead of clinging to some stupid bet to spend time around him. "I'm sorry for being such a pest," Keely said. "I guess I was being kind of stupid." Xan turned to face her. "You're not a pest," he told her. He reached up and gently touched her cheek. "And you weren't be stupid, either. Anyone would be upset in your place." "I know." Keely laid back against the pillows and put her arms beneath her head. "But I mean... I don't cry. Not over things like that. Not anymore... only children are supposed to cry." Xan stretched out next to her on the bed, nudging her with his hip to get her to scoot over some. He propped himself up on one elbow and gazed down at her, his eyebrows raised in an expression that said clearly that now he thought she was being silly. I guess I'm just feeling sorry for myself, Keely thought, reaching up to push a lock of damp hair behind Xan's ear. I'm just so confused... I've been teased for years, but the rest of my life has always been so easy that it never bothered me much. That fact was, she was feeling very much like a child. She wasn't sure what she'd do without Xan there to comfort her. "Now that is silly," Xan said, confirming her suspicious. He tapped the end of her nose with the tip of her finger. "So, what can I do to get you out of this funk?" Keely looked up at him and was caught by his amazing eyes. "Kiss me," she said quietly, figuring she didn't have much to lose. "And that will make you stop feeling sorry for yourself?" Xan asked. She noticed there was a hint of a smile on his face. Keely just nodded. She was afraid to speak, lest she break this odd moment between them. 'Magical' might be a bit cliché, but there was definitely something in the air that felt a bit like enchantment. It's so quiet and dark, she thought, reaching up and winding her arms around Xan's neck as he lowered his mouth to hers. I feel like it's safe to just open up for a bit. She loved the way he kissed. His lips were so gentle and teasing, yet she could feel his body tense, as if he wanted to go just a little further. Keely sighed softly as his tongue brushed against hers, wishing that for once he'd act on whatever urges he had. Xan moved to pull away from her, and she tightened her grip, refusing to let go. Not yet, she thought. His response to this was to sink against her, pressing his mouth harder to hers. She felt the ripple of muscle beneath her hands as she rested them against his back, enjoying the heat of his skin. Keely thought that moment might last forever; it certainly felt like it did. And then, to her disappointment, Xan pulled away from her, reaching back and grabbing hold of her wrists to keep her from clinging to him. His eyes were wide, and he was breathing heavily. "Kitten, you are trouble," he told her, letting her go. He flopped down on the bed next to her. "A lot of trouble." Keely opened her mouth to protest, but Xan slid an arm around her and pulled her against him so suddenly that she forgot what she intended to say. She let herself sprawl out next to him, using his chest as a pillow. Although she was tired and emotionally sapped, her mind was going a hundred miles a minute. I need to talk to Olivia, she thought. She'll be able to help me. Because she was going to find a way to convince Xan that going to the prom with her was the best idea she'd had yet. ------- Chapter 9: During and After "What, exactly, are you looking for?" Keely jumped at the sound of her father's voice. She shoved aside a stack of magazines and straightened up, turning to look at him. Lately he looked so tired, more so than usual. At the moment he wore old jeans—the sort that would have driven her mother nuts—and a faded gray sweatshirt. His hair had gotten long enough at the ends that it was mussed from sleep. He was smiling, though; he'd been smiling a lot more since the day before last, when her mother had taken off to stay with her mother. Keely was glad to see him happier. She herself, though, was getting frustrated. In less than five minutes Olivia would arrive to take her—along with Shauna and Mardea—shopping for prom dresses. It had been Xan, actually, who'd convinced her to do it. Apparently Olivia didn't just look like a model; she was one. She had connections with people in stores like Banana Republic, Cache, Charlotte Russe, and Victoria's Secret, not to mention a bunch of other places. Keely just hoped that they weren't going to the mall. She hated the mall almost as much as she hated Intro to Theater class. "I can't find my wallet," Keely explained, wrinkling her nose and peering down at a pile of junk on her floor. She leaned down and sifted two paperbacks and a notebook out of the way. "I've looked all over the place." "Did you leave it downstairs or in your coat?" her father ask, smiling at her. He was definitely amused. "No. I'd know if I—oh!" She broke off and grabbed her wallet, which she'd finally found. Straightening again, she smiled sheepishly. "Okay, lesson learned. Next time, no camouflage wallet." At this her father laughed. Keely shoved the wallet into the pocket of her jeans and followed him out into the hall, shutting her door behind her. He paused at the top of the stairs and turned suddenly back to face her. His eyes, so very much like her, were filled with concern and uncertainty. Is he going to tell me that they're getting a divorce? she wondered. She wouldn't be surprised if they were, but now was a lousy time to announce it. Keely didn't think she could handle a shopping trip after that sort of news; she didn't like shopping much to begin with. "Listen, sweetheart," her father said. "I uh... the doctor has put me on leave from work for a while..." "Is something wrong?" Keely asked, suddenly worried. Her father shook his head. "I'm just tired," he assured her. "I'll be fine, so long as I take some time off. I'm planning on renting a house on the coast for the summer. I was hoping you'd go with me." Keely opened her mouth to answer, but didn't know what to say. A trip to the coast sounded nice, but she knew there was more to it than that. They are getting a divorce, she realized. Why else would her father make it sound as though he planned the trip to be only the two of them? Separating for a while was not going to be enough to patch up her parents' marriage, she knew. It means I might not see my friends for awhile, Keely thought. I'm sure dad would like to spend some family time... Something they hadn't really done in a very long time. "You don't have to answer right now," her father told her. At that moment a car horn honked outside. He grinned. "Have fun on your shopping trip. And... if you decide to come, you're welcome to bring a friend." Her father's smile was teasing. Sputtering and blushing, Keely whipped past him and took the stairs two at a time. Not that I wouldn't like to spend the summer at the beach with Xan, she thought, as she burst out the front door, but I'm not sure I'd want my dad to be there, too. Then again, her dad at least was supportive of her relationship—whatever that might actually mean—with Xan. It was just a bit weird that he was actually encouraging it. I guess that's what being Dork-Girl all your life gets you, Keely thought, as she jumped into the passenger seat of Olivia's car. A major crush and a father who's so relieved to find out you've got a pulse that he'll allow said crush on a family vacation. But was that really a good thing? ------- Keely ran her fingertips along the top of a metal clothing rack, eyeing the gowns and dresses hanging from it. Of all the places she would except Olivia to take them, a warehouse wasn't one of them. Except that it was not, in fact, a warehouse. Not really. The place belonged to a friend of hers who bought the "out of season" items for low prices and resold them for higher but still relatively low prices. Apparently stuff that was considered "out of season" was not department store clothing. Keely didn't care if she was wearing a style from two years ago, if it meant she'd only have to pay a hundred dollars for a dress that normally cost four hundred. It was a pain in the ass, really. It would all be worth it, though, she thought, inspecting a long, A-line blue dress, if I was going with Xan instead of Brad. Not that she wasn't still working on it, but it turned out that she wasn't so good at forming fool-proof plans. Olivia hadn't been much help; all she'd said was that Keely should straight out ask Xan to go with her. I'd hate it if he said no, she thought. And I'd have to dump Brad first, which means I'd end up with a dress but no date. Not to mention that Shauna was going to need her. She'd been so nervous lately, she hadn't been eating, and her usual Hot Topic-Threw-Up-on-Me look was relatively toned down. "How about this one?" "It's pink!" Keely turned away from the rack she was looking over. Across the warehouse, attended to by Olivia, was Shauna and Mardea. Mardea was holding onto a short dress in dark teal with chocolate brown beading—toned down, for her—that she'd seen when she'd first walked in and decided she loved. Shauna, looking far more tentative and unsure, was holding a long gown in pale pink. It had an empire waist, but the skirt was tighter and straighter than most such dresses. The bottom hem was asymmetrical, with a layer of darker pink fabric underneath it. "It's pretty," Keely said, coming up beside Shauna. "I didn't say it wasn't," Mardea said defensively. "I'm just surprised. I've never seen you wear pink." Shauna stared are her toes. "I like pink..." Grinning, Keely shooed Shauna towards the corner that had been curtained off so they could use it as a dressing room. She was really glad to see her friend trying on something pink. For a long time, Shauna had stubbornly insisted upon wearing only her usual Goth gear. Keely had begun to wonder if perhaps she was using it as a sort of defense mechanism. It had been difficult for all of them—even Mardea, despite the fact that she was so pretty—to figure out how to deal with not fitting in. They all had defense mechanisms. Keely went back to browsing the racks while Shauna changed. Olivia's friend, a petite—but very much not perky—redhead, was bustling around the store, moving dresses around and inspecting them. She was also hanging up new ones that she'd just gotten in, and one of them caught Keely's eye. Quietly she moved to the rack, trying not to disturb the woman. Lena, I think she said her name was, she thought, as she skimmed the rack for the dress that had caught her eye. Her fingers brushed silk and she reached for the hanger. "Okay, how do I look?" Keely turned. In spite of her red-orange hair—which clashed horribly—Shauna looked really good in pink. She also looked very uncertain. I don't think I've ever seen her in anything that wasn't black, Keely thought, grinning. She looks great. Of course, if she was reading him right, she didn't think Sean cared either way what Shauna wore. He'll just be in for a bit of a treat, she thought. Which he'd better appreciate, because I don't think Shauna would put herself through this for anyone else. Their original plan for the prom had included the Queen of the Damned in all her Goth glory, after all. "Pink suits you," Mardea told her. "Or it will once Olivia does something with your hair." "You girls are going to drive me nuts," Olivia said, trying—but not altogether succeeding—to hide a smile. "The black was bad enough, but at least what was underneath was Keely's original color." "It'll be easy to dye it back, though," Lena pointed out, shifting a pile of empty hangers in her arms. "What did you find, Keely?" Everyone's attention was suddenly on her. Feeling shy, she lifted up the dress and got a better look at it herself. It was an empire waist like Shauna's, but with a looser flow to the cut. Silver beading decorated the top, and also a veil of gossamer chiffon that covered the ivory silk of the rest of the dress. I don't know, Keely thought, toying with the delicate spaghetti straps. Dea'd kill me if I said this out loud, but I think this dress is far too pretty for someone like me. Mardea must have realized what she was thinking, though, because she frowned at her. "Try it on," she said. "I don't know," Keely hedged. "I mean, it's backless. I can't wear a bra with it..." Shauna snickered. "I don't think you're breasts are going to droop to your knees if you expose them to gravity for one evening." Turning red to the tips of her ears, Keely clutched the dress and scampered into the dressing room. She hated it when anyone brought that up. Since she'd been eleven, her mother had insisted she wear a bra unless she was showering or asleep. At that young age, she'd wanted nothing more than to please her mother, so she'd put up with it. Now, of course, Keely didn't care so much what her mother thought, but old habits die hard. She was no longer comfortable in public without one, even though she hadn't inherited the size D and up that tended to run in her family. "Let's play a game of Contrary," Mardea called over the top of the curtain, as Keely began undressing. "Dare I ask what that is?" Olivia's voice held a hint of trepidation. "It's pretty simple," Mardea said. "I'll start. Contrary to Popular Belief, taking off someone's clothes with your teeth is only sexy in books. In real life, it's just awkward." Lena cackled. "Not if you do it right!" The group of them burst into laughter, and Keely grinned. She worked slowly, taking her clothes off, eyeing the dress that hung from a peg nailed into the wall in front of her. It might not even fit, she told herself. What size is this, anyway? Keely, with her relatively narrow upper body and her wide hips, tended to range from a ten to a twelve, depending on the store she was shopping at. Of course, she could probably wear something a little smaller, since the style of dress didn't punish her for having hips like a brood mare. "Contrary to Popular Belief," Keely piped in, to distract herself as she slipped on the dress, "Dork-Girl does not own, nor barely knows how to operate, a computer." "Keely, you failed Computer Aided Drafting twice," Mardea reminded her. "I think 'barely' is giving yourself too much credit. Okay, who's next?" "I guess I'll give it a shot," Olivia said. "Contrary to Popular Belief, women aren't all that excited about the whole metrosexual thing. All they really want is for their guy to put the seat down." Keely had to pause in what she was doing, because she was laughing so hard. That wasn't the sort of thing she'd expect Olivia to say. I guess she has a point, she thought. I mean, I much prefer Xan in jeans and a t-shirt, with his hair kind of messy, smelling like he just came in from a lumber yard. She shivered as the silk, cool from the warehouse, slid along her skin. With the low back, there was no zipper or anything; she just pulled it on. I bet it comes off easily, too, Keely thought, nervously smoothing the dress down. Of course, she was thinking about prom with Xan, not with Brad. Well, it fits, she thought, turning to face the curtain. She pushed it aside and stepped out of the corner, waiting for gasps of horror or something. Everyone turned to look at her, and suddenly she realized how Shauna must have felt, in this same situation. "Well, well, well," Olivia said, smiling smugly. "Contrary to Popular Belief, you can turn a scrappy tomcat into a sleek little Persian." ------- With both feet and head aching from a long day of shopping, Keely was glad to have it all over with. All she wanted now was to spend some time with Xan and work on her not-so-master plan. They'd stopped to drop of Mardea and Shauna, and then they'd made a brief pit stop at Keely's house so they could drop off the things she'd bought. Of course, she'd gotten shanghaied by her father, who wanted to see what she'd done with the money he'd given her for a dress. He'd been pretty impressed, not to mention overwhelmed—as she herself had been—by the number of accessories needed for a prom dress. I want to show Xan my dress, Keely thought. But if I end up convincing him to go with me, I want it to be a surprise. The thing was, how was she going to convince him? And what was she going to do about Brad? As much fun as it would have been, dumping him at prom, she was thinking maybe she should just be nice about the whole thing. Not that Brad really deserved it, but maybe doing the mature, grown-up thing would help to impress Xan. Besides, Keely didn't need more conflict in her life. Finals and prom were stressful enough, alongside her parents' impending divorce. Up ahead of them, another car—the only other one on the long stretch of highway—slowed suddenly. Olivia swore and leaned on her horn, but the car didn't speed up. Still moving, the back door swung open, and someone inside tossed a box out onto the side of the road. As it tumbled end over end, the car sped up again, and took off at a speed way over the limit. Still muttering to herself, Olivia put her foot on the gas, but a sudden poke from Keely made her stop. "What?" Olivia snapped, looking tired and agitated. Keely wasn't offended. "I want to see what that was." "Hold on a minute!" Olivia yelled, as Keely unbuckled her seatbelt and started climbing out of the car. "What if it's a bomb or something?" Keely ignored her. Really, a bomb in their sleepy little town? Besides which, people didn't throw bombs on the side of the highway. They hid them in cars or the basements of corporate buildings. She trotted across the dry, stiff grass on the side of the road, and by the time she reached the box, which had landed with the bottom up, she had a pretty good idea of what was in it. She knew for certain that it wasn't a bomb; bombs didn't meow. ------- Xan sprawled on his couch, flipping idly through channels on the T.V. He didn't much like days off. Or, at least, he didn't like days off when he was left to his own devices. He must not have known a whole lot about shopping, because he hadn't been aware that it would take the whole day. It was almost six o'clock and his stomach was growling anxiously. Xan and Keely had made plans to order some pizza and watch a movie or something, but if things kept going at this rate, it would be midnight before she got here. How long can it possibly take to find a dress? Xan wondered, clicking off the T.V. and pushing himself into a sitting position. Then again, what do I know about dresses? All he really knew was that he was dead curious to see what kind of dress Keely would pick out. Maybe he should take Olivia's advice and just ask her to go with him instead of Brad. Except they'd spent so much time setting this up. Plus, Xan knew that she hated losing bets. Her determination was part of her charm, but he was finding it to be a bit on the frustrating side these days. With nothing better to do, he decided to just order the pizza. Same as usual, except he got Sicilian crust, figuring Keely would probably like that. With nothing else to do to kill time—he'd already showered, so that was out, of course—he headed back towards the T.V. As soon as Xan had sat back down, someone knocked at his door. He was a bit unsettled by the way his heart leapt, but for the moment he managed to ignore it. Collecting himself, he went to the door to answer it, forcing himself not to run his fingers through his hair in a futile attempt to make it tidier. He was a little baffled when he opened the door to find Keely cradling a battered box in her arms. She looked cute, with her hair pulled up into a high, somewhat lopsided ponytail. Although she'd finally given in to wearing her new jeans all the time, Xan was amused to see her wearing her faded Pink Floyd t-shirt. She looked up at him and smiled brightly, her eyes crinkling at the corners. Keely gave him a little nudge with her hip as she pushed her way past him and he had to bite his lip to keep from groaning. He doubted she'd meant it to be sexual, but that didn't stop him from getting excited. "What is that, precisely?" Xan asked, to distract himself. "Shhh!" Keely hissed. "You'll scare him." "Him?" Xan followed her to the couch, where she sat down on the floor with the box. "There's something alive in there?" As if on cue, a small, furry head nudged aside the box flap and gazed up at him. Yikes! Xan thought. That is the ugliest kitten I've ever seen! It was solid slate gray with the exception of its black tail, black tipped paws, and the lopsided patch of black fur across one side of its face. It had certainly been in some kind of scrap, because part of its left ear was gone, and there was a healing scar where its right eye had once been. Keely, however, did not seem at all bothered by the appearance of her find. She picked the kitten up and set him on her lap. "Isn't he wonderful?" Keely gazed down fondly at the little monster. "Um..." Xan really didn't know what to say. Keely looked up at him and smiled sadly. "Someone threw him out of the car on the highway," she told him. "Poor thing..." Poor thing? Xan thought, watching the cat lay its head between Keely's breasts. That is the luckiest creature in the world right now. He sat down on the couch and tried to come to terms with the fact that he was jealous of Catenstein while Keely cooed at and coddled her new friend. The cat looked up at him, its one good eye seeming to glare. With its eyes still kitten blue, it looked downright creepy. Don't give me that look, cat, Xan thought, frowning. She's hugging you, not me, after all. Keely looked so happy, all because of one ugly little kitten. "Well, you've always wanted a cat," Xan said. "Now that your mom is gone, you can keep him, can't you?" "It's not that simple." Keely rose and carried her new friend into the kitchen. Xan rose as well and followed. "Mom owns half the house. Until things are... settled... well, there are certain agreements and one of them is no pets." She moved around the kitchen as easily as if she lived in his apartment. Well, she is here a lot, Xan thought, reaching past her to get a bowl, which he tended to keep on higher shelves. She smiled at him as she took it. Keely filled the bowl up with water and set both it, and Catenstein down on the floor. When she was satisfied that the kitten had gotten enough to drink, she turned her attention back to Xan. "It really isn't fair," Keely said. "It's not like she or dad would have to pay anything for it. I spend so much time volunteering at the vet's office in the summer, they'd at least give me a discount. I'd find a way to pay for him, anyway." I'm going to regret this, Xan thought. "So you can pay for his shots and all?" he asked. "And the things he needs?" "Of course," Keely said, her attention suddenly focused very intently on him. "Well, if you're willing to take care of him, you can keep him here," Xan told her. "Until things get settled, that is." Not that he minded cats, or any other animal, but living with Catenstein would have only one benefit: Keely would be there every day to care for him. And as far as he was concerned, that was a great benefit. The way her eyes lit up when he told her he'd house her cat for her made Xan feel strangely warm inside. She crossed the kitchen in a few very swift steps and threw her arms around him, making him feel warm on the outside, too. I can't believe I didn't think of getting her a cat, he thought, resting a hand on the back of her neck and just enjoying the weight of her body against his. He caught a glimpse of Catenstein, who was glaring one-eyed at him again, and figured she'd probably notice if he went out and replaced her kitten with a prettier—not to mention friendlier—one. Keely lifted her head, and Xan leaned back, a little disappointed. A moment later, when she caught his face between her hands and dragged his mouth down to hers, his disappointment fled. It was bold, even for her, and he liked it. He shifted his hand into her hair and carefully tugged it free, so he could wrap his fingers in those soft, silken strands while she kissed him. There was a certain awkwardness to her kissing, but what she lacked in skill, she made up for in sheer enthusiasm. Xan took control of the kiss, as he slowly pulled her backwards into the living room, deciding the couch was closer than the bed. Maybe, if he'd been the one to initiate the kiss, he'd have been able to find a way to control himself. But when Keely's lips opened oh-so-willingly beneath his, he knew he was doomed. He felt her shiver as he slid his tongue slowly over her lower lip. The tip of her tongue met his, and she moaned softly, a sound that caused him to pull her as tightly against him as he could. Xan backed into the couch and pulled her down onto it with him. She pulled her mouth away from his and sucked in a deep breath. Keely's lips were swollen and she was out of breath. Xan gave her a second or two to recover, then kissed her again. He pushed her back onto the couch, so he could keep her pinned beneath him. The way she wriggled drove him crazy. He dropped a hand to her hip to keep her still, but she was as feisty as ever. Keely nipped at his lower lip, and when he lifted his head up, she wound her fingers in his hair and pulled him right back down to her. Xan kissed her hard, until she was gasping, then began making his way down the line of her jaw and along her neck with his mouth. She made a soft murmuring sound as he nibbled at her earlobe. Looking up, Xan saw her eyelashes flutter, and the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile. He pushed himself up onto one elbow, so he could reach her mouth again. The hand resting on her hip tugged at her t-shirt, pulling it up to expose a few inches of her belly. Keely let out a stifled protest, but she didn't actually stop him when he slid his hand under her shirt. Her skin was warm and soft, so pleasant in contrast with the roughness of his hands. Xan moved his hand up slowly, feeling her relax beneath him. He was too caught up in her to think straight. Xan pulled her bra up, baring her breasts, and moved his hand up further to cup one. Keely gasped, then moaned softly, pressing against his hand as he teased her nipple with his thumb. It hardened under his gentle teasing, and the tip took on a velvet texture. He rubbed the pad of his index finger over it, until she was wriggling uncontrollably once again. Xan lowered his head to her breasts, his lips brushing lightly over her nipple—and then something landed on his back, digging little claws through his shirt. He sat back, letting out a hiss of pain between his teeth, as Catenstein leapt onto the back of the couch. Keely scrambled up into a sitting position, her hair tangled and her face flushed. She quickly pulled her clothing back into place and jumped up off the couch, making shooing motions with her hands at the cat. "Get down!" she commanded, giving him a stern look. "Bad kitty." He sat there staring at her, twitching his tail. "Lovely," Xan muttered, giving the cat an evil look. At that moment, the buzzer sounded, and the cat jumped down off the couch. "That must be the pizza." "I'll go get it," Keely said. She was still red to the roots of her hair. She scooped up the pizza money which Xan had left on the coffee table earlier, then turned and fled out of the apartment. Wondering if that was a bad thing, he flopped down onto the couch. Catenstein jumped back onto the back of the couch and glowered down at him. Thanks, cat, Xan thought, lifting a hand up and waiting as the scraggly kitten sniffed at it. I damn near lost my mind. He scratched behind the cat's mismatched ears, earning a grudging purr. Although he wasn't sure if he was grateful to the little creature for interrupting them or not. ------- Chapter 10: Hard-Hitting Truths It was definitely too warm. And bright. As she stepped out of the school building, Keely shielded her eyes from the sun. It was difficult to see much of anything with her eyes squinted to little slits, so it took her awhile to scan the parking lot. Damnit, I have to do this fast, she thought, glancing over her shoulder at the school. Before Xan gets out here. Because, of course, she'd made a decision. After Xan had told her he'd let her keep the kitten (which she was calling Cy, short for Cyclops), she'd known what she had to do: dump Brad before the prom. Normally Keely would have no problem doing it in front of everyone in the school, but she'd decided to be nice about it. Before homeroom she'd slipped a note in his locker, telling him to meet her in the parking lot after school. She was determined not to make a scene. Xan was right that the bet was rather childish, and so she wanted to handle it like an adult, to show him she could be mature about it. I just hope this doesn't leave me completely dateless, Keely thought, taking a perch on one of the guardrails at the edge of the parking lot. Especially after I already bought a dress... argh, this whole being a girl thing really bites! Fortunately it wasn't too long before Brad showed up. Naturally, at least half of his usual posse trailed along behind him. Perhaps she should have told him to come alone, but she hadn't wanted him getting the wrong idea. I'll handle it, Keely thought, sliding down off the guardrail. Although how, I don't know. Following along behind the group was Gina Halloway, looking sulky, as usual. She gave Keely a dirty look, but didn't come too close. "Um... look..." Keely began, staring directly at Brad and trying to ignore everyone else. "I'd really prefer to talk alone, if we could." "Don't worry, girl," Brad said, looking insufferably smug. "Anything you want to say, you can say in front of my buddies." Keely sighed. "If you insist," she said. She glanced around the small circle of people, her eyes falling last on Gina, then shrugged. "I'm not going to the prom with you." The smug smile dropped off his face quickly, to replaced by a satisfyingly horrified expression. The group around him stirred, giving Keely curious looks, and Gina's pout had turned into a barely suppressed smirk. Brad stood very still, staring down at her, his mouth hanging open. He managed to recover his composure, but not before other people noticed that something was going on and started to wander over. Wow, way to end the school day, Dork-Girl, Keely thought, glancing uneasily at the people approaching. So much for not making a scene... "You're kidding, right?" Brad made an attempt to laugh. "I know you've always been a joker, but..." "I'm not joking," Keely said firmly. "I'm sorry. I didn't want to do this where other people would hear, but you didn't leave me much choice." Brad's expression went from embarrassment to fury. "This is all because of that walking greaseball, isn't it?" Keely's eyebrows raised. There was no doubt in her mind that he was talking about Xan. Testosterone rears its ugly head, she thought, sighing. Come on, boys, might as well take 'em out and measure 'em already. Not that she'd ever say that to Xan, although she might say it to Brad. Here she'd gone through all the trouble of trying to be nice about this, and he was being an asshole. If Xan saw this, he was sure to think that Keely had started it. Heck, even she would have thought that she'd started it. "That's really rich, coming from you, Brad," Keely said, glowering at him. "Now, if you don't mind, I have to get going." "To your precious grease monkey?" Brad sneered. "Why shouldn't I be surprised that you'd prefer some classless criminal?" Keely frowned. "Okay, now you're pushing it," she warned him. "Move out of my way. Now." "He really has reached a new low," Brad went on, ignoring her. "I always thought he'd sleep with just about anything, but even I wouldn't have thought he'd take advantage of a pathetic, desperate little bitch like you." Keely wasn't often short of temper. Okay, she was feisty, but most people had to work to make her angry. Not Brad Faraday, though. Her vision narrowed to that conceited smile of his. Dropping her backpack on the ground, she took a step forward, pulled her arm back, and swung. Brad let out a very unmanly squeal as his nose gave way beneath her knuckles. Keely's hand wasn't too happy about the whole thing either, but she ignored the pain and gave her fingers a flick, sending droplets of blood flying. Brad fell backwards, clutching his face, as the crowd around them broke into raucous laughter. She felt someone grab her shoulder. Her backpack was shoved into her arms, and then she was being dragged across the parking lot, away from Brad and the crowd that had gathered. Keely struggled to get her backpack over her shoulder as she stumbled along. Looking up, she saw that it was Xan pulling her, to no surprise. Whether he was angry or not, she couldn't tell; his face was completely expressionless. And he spoke not a word to her, as he handed her a helmet, jumped on his bike, and started it up. Keely climbed up behind him and held onto him tight, her stomach tying itself in knots as what she'd done began to sink it. Well, that went brilliantly, she thought. I didn't want Xan to see me make a scene... instead he saw me hit someone. So much for that whole feminine thing she'd been going for lately. She'd be lucky if she didn't get into serious trouble for that. Keely's one hope was that Brad wasn't going to like to admit—or let anyone else admit—that he'd been punched in the face by a girl. A chubby, clumsy girl who was probably almost a foot shorter than him. Not that he didn't deserve it, she thought, resting her head against Xan's shoulder. He had no right to say that... Xan's a good person. He's the best person in the world. He was quiet the whole time they were climbing up the stairs to his apartment, and as he didn't speak to her when they got inside, only dropped his keys on the coffee table and walked into his room. Keely followed him. He paused in the middle of his room, very still, and she felt him jump a bit when she rested a hand on his arm. Suddenly Xan spun, caught her around the waist, and pulled her down onto the bed. She shrieked and flailed, her heart thudding loudly in her ears. He was laughing. He pinned her down, holding her in place with one hand, and looked down at her, laughing. "That was brilliant, kitten," Xan murmured, touching his fingertip to the tip of her nose and smiling at her. Keely was sure she'd turned a fascinating shade of red. "Oh," she said, staring at him, and feeling a little confused. "I um... I wasn't planning to... I mean, he deserved it..." Xan's smile widened to a boyish grin that looked really good on him. He sat back—much to her disappointment, because it felt good having him against her like that—and pulled her up to a sitting position. His fingers brushed through her hair idly, as if he didn't really notice what he was doing. I could get used to this really quick, Keely thought, as Xan's fingertips traced the line of her jaw, then trailed along her cheek. She sighed and looked up at him. The soft, gray-green eyes that she adored so much were lit from within. He's happy, she thought, feeling a thrill of total joy. I made him happy... I should hit Brad more often. "I really shouldn't encourage you," Xan said quietly, "but that was the best thing I've seen in a long time." "Well, he had no right to say those things," Keely said stubbornly. "He's one to talk... he's such a jerk. Do you think he'll get me in trouble?" "And risk another right hook?" Xan grinned wickedly. Keely looked down at the bedspread, fighting back a smile. She couldn't help but be a little pleased with herself. Okay, really pleased with myself, she thought, relaxing against Xan's side. She considered trying to kiss him, but a mewing sound caught her attention. Cyclops leapt up onto the bed, his tail twitching, staring at the two of them with his one good eye. Keely held out her hands and the kitten came forward, climbing into her lap. He sniffed her fingers for a moment, then jumped lightly onto her shoulder to investigate her hair. "Heeeey, that tickles!" Keely laughed, as the kitten snuffed at her ear. She stroked her hand down his short back, and looked up at Xan. "Why do you hate each other so much, anyway? You and Brad." "We've known each other for years," Xan told her, shrugging. "We didn't always hate each other, but in eighth grade... well, we both liked the same girl. That's how I ended up going to juvi, anyway." "Oh." Keely reached out her free hand and touched his arm. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to." Xan turned to face her and smiled. It was one of those sweet, sad smiles that made her want to hold him tight. Granted he only had to breathe to make her want to hold him tight, but still. Annoyed at not being the center of attention, Cy jumped off her shoulder and curled up on the bed between her and Xan, swiveling his head to take turns glowering at both of them. Keely laid a hand on Cy's back, but continued looking at Xan. She remembered what Olivia had said to her once, about looking into those gray-green eyes and being unable to say 'no'. Boy, she hadn't been kidding. Xan gave Cy a little nudge. Seriously offended now, the cat rose and walked across the bed, his head held high and his tail as straight as a poker. Keely giggled as she watched him jump down off the bed and stalk out of the room; it would figure that she'd find a cat as quirky as she was. She turned back to Xan, to see if he thought the same, and found him a lot closer than he had been just a moment ago. His cheek brushed hers as he leaned into her. Keely sat very still, her heart thudding heavily against her ribs, as Xan rested his head against her shoulder. "He hurt her," Xan said softly. "So I hurt him." "They put you in juvi for that?" Keely asked. She put an arm around him, laying her hand against his back. "I really hurt him." Xan's breath was warm against her neck. "I wanted to kill him." Don't worry, Keely thought, twining a strand of his hair around her finger. Most of the time, I want to kill him too. She felt a rush of guilty pleasure, having him so close. He needed her, and it made her feel... well, good wasn't quite the right word. She put both arms around him and laid her head against his. His hair was soft and tickled her cheek. So what if I don't have a date for the prom, Keely thought, closing her eyes. That was so worth it. I'd do it again in a heart beat. The calling off the date thing, not just the punching Brad in the face thing. When Xan pulled back, she was sorely disappointed. But his smile was a bit more cheerful. He stood up off the bed, becoming an immediate target for Cy, who was apparently fascinated by the laces of his boots. "How about I get us some Chinese food?" Xan offered. "Sound good?" "Sure," Keely said. She peeked over the edge of the bed at Cy, who jumped around, circling Xan's boots as if they were some strange, exotic creature. "Do you want me to come with you?" "I want you to stay here," Xan said, swooping down and grabbing the cat, "and play with your pet until he passes out. Maybe then he won't wake me up at three o'clock in the morning." Keely grinned and reached her hands out to take Cy from him. It was strange, not to go with Xan when he picked up food, but on the plus side, it meant she could curl up on his bed. As soon as she heard the door of his apartment close, she cuddled up against his pillows, with Cy taking a place just above her head. While her cat chewed on her hair, she closed her eyes, thinking back to the nights when she'd ended up sleeping next to Xan in this bed. I'm going to get him to go to the prom with me, Keely thought. Even if I have to sic Cy on him to convince him! ------- "Now that is the look of a desperate man." Xan frowned and glanced over at Olivia. He shifted uncomfortably and pushed at his seatbelt, but said nothing. This was a bad idea, he thought. I'm not completely incapable. I can figure something out on my own. Sure, relying on Olivia would make things easier, but that didn't mean he had to. Oh, who the hell do I think I'm kidding? Xan thought. I have no clue what to do here. So much for him being that good-with-the-ladies bad boy type. Days like these made him wonder how he'd ended up with that reputation. He wasn't quite certain when he'd made up his mind. He was pretty sure it wasn't when Keely punched Brad, but that had been one of the finer moments of his life. And it wasn't on the ride back to his place, or when he'd—in his perhaps overweening enthusiasm—pulled her onto the bed. Xan was pretty sure it was when she'd held onto him. Or maybe when she didn't shy away when he mentioned that he'd wanted to kill Brad. Had, in fact, come close to doing so. "Just answer me one thing," Xan said. "Is there some kind of... well, less dorky alternative to a tuxedo?" "Yes!" Olivia crowed, slapping her hands against the steering wheel. "You finally asked her to the prom!" "Well, um... not yet," Xan admitted. "I want you to answer my question, first." He caught a glimpse of her rolling her eyes in the rearview mirror. "You're going to base whether or not you ask her on your wardrobe?" "Hey, I don't want to look like a penguin," Xan said defensively. "Keely loves penguins," Olivia said, grinning wickedly. "I bet it would get you bonus points." Xan leaned his head back against the seat, trying very hard not to laugh. As long as I don't have to dress up like Catenstein, he thought, unable to resist a grin. Penguins are cute at least. That's just... Then again, Catenstein got to rest his head on Keely's breasts without it seeming too forward. He'd thought it very appropriate that she'd decided to call him Cyclops—a monster more fitting to the cat's actual nature. Except, of course, when Keely was around. When she wasn't there, Cy poked his nose into everything, chewed holes in his bag of cat food, sat on the couch and shed, no doubt for the sheer fun of it, and woke Xan at three o'clock in the morning by biting his toes. When she was around, he was a perfect angel. "Don't worry," Olivia said. "The tuxedo is highly overrated. And ridiculous for someone your age. It screams 'marriage', not fun. Plus, it's way too much to have to take off. And speaking of which... you haven't seen her dress yet, have you?" "No." Xan shrugged. "She didn't say much about it. She was so excited about the cat." He decided not to mention what had happened on the couch. "I don't care if she wears a toga... she punched Brad. That's worth almost any form of torture." "When you see her in this dress, torture is not what you'll be thinking about," Olivia teased. "I bet now I can persuade her to buy something from Victoria's Secret..." Xan decided not to comment on that. It wasn't like he was planning to... he wasn't trying to... God, she's my friend, he thought. Okay, so I'm having some issues accepting that, but... He knew better than to ruin a good friendship. Aside from which, he wasn't really sure he was capable of handling something serious. He was not exactly the most emotionally mature guy there was, even if he was light-years ahead of his peers. Xan didn't want to test himself on someone as wonderful as Keely. It would kill him, to hurt her in any way. He listened with half an ear to Olivia, who rattled on distractedly, coming out with ideas only to decide a moment later that they weren't good enough. By the time he'd gotten the Chinese food and arrived back at his apartment, he couldn't wait to be with Keely again. Xan adored Olivia—she'd been his friend for years now—but sometimes she could be a bit shallow. Especially when she got to talking about things like clothes. Keely, although she did enjoy the occasional Worst Dressed list, was willing to talk about pretty much anything, or nothing at all. He found her in his bedroom where he'd left her, curled up on his bed. Right, Xan thought. Just wonderful. Oh, damn, she's so cute... Keely peeked out from beneath her hair, which had been pulled over her face by an annoyingly playful Cy. She sat up, brushing it back from her face, and smiled at him. The strawberry blonde locks were all tangled up, and no amount of finger combing could smooth the ruffled look. Xan sat down on the edge of the bed, pushing Cy away from the Chinese food bag each time the cat crept closer. "Smells good," Keely said, reaching into the bag and pulling out a pair of chopsticks. "I was thinking... I know you're not a huge chick flick fan, but I brought a movie... to get myself all geared up for prom, you know." "I suppose it depends on the movie," Xan told her. He started pulling out cartons and setting them on his night table. "If I have to sit through Sixteen Candles or Pretty in Pink... Olivia will kill me for this, but she loves those movies." "I brought 'She's All That'." Keely broke open a carton of white rice and grabbed a mouthful with her chopsticks; no pretenses, just the way he liked her. "Freddie Prinze Jr. is a dweeb, but I'd sell half my soul to look like Rachel Leigh Cook." "Keep your soul. All of it." Xan scooted up onto the bed and settled next to her, leaning against the pillows. "We like you the way you are. Right, Caten... err, Cy?" "Short, chubby, and loud-mouthed?" Keely asked, looking skeptical. She glanced at Cy. "Well?" Xan resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Would we be asking you to the prom if we didn't?" Keely opened her mouth, no doubt ready with some glib retort, but nothing ever came out. Her eyes were wide and she stared at him for a long moment before shaking her head. While she was preoccupied, Cy was able to stick his head in the carton of rice to inspect it. Xan pushed him away—and received a nip for his pains—and waited for Keely to say something. Anything, he thought. Please. This wasn't exactly how he'd planned this to go. In his mind there'd been happiness and maybe some hugging or something. Not silence. "Really?" Keely finally spoke. She looked uncertain and... hopeful, maybe? "Well, it is kind of my fault you no longer have a date," Xan pointed out. "I uh..." What else was he supposed to say? God, this isn't easy, he thought. I give that redheaded kid credit. This is tough. He set aside his carton of food and turned towards her, wracking his brain for something else to say. It was a really good thing he'd put his food down, because all of a sudden Keely was in his arms. Xan took the opportunity to hold her tight, because as far as he was concerned, he didn't get enough chances to do that. I'll take that as a yes, he thought, resting his cheek against her soft, somewhat ruffled hair. I hope I can handle this. It could possibly ruin his friendship with her, and yet he couldn't help thinking that it was one of the best choices he'd ever made. ------- Chapter 11: A Fairytale for Dork-Girl There were two things Xan worked to push out of his mind as he drove to Keely's house. The first thing was the reason why she'd asked him if he knew how to pick locks. Which he did, of course, although not for the reason most people thought; he simply loved to fiddle with that sort of thing. He didn't know why she'd asked him, nor was he really certain he wanted to. And he wasn't wholly positive on why he'd actually agreed to teach her, either. Xan was pretty sure, though, that it had something to do with coming home to find her lounging on the couch with Cy, wearing a clingy tank top and a pair of his shorts, which slid way too far down, on the day that she'd asked him. Which, in a way, led to the second thing he kept trying not to think about. This was prom night. There was supposed to be that whole magical, romantic element... which was great, except for what it might lead to. The tank top and shorts outfit had really been the straw that broke the camel's back. If she decided she wanted something more than friendship, Xan wasn't going to be able to say no. He wished he could feel more sure of himself, though. If he was positive he was capable of having a serious relationship with her, he would have already done something to initiate one. There was an extra car in the driveway when he reached her home. Keely had told him that her mother might show up. She'd sounded nonchalant about it, but he knew it worried her. Bitch, Xan thought, resisting a juvenile but highly tempting urge to key her car as he passed it. She's just trying to ruin this for Keely. He'd never thought he'd meet someone he despised more than Brad Faraday, but Keely's mother had easily won that crown. Fortunately, it was Keely's father who answered the door. He looked irritated and tired—probably due to Keely's mother ranting in the background—but he smiled as he gestured Xan into the house. For all its warm, homey atmosphere, Keely's house made him feel uncomfortable. He ignored her mother completely and focused on the stairs that led up to Keely's room. Olivia was supposedly helping her with make-up and hair, but as far as he knew, she wasn't here. Or if she was here, she had to have gotten a ride from someone, since he was borrowing her car. "Keely should be down in just a minute," her father said. His smile was amused and affectionate. "I think she's having some issues with her shoes." Her mother snorted. "There's a surprise," she said, her tone derisive. She glared at Xan. "I know people like you think it's just so amusing to make fun of people like my daughter. Just because she's not thin or pretty like those empty-headed little cheerleaders who run around dressed like sluts." "Shut up, mother!" Keely's voice cut like a knife, hard and sharp enough to make her mother flinch. Xan turned to the stairs, fighting the urge to laugh. Not that this gave him much trouble, because he could only really stare, once he actually saw her. Despite her scowl, which was directed at her mother, she looked amazing. Olivia must have gotten to her. Keely's skin, already pale, was a flawless porcelain like a debutante, and there was a hint of rose in her cheeks that looked unbelievably natural. Olivia had gone with the smoky-eyed look, which worked for Keely because it brought out the blue of her eyes so starkly. She turned and her face softened to a warm smile as she gazed down at him. Her hair was pulled back into a chignon, with a hand-painted French comb tucked into it; silvery-white lilies decorated the comb. A few curled strands framed her face. Keely started down the stairs carefully, raising the skirt of her dress so she wouldn't trip. Even then, she almost did, in the heels she was wearing. Xan ignored her mother's snort of laughter. Instead he reached out, steadying her when she reached the bottom of the stairs. Keely looked up at him, her smile turning sheepish. "Now there's my kitten," Xan teased, gently tugging one of her curls. "You look... well, what could I say that wouldn't be cliché and corny?" Keely grinned. "That'll work," she said. "You're not looking too bad yourself, you know." Xan plucked at the simple, dove gray button down shirt that he wore—untucked—beneath a dark navy suit jacket. He'd been uncertain about this getup when Olivia had first explained it to him; certainly it would look sloppy. But he should know by now to always trust Olivia. The end result was a kind of casual, Hollywood-esque chic that she insisted very few could pull off. Xan wasn't sure what any of that really meant, but Keely seemed to like it, which was good enough for him. She leaned really close to him, ignoring her mother and father. "Have a nice time, sweetheart," her father said, speaking loudly over Keely's mother. Xan put an arm around Keely's shoulders. She pulled a silvery, beaded shawl with fringed ends from the coat hangers next to the door, and let him steer her out of the house. He heard her mother, still ranting, even after he closed the door, but Keely pretended like she didn't hear a thing. I'm proud of her, he thought, giving her a quick, one-armed hug. She pressed against his side, which was when he became aware of how slinky and slippery the material of her dress was. It take no effort to slide it off. Okay, Xan thought, putting a bit of distance between the two of them. Let's try not to think about that just yet. He was glad he'd been able to borrow Olivia's car. It was definitely way past time to get one of his own. He couldn't take Keely to things like this on his motorcycle. And after all, he didn't even like his motorcycle. Well, except when Keely was on it with him. It was kind of odd, not having her pressed up against her, or hearing her occasional joyous yell as they sped down the road. Not to mention that Xan was going to go to the prom with her, something he'd sworn to himself he'd never do—with anyone. Because Westland High's senior class wasn't very big, their prom was being held in the school gym. They found both Shauna and Sean, and Mardea and her date—whose name he still didn't know—waiting for them outside of the gym building. Mardea was her usual stunning self, and the redheaded kid was looking both embarrassed and inordinately pleased with himself. Shauna, whose hair was now a soft brown color, looked very nice in pink. But when Keely stepped in front of him, going to greet her friends, Xan found it difficult to keep his eyes off her. The dress left her back bare, and her skin looked like it would be so nice to touch. "Hey, girl!" Mardea exclaimed, grinning at Keely. "Look at you!" "Wow," Sean said. "Can't believe that's you, McKenzie. Sure you're not a pod person?" "I dunno," Keely said, cocking her head to one side and gazing at him innocently. "How about I call for the Mothership to come pick you up, and you decide for yourself." Sean laughed. He put his arm around Shauna, who turned bright red and ducked her head. She didn't, however, push him away. The little redheaded kid—whose name Xan still didn't know, even though there he was, standing right in front of him—stared at Mardea, his hand hovering somewhere in the vicinity of her hip. She flashed him a sharky grin, pulled his arm around her waist, and half-dragged him towards the gym. There's a kid who is very pleased with himself right now, Xan thought, grinning. Courage has its rewards, I guess. As if he knew what he was talking about, because he nearly jumped out of his skin when Keely laid a hand on his arm. "Are we going to go in?" she asked, tilting her head so that he got a perfect view of her neck, which looked very tempting. Am I turning into a vampire here? Xan wondered. "Yeah," he replied, forcing a small, sheepish smile. "Let's go." Her return smile was bright and it made his heart flutter. Agh, I'm a guy! he thought, as he and Keely made their way towards the gym. My heart isn't supposed to flutter! How was he supposed to get through this? It was bad enough that even the thought of dancing made him want to crawl into a hole for the rest of his life. Even slow dancing wasn't an activity he was particularly fond of. With Keely? Oh god, Xan thought, what did I get myself into? Then Keely leaned into him, and he caught the scent of lilies in her hair; whatever he'd gotten himself into, it couldn't be wholly a bad thing. ------- "Hurry up, Keely!" Keely gritted her teeth. Her knees hurt from crouching—she could absolutely not kneel in an ivory dress—and she was irritated beyond believe. And not just because the lock to the ballot box was giving her so much trouble. This was supposed to be the perfect evening. Here she was, at the prom with Xan, and she hadn't even caught a glimpse of Brad since she'd first walked into the gym. Only her prince was disappointing her for the very first time. Keely had a feeling she'd turn into a pumpkin before Xan agreed to dance with her. Concentrate, Keely, she told herself. Concentrate! Mardea was just outside the ladies' bathroom—where the ballot box for prom queen was being kept—keeping watch for her. It had taken some figuring out, but finally they'd gotten Dave, Mardea's date, to help them out by luring away Ms. Milton, the science teacher who'd been left on guard duty. Just the thought that someone had been fooling around in her precious sciences labs had sent Ms. Milton running. Finally the lock on the ballot box came open. Quickly Keely cleared out the ballots, dumping them into a trash bag. Then she opened a second trash bag, and poured the contents into the ballot box. It was common knowledge that most people had changed their prom king votes to Sean; apparently even Brad's reputation couldn't keep from being bruised getting punched in the face by a girl. Gina was still in the running for prom queen, and the few ballots Keely had seen had had her name on it. Sorry, Gina, Keely thought, as she quickly snapped the lock shut. For once, you're going to have to put up with being second best. "Did you do it?" Mardea hissed at her. Keely held up the trash bag. "All done," she said. "Let's rid ourselves of this and get back to the dance." They headed back towards the gym, stopping only to duck outside and toss the trash bag in the dumpster. Slow music was playing in the gym when they got back. The two of them quickly made their way through the crowd, to the table where Xan and Dave were waiting (Sean and Shauna were on the dance floor). Keely dropped back into her chair, as gracefully as she could manage—which wasn't much—and looked up at Xan. His expression was suspicious. His expression was often suspicious, when he was looking at her. Not that she blamed him. "Where were you two?" Xan asked. "Ladies' room," Keely answered, smiling innocently. It was the truth, after all. "Keely..." Xan began. His voice was full of warning. "What did you do?" "Dance with me and I'll tell you," Keely said. Xan went silent. Keely bit back a growl of frustration. This sort of thing had never happened to them before. He's been on edge all night, she thought, sighing. Maybe he regrets asking me... This was not at all how she'd imagined this night would go. Olivia had managed to convince her that when Xan saw her in this dress, he'd be unable to resist her. So far, he's doing a pretty good job, Keely thought grumpily. I want to be happy, but this is just depressing. Even her good deed couldn't make her feel any better. Only another half hour, she told herself. After that, after I see it, then I can go home. She didn't need to stay until the end of the dance. In fact, maybe she'd call her dad and have him pick her up. This whole thing is a disaster, Keely thought. And it hurts so much. Well, she was just going to have to pull herself out of her self-pity for a little while longer. After that, she'd be free to go home. And mope around abjectly miserable until her father ran out to the twenty-four hour CVS down the street to get her ice cream; a feat that would take all of five minutes. Sean and Shauna came back to the table a little later. Shauna was grinning, and her cheeks were flushed with dancing. At least someone is having a good time, Keely thought. Actually... She glanced over at the chair that Dave had vacated. He and Mardea were out on the dance floor, boogieing like there was no tomorrow. So she was the only one who was having a lousy time. Well, her and Brad, wherever the hell he was. "Hey, you two," Shauna said cheerfully. "It's almost time for The Announcement. We're gonna go up closer to watch, right?" "You make it sound like such a bad thing," Sean said. "What if I get picked for prom king?" "Then I'll be proud of you," Shauna told him. She seemed to be warming up to the idea of dating him quite nicely. "Come on, you guys. We've still got to find Dea and... and her date." "Dave," Keely supplied. She glanced at her not-so-princely prince. "Going to join us?" The tension between them must have been obvious, because Shauna kept glancing back and forth at them, her expression concerned. Xan rose from his chair, but he didn't say anything. All six of them walked into the crowd of other students, who were beginning to gather around the stage. It's too bad Bridget can't be here to see this, Keely thought. That made her feel guilty. She barely ever though of Bridget, who'd been granted permission to finish school early. For what, Keely wasn't sure. Bridget had said it was so she could have extra time to adjust to her new college, but she hadn't heard from her. Nor had Mardea or Shauna, but when they called her parents, they assured them that Bridget was just busy. While the DJ turned down the music, the principal, Mr. Murdock, came out onto the platform built to serve as a stage, holding an envelope in his hand. The vice principal, Mrs. Gray, joined him, also holding an envelope. The crowd quieted, except for the occasional excited murmur. Everyone waited with baited breath as Mr. Murdock slowly peeled open his envelope. He always thought his antics—like pausing after each little tug to grin at the crowd—were funny; no one else agreed. Keely thought she'd die of old age before he got the damn envelope open. "Well, Westland High," Mr. Murdock said, as he slowly pulled the card from the envelope. "Your prom king this year is..." They waited, glaring at the principal. "Sean Lawrence!" There was a lot of cheering. Even before she'd punched Brad in the face, the school had been rather fond of Sean. He was a bit of an oddball, for a jock, but he was nice to everyone, no matter who they were. He paused to give Shauna a quick kiss on the cheek—much to the annoyance of the female portion of the crowd—before making his way up to the stage. Sean's smile was tolerant as he shook Mr. Murdock's hand. He stood very still, looking uncomfortable and even mildly disappointed, while Mrs. Gray opened the second envelope. "And this year's prom queen is, of course..." Mrs. Gray paused, frowning, even as Gina began wading through the crowd towards the stage. "... Shauna White?" The crowd was silent. Gina froze in place, looking like a frightened deer in headlights. Shauna stood there, gaping at the stage, until Keely and Mardea shoved her forward. Up on stage, Sean was grinning. Well, everyone else might be confused, but he's pleased, Keely thought. She folded her arms across her chest, feeling smug. Only she and Mardea had been in on the plan to turn Shauna into prom queen. It had been difficult to keep it a secret; Keely had wanted very much to tell Xan about it. In the end, though, it had turned out to be a great idea. Watching Shauna be crowned prom queen, watching her and Sean take the dance floor... it all made her feel a little less miserable. At least someone is happy tonight, Keely thought, smiling to herself. It was worth it, for that. She turned, figuring she'd tell Xan she was leaving, when a hand on her back made her jump. All of the sudden she found herself being held tight. Looking up, she met Xan's eyes, feeling confused. He smiled down at her and gave her a gentle push, urging her into the middle of the dancing crowd. "I should have realized what you were up to," Xan said. Keely, who was a little dazed, not to mention confused, managed an "Um..." It was difficult to think. Instead she laid her head against his chest, as the two of them swayed. All of this time and now he was finally dancing with her? Xan's hand rested on her back, warm against her skin. I'm supposed to be angry at him, Keely thought, closing her eyes. I'm supposed to push him away and tell him what a jerk he is... Well, she could always do that in a few minutes. At the moment it felt really nice to have him holding her. She wished the song would have gone on forever. Not just for her own sake—although there was that—but for Shauna, too. When the song finally did end, and the music changed to something more upbeat, Xan released his tight hold on her. He took a step back and there they stood, in the middle of the crowded dance floor, staring at one another. Someone jostled Keely, but she didn't move. She was too intent upon Xan's soft, gray-green eyes to care much about the lunatics dancing around them. So maybe she wouldn't be angry at him just yet... "I'm sorry, kitten," Xan said quietly, so that she could only just hear him over the music. "I know I've been a jerk. I'm just not big on dancing... I feel like an idiot when I try to dance. It isn't an excuse, I know... but I really am sorry." Keely shrugged. "It's okay," she told him. "But Xan... it's not like you'd look like the biggest idiot here..." She pointed. Finally, after hours, she'd spotted Brad. Xan followed her gaze to a corner, where Brad sat alone at a table, sulking. Gina had abandoned him for one of his less pathetic teammates, it seemed. His face was swollen and his nose, which she'd broken, was half-covered. Xan stared at him for a moment, his face expressionless. Then he grabbed Keely by the wrist suddenly, pulling her against him again. Laughing, she looked up, to see his eyes sparkling with good humor. The last time she'd seen him grinning like that had been just after she'd punched Brad. "Now that," Xan said, "is worth looking like an idiot." ------- He knew, as soon as Keely had approached him, that something was wrong. They'd decided to head home, and he'd made a quick trip to the bathroom. Xan had been heading out to meet her when she'd come running towards him—or tripping, really, in her heels. Without protest he'd allowed her to drag him along, even though she didn't actually explain to him what the problem was. He knew it had to be bad, for her to be so upset. And besides which, Xan really owed her, after he'd been such an ass to her most of the evening. He regretted that. The last hour or so of the dance had ended up being a blast. It was hard to feel stupid, even dancing, when Brad was sitting in the corner, looking the epitome of loser. And Keely was... sheesh, she was really a sweetheart, letting him get away with that crap. Of course, it hadn't just been fear of looking silly that had made Xan hesitant. Holding her through some of those slow dances had just been sheer torture. He'd had to think of something else—anything else—to keep himself from getting too excited. Really, the whole thing was verging on pathetic. Keely tugged him outside. There, in the parking lot, a crowd of girls had gathered. Xan had a sinking feeling that he knew what was going on. Letting go of Keely's hand, he made his way quickly through the parking lot and started pushing his way through the crowd of girls. Exclamations of surprise and outrage followed him, but he really didn't care. He had to physically pull one girl—a cheerleader, he thought, though not Gina—off of poor Shauna. She stood there, huddling, her arms wrapped around herself. Her hair was disheveled, and one of the straps of her dress had snapped. "Get away from her," Xan snarled, shoving another girl away. "Move!" "Don't push me!" One girl cried. "What's going on here? Let me through!" Sean's voice, loud and angry, broke through the din. The crowd of girls parted. Shauna looked up. Tears ran down her face, but she lifted her chin up definitely. Xan reached for her arm, but she shrugged him off. She shifted her shawl—a thin bit of light pink chiffon—onto her shoulders and turned, starting off across the parking lot. Sean, looking startled, pushed away a few girls who crowded around him, and started after her. Shauna whirled suddenly to face him, her angry glare making him freeze in his tracks. Xan felt Keely come up beside him and freeze as well. "You people... you're horrible!" Shauna shouted. "All you care about is yourselves! It doesn't matter to any of you who you hurt! I can't stand any of you!" They were all silent. Xan felt Keely lean into him; he put an arm around her, hoping he could in some small way ease her worries. Sean stood there for a long moment, stock still. I wish I could see his face, Xan thought, as he moved forward suddenly, heading for Shauna. Before she got a chance to move away, Sean had caught up to her. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her gently, much to the dismay of the crowd of girls around them. Keely let out a delighted little squeal and jumped up and down. Xan tightened his hold on her; the last thing he wanted was for her to disturb the moment. He kept her pinned firmly against while Sean and Shauna kissed. Finally Sean pulled away, and while Shauna stood there, looking dazed, he pulled off his jacket and threw it around her shoulders. Then he pulled her into his arms again and held her. Well, at least someone knows how to go for what they want, Xan thought. He released his hold on Keely, who had calmed down some. "Get out of here!" Xan growled at the girls, who were still gathered around. "Get lost, all of you!" "Well," Keely said, as the others starting filing away. "This has been a pretty good night, wouldn't you say?" "It's had its ups and downs," Xan said, grinning down at her. "Not to mention a few small misdemeanors. You ready to head home?" Keely hesitated. "Um..." she began, looking down at her feet. "Not exactly..." "Want to go watch a movie?" Xan ventured. He wasn't sure what possessed him to ask. Keely looked up and grinned. He grinned back. Oh hell, he thought, drawing her against his side. I don't want the night to end just yet, either. All of this could lead to him losing his control—or, at the very least, his mind. But he wanted more time with Keely. He wanted to curl up with her on his bed and enjoy a movie. He wanted to make it up to her for not being the greatest prom date. Most of all, though, Xan wanted to be somewhere alone, somewhere it would be okay if he did, in the end, find it impossible to resist her. ------- Chapter 12: A Soft Touch In the middle of the night, there were only so many places to get a bite to eat. That was how he and Keely ended up having a small picnic of cheeseburgers, greasy fries, and thick, somewhat bland chocolate milkshakes. Normally Xan would have found it all to be very disgusting, but it wasn't so bad tonight. For one thing, he was starving after the dance; that last hour had taken a lot of energy out of him. For another thing, he had Keely beside him. Bread and water would have tasted like a feast to him at that moment. And it helped that Catenstein wasn't there, trying to horn in on his fries (Olivia had agreed to look after him during the prom). He and Keely were stretched out on the bed in his room, watching The Princess Diaries—one of her picks, of course. Xan ended up watching a lot of things he'd never even glance at twice, when he was with her. It was easy to just relax and enjoy something with Keely, who didn't find anything remotely strange about a guy watching this kind of movie. And he had to admit, the movie's plucky, klutzy, socially dysfunctional character reminded him of a certain little strawberry blonde of whom he was very fond. Xan enjoyed her laughter far more than the movie. She had her toes tucked under his feet—despite the fact that it was May, her feet were cold. It should have been irritating (no one liked cold feet), but he was glad of any way in which he could get close to her. This is so unfair, Xan thought, toying with a strand of hair that had come loose from her chignon. How am I supposed to know how to deal with this? Falling for his best friend was not a problem he'd had to worry about before. He wasn't even certain how he felt; he just knew that Keely was important to him. "It's late..." Keely murmured, as the movie's credits began to roll. "Do you want me to take you home?" Xan asked. Keely shook her head. "Not just yet," she said, as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "I've got to get that movie fuzz out of my head. You know what I mean?" "I might..." Xan said, grinning lopsidedly at her. "But only because I'm starting to understand what words mean in Keely-language." She stuck her tongue out at him. It took every muscle in his body and every ounce of willpower that he had, to keep himself from leaning over and showing her a few things that he could do with his tongue. Instead, Xan sat up and moved to the side of the bed, letting her scoot over next to him. They sat in silence, Keely swinging her feet back and forth against the box spring. Looking down, he saw that she'd painted her toenails silver. This is starting to get awkward, he thought, glancing at her. Am I supposed to do something? Does she expect me to? Oh, there he went with the acting like he was going through puberty again thing. "I wonder how Shauna is doing..." Keely murmured into the silence. "I'm sure she's fine," Xan assured her. "Sean probably took her home." Keely grinned. "Her home, or his?" "Well, that is the prom night tradition," Xan said, laughing. "So is that what we're supposed to be doing?" Keely asked jokingly. The joke didn't work. Both of them lapsed into awkward silence again. In the dimness of his room, Xan could see the color rise on Keely's cheeks. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but he was afraid to touch her; he was shaking with how badly he wanted her. They sat close enough to each other that he could feel the warmth of her body, but not the soft brush of her skin. When she suddenly sprang up from the bed, Xan was startled. "Excuse me," Keely muttered, before fleeing into the bathroom. He stared at her, blinking in the lack of light. Well, that was slick, he thought, flopping back onto the bed with a groan. Yep, a right charmer I am, that's for sure. He should have done something, found a way to make light of the situation, to ease her nerves. Xan wasn't used to being so bad at being around women. He was no Casanova or whatever, but he usually managed to behave with some self-control and dignity. I used to not have this problem around Keely, he thought. I used to be able to look at her without... He shivered; he used to be able to look at her without wondering what it would feel like to be inside her. It wasn't something that was easy to get out of his system, either. When Xan had begun to feel faint stirrings of guilt when he slept with Olivia, he'd turned over to more... hands-on methods. It was more than just a physical craving, and it was starting to scare him. It brought back those odd, tender feelings he'd had at age fifteen, when he'd first pulled his frightened little kitten out from beneath the picnic table. Back then, Xan had fallen for her, had been sucked in by his need to protect her. It was beginning to seem like that was happening again. ------- Keely stared into the mirror. Her reflection, wide-eyed and red-cheeked, stared back at her. I can't believe I said that, she thought, resisting the urge to wail. I wasn't thinking! When Xan joked with her, she tended to relax, probably too much. She'd swung back and forth between comfort and nervousness so often during the night that she was feeling a little dizzy. Keely was at a loss for what to do. The last thing she wanted was for Xan to stop being her friend. But it's not like things haven't happened between us before, she thought. He wouldn't have done that if he wasn't interested in me. God, how she wished she could read minds. Keely had never imagined that this sort of thing could be so difficult. The fact was, though, that it was hard to decide how to act, when you couldn't be sure of what was in a person's heart and mind. Keely adored Xan, but did he feel the same way? Sometimes she thought he might. Other times—like tonight, when he'd refused to dance with her—she wasn't so sure. With a deep breath, she pushed open the bathroom door and walked out, flicking off the light as she went. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the bedroom, which was dark, but finally she could see enough to move across the room. Xan was laying on his bed, still and quiet, but she had a feeling he was awake. Keely paused halfway to the door and looked over at him, studying the lean form stretched out along the mattress. Her fingers itched; she wanted to touch him again, to feel his skin beneath her hands like she had when he'd shown her his tattoo. "Come here, Keely," Xan said suddenly, startling her. "I uh... I was thinking... maybe I should... should go..." Keely stammered, her voice high and quavering. Xan sighed. "Come on... here kitty, kitty, kitty..." She wasn't sure whether that should make her angry or not. It did send a flush of warm through her body; something in his tone tempted her to move closer. Her skirt swished around her legs as she walked to the bed. Xan reached up, catching her hand in his. Keely giggled as his fingertips tickled her palm. She sank down onto the bed, relaxing a little, getting closer to the warmth and strength of his body. He pushed himself up so he was leaning against the headboard and smiled at her, giving her nose a gentle tweak. She pushed his hand away, laughing. He still had her other hand in his, though, and he tugged on her, pulling her towards him. Keely fell against him, resting her head on his chest like she had while they'd danced. Xan wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up onto his lap. Don't let go, Keely thought, holding onto him tightly. She closed her eyes, sighing softly as his hand settled against her back. If it weren't for Xan, taking her by the shoulders and gently pushing her back, she could have stayed like that all night. "Listen, kitten," Xan said quietly. His fingers gently stroked her cheek. "I... I uh... well..." "You don't have to say it," Keely said, smiling. She reached up and began pulling the pins from her hair. "I'm pretty sure I understand." "You know... this sort of thing could end up... awkward... in the end." Xan watched her pull the comb from her hair, letting the strawberry blonde locks tumble free. "Do we really have to think about that now?" Keely asked, leaning against him again. "I know that's supposed to be the sensible thing to do, and all of that, but..." She trailed off as Xan's hand ran down her back, to settle at the best of her spine. With his other hand he pulled her hair back, away from her neck, and gently kissed her shoulder. Keely sighed as his mouth trailed along her skin. She felt his hands moving slowly up her back, his fingertips tickling along her spine. The cool silk of her dress slid away easily as Xan caught the straps and gave them a small tug. It was enough to make the silk slide down past her breasts. It probably would have ended up at her waist, if the straps hadn't caught on her arms. It seemed to Keely that all the blood in her body had rushed to her face, she was blushing so much. She tried to cross her arms over her chest, but Xan gently pulled them away. He lowered his head and pressed his mouth against the curve of her breast, making her shiver. His lips slowly trailed upward, until they reached her nipple. He opened his mouth, lightly teasing the tip of her nipple with his tongue. Keely rested a hand on his head, watching him with wide eyes. Even without lights on in the room, she could see when he opened his mouth. Heat and moisture made her nerves sizzle as he sucked on her nipple, working it until it was stiff. Xan's dark hair tickled her skin as he trailed his mouth from one breast to the other. Everything inside her was on alert, tense and anticipating, and she could hear her own breathing. The touch of his lips was so light that she wriggled restlessly, the tension in her building under she wanted to scream. Xan was relentless, exploring her flesh languidly, as if they had all the time in the world. His hands, rough from work, glided along the sensitive skin from her wrist to her elbow, then tugged the straps of her dress down further; first one side, then the other. The silk bunched at her waist. Xan ran his hands back down her arms, over her belly and her sides, to her back. He braced her carefully as he lowered her onto the bed. Keely arched her back, pressing up against his mouth, which was still working slowly down her ribcage. She dropped her hands to the bed, curling her fingers around the bedspread as Xan's lips crept ever lower. Now his hands—she loved his hands—traced the curves of her hips, pulling the dress down with each inch. Before long, he'd revealed the panties of delicate, see-through pink lace that Olivia had talked her into buying after Xan had asked her to the prom. Keely tensed up again, aware of how little she was wearing, especially when he finished pulling her dress off and dropped it on the flood. "This isn't fair," Keely said. She spoke softly, but her voice sounded unnaturally loud to her ears, against the silence in the room. Xan sat back on the bed. "What isn't fair?" he asked, a definite teasing lilt in his voice. "I'm wearing practically nothing," Keely replied, sticking out her lower lip in a pout. "And you're still completely dressed." "Kitten," Xan said, opening his arms, "I am not going to stop you. Believe me." Keely bit her lip. She gazed up at Xan, her heart pounding rapidly at the thought of touching him. Slowly, all too aware of her lack of clothing, she sat up and crawled closer to him. Sitting back on her heels, she reached up with fingers that trembled, uncertain where to begin. Xan was perfectly still as she began unbuttoning his shirt, glancing up at him every other second to make sure she wasn't doing anything wrong. With each button she could see more of his skin, which had an olive tone to it, and seemed to radiate heat. Finally Keely got his shirt completely unbuttoned, after what felt like an eternity to her. Xan was still quiet, still patient, allowing her to get more comfortable with what she was doing. She laid a hand on his stomach and felt muscle jump in response. Her touch also drew a soft, quavering breath from him. Keely looked up, watching his face curiously as she trailed her fingers up his chest. Xan's lashes fluttered, and she felt a certain satisfaction, seeing her effect on him. Keely pushed his shirt off and dropped it on the floor next to her dress. The bands of fire tattooed around his upper arms caught her attention, and she placed her hands over them, imagining herself holding onto him tight as he moved inside her. Judging by the shuddering of Xan's body, he was thinking the same thing. Content in the knowledge that he definitely wanted her, she went about giving him the same treatment he had given her. Starting from his jaw line, she worked her way down slowly, using her lips to search for sensitive places, like the spot behind his earlobe, or the one low on his belly, near his hip bones. Xan's breathing became ragged, as hers had, and he drew in his breath sharply when she started to unfastened his pants. Keely was pushing them down his hips when he suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her. "Fair's fair," Keely pointed out, sitting back. "Yes," Xan panted in agreement. "But... just give me a moment, okay?" She studied his face closely, wondering if she'd done something she shouldn't have. As far as she could tell, though, there was nothing wrong. Xan pushed his hair back from his face, looking as though he was shaking off nerves. No way, Keely thought. He can't be nervous... I mean, I know this isn't his first time... But a glance at his hands revealed that he was shaking almost as badly as she was. That, however, did give her an idea. "This is... kind of... you know... scary..." Keely said quietly. The mixture of her soft voice, and the way she huddled down, did a lot to enhance the picture of vulnerable little female who needed protection. "I mean... maybe I'd feel more comfortable if... if we were both on even ground. You know?" Xan let out a shaky laugh. "Keely, if you want me to finish getting undressed first, just say so." "Well..." That hadn't been exactly what she'd been aiming for, but she could work with it. "It would help..." She moved closer to him. As he hooked his fingers under the waist of his pants, she rested her hands on top of his. Xan began to relax again, although he did jump a little when she moved her hands from his, to rest dangerously low on his hips as soon as his pants were out of the way. Keely kept her eyes on his face, because she was pretty sure she'd freak out if she looked down. Wanting him didn't stop her from feeling a bit shy and uncertain. When he slid off the bed—which made it a good deal easier for him to get undressed—she folded her arms over her chest, trying to erase her feeling of being exposed. "Okay, kitten." Xan planted his hands on his hips in a mimicry of her. "As you said, fair's fair." Keely stared at the bedspread. Her panties had tie sides, thin pink ribbon tied into bows that came undone easily when she tugged on them. Not that they'd really been much cover, she reflected, as she tossed the scant bit of lace to join the rest of the clothing on the flood. Folding her arms once more of her chest, she looked up at Xan from beneath her lashes. There was an intensity in his eyes that seemed to light up the whole room. It also made her pulse pound. "Lay back, kitten," Xan said, his soft voice holding a command. She slowly lowered herself back onto the mattress, but she kept her arms as they were. With Xan standing over her, she actually felt too naked, if that was even possible. Then he climbed back onto the bed with her. He didn't pull her arms away from her body, like she thought he might. Instead he stroked her tummy, hips, and thighs with his fingertips. Keely relaxed a little, finding the rough texture of his skin oddly soothing. She tensed right back up against when Xan pushed her thighs apart gently. He murmured to her, faint nothings to ease her fears. She closed her eyes tightly, shivering at the touch of warm breath on her thigh. Not certain what to expect, Keely let out a cry of surprise at the first touch of his mouth. She half sat up, but Xan gently pushed her back down again. He reached for her hands, twining his fingers with hers and letting her cling to him tightly as his tongue dipped inside her body. Those first touches, the first few times his tongue brushed sensitive flesh, were almost too much for her to bear. Keely's body was hypersensitive, as if each and every nerve was well aware of what Xan was doing. With each stroke of his tongue, she breathed deep, trying to relax. Keely opened her eyes. There was something about watching him, about seeing his hair dark against the pale skin of her belly and thigh, that just aroused her more. The sudden brush of his lips against her clit made her moan, and lift her hips, wanting more than just that soft touch. Perhaps Xan could read her mind, or perhaps she was just making it pretty clear what she wanted; either way, when he sucked on her clit, Keely cried out. She tightened her grip on his hands, continuing to lift her hips against his mouth as he licked her, inside and out. Her moans became louder, until it was all she could do to keep herself from screaming at the sensations that shook her body. "Good kitty..." Xan murmured. She barely heard him over the pounding of her heart. He kissed her thigh gently. While she lay there, quivering and catch her breath, Xan reached past her and opened a drawer set into the wall beside his bed. If Keely had though about it, she would have asked if that was one of his own modifications; as it was, she could only watch, wide-eyed, as he took a condom from the drawer. Once again they'd reached a place where she didn't know what to do. Xan took care of the matter himself, though, and she sighed in relief. She was having enough new experiences for one night. Chuckling softly, Xan bent down and kissed the tip of her nose. His mouth covered hers, as did his body, and she felt his hips against her thighs as he nudged them apart. Keely tried breathing deeply again, because she couldn't get herself to relax. It didn't work, though, and when she felt him pressed up against her, panic seized her, and she shoved at him, pushing him back. "Wait!" Keely cried. Tears were stinging her eyes, and she felt an overwhelming sense of guilt, but her fear was even worse. She looked up at him, wondering if he was angry with her. "I... I really am... scared..." This time Xan's lips touched her cheek, kissing away a tear that had managed to break free. "Please don't be afraid, kitten," he murmured, his mouth touching the corner of hers. He lifted his head and looked down at her. "I don't care what we do. I just want you here with me." She didn't need bright lights to see the tenderness in his eyes. Keely's heart clenched, and she remembered what Olivia had told her, when she'd first persuaded Xan to help her with her bet. When he shifted, moving to lay down beside her, she grabbed his arm and stopped him. He really would stop, if she wanted to. And he really wouldn't be upset. Perhaps a little frustrated, but she could certainly understand that. This is Xan, Keely thought, pulling him back down to her. He protects me... there's nothing to be afraid of... Still, she was trembling. She had to hold onto Xan to keep him from pulling away. Keely appreciated his concern, but if they waited until her fear faded, they'd never do this. She'd never imagined she'd be quite this frightened the first time, but she tensed up as soon as she felt him against her. With endless patience, Xan coaxed her through her fears. He murmured to her sweetly, stopping every time she starting to panic so she could relax herself again. It definitely hurt at first, when he began to slowly enter her. Keely's body just didn't know what to make of the invasion. But it was not as painful or frightening as she'd worried it might be, and she found herself marveling at the way his body fit into hers. Xan was careful, and alert to her every little emotion. He watched her face, the concern in his eyes flaring each time she was unable to bite back a small gasp of pain. When Xan was fully inside her, he kept himself still, waiting for her to be comfortable. Keely took those deep breaths again, focusing on this newest feeling. Pain subsided to a dull ache, and the thought that they were meant to do this, and she quickly shifted from fear to cautious curiosity. Xan knew her well. He knew when her curiosity sparked—he always did—and he moved, just a little, giving her the first real taste of what was happening between them. Now that was definitely interesting. Keely lifted her hips, and her eyes widened at the feeling of him moving inside her. Now that she'd managed to relax, she could feel the friction as he slowly withdrew, then slid back inside her. Xan did it a second time, and she made a little mewling sound that caused him to grin. They were gazing at each other, and she felt like they were some silly teenage couple from a cheesy romance movie, but she didn't care. Suddenly Keely understood why those silly teenage couples were always so happy. It took some practice to learn to move with him. At first Keely struggled to lift her hips to follow his rhythm, which made for an awkward beginning. But after a short time, she found it easy to fall into the rhythmic movement of his body. Slow at first, but with building pace, he thrust into her, sending sparks dancing all along her nerves; nerves that were still very alive from earlier. Keely's world narrowed to Xan, to his skin against hers, and the tension growing in her belly that needed so badly to be released. She held onto his arms, her hands covered his tattoos, as she'd imagined before. Somewhere in the middle of her climax, she felt him shudder. His soft groan was lost against her neck. Keely held onto him tightly, resting her head against his. Sweat-dampened hair touched her cheek. She held him all through the aftershocks, until they began to fade away, and her body reminded her of just how much activity she'd had today. Exhausted and heavy-limbed, it was all she could do to keep her eyes open. It didn't matter much, though. Through her sleepy haze, she could feel Xan pull away, feel him rise from the bed. Keely drifted into a doze, but she knew when he came back with a warm washcloth and carefully cleaned her up. And she was perfectly aware of when he left and came back again, this time to pull the covers over them both and gather her into his arms. After that, she was aware of only a few more seconds, in which Xan sighed her name and settled beside her, drifting quickly into sleep. She was right behind him. ------- Chapter 13: Rumor Has It Gritting her teeth until her jaw ached, Keely managed to keep from slamming her locker closed. She was shaking from anger, but she had to make sure no one else saw it. Or at least she had to make sure Mardea didn't see it. After prom night Shauna had pretty much disappeared for the weekend; at least as far as getting in touch with her went. They all knew she was hanging out with Sean, and Keely was happy for her friend. She really was. In fact, she was happy for both of them. They belonged together, and it was about time they realized it. What made her made was that Shauna wasn't the only one who'd disappeared this weekend. Despite knocking on his door until her knuckles her, she couldn't seem to get a hold of Xan. After their night together, Keely thought things would change between them. And they had changed... for the worse. It had been bad enough that she couldn't get in touch with him over the weekend, but then he hadn't been there to take her to school this morning, either. She could not let Mardea see how upset she was over this. Keely wanted the chance to talk to Xan before Dea kicked his ass. "Keely!" The cry startled her. She turned around, hefting her bag onto her shoulder, and stared in puzzlement at the girl coming towards her. Shauna? Keely wondered, frowning. She saw Sean come up beside her and realized that it was, indeed, her friend. Instead of her usual Goth gear she was wearing simple jeans, sandals, and an off-the-shoulder top that was the same pink as her prom dress had been. Her hair was braided, and she looked more cheerful than Keely could remember seeing her in a very long time. The two of them stopped when they reached her; Shauna's locker was right next to hers. "New wardrobe?" Keely asked. She had to work hard from sounding snippy. She wasn't mad at Shauna, after all. "Sort of," Shauna said, shrugging. She began turning the numbers on her combination look, avoiding Keely's gaze. "What's going on?" Keely hissed, leaning closer to her friend. She glanced over at Sean, who was standing a few feet away from them, pretending not to notice their conversation. "I like it, okay?" Shauna snapped. "I know everyone thinks I'm supposed to always be the Queen of the Dead, but I happen to be comfortable like this!" Keely stared at Shauna, startled. Her friend slammed her locker shut and turned away, grabbing Sean before starting down the hall. Was that my fault? Keely wondered. Ugh! Too many things were changing at once. She really needed to be more careful of what she said to people. After all, she'd known that Shauna would be a bit sensitive about her new relationship. That makes two of us, she thought, sighing. At least Shauna's new relationship was real. No possibility that it might just have been a figment of her imagination. Frustrated, Keely ducked into the girls' bathroom, ignoring the warning bell; who cared if she was late to Theater again? Of course, Theater class would give her the opportunity to see Xan—always assuming he showed up—but what was she even going to say to him? She'd known beforehand that sleeping with him could end up disastrous, but she'd chosen to deal with it later. Now Keely had to face the consequences of that choice. But she wished that Xan would do the same. It wasn't fair for him to leave her in the dark like this. She leaned against one of the sinks, feeling like she might cry. It was a long moment before Keely realized that someone was crying—just not her. She looked in the mirror, staring at the reflection of the bathroom stalls. Who is that? she wondered, as the sobs rose in volume. Looks like I'm not the only one having a lousy day. She turned and approached the stall quietly, wondering what to do. Normally Keely avoided people in school, aside from her friends, but today she felt like she might just have found a kindred spirit in the unknown crier. "Hello?" Keely called. "Um... are you okay in there?" Her only answer was a strangled sob. She reached for the door, but it was lock. Muttering to herself, and wondering if it was worth the trouble, Keely went into the next stall over and climbed up onto the toilet. She leaned carefully against the wall and peered into the other stall to see who was in there. The person stopped sobbing suddenly and looked up, finally aware of Keely's presence. She was shocked to see that she recognized the mascara-streaked face. "Gina?" Keely exclaimed, staring. "Oh..." Gina sniffled loudly and wiped her hand across her face, smearing her mascara even worse. "Hey." "Are you okay?" Keely asked. "I mean... I know it isn't any of my business... you just sound... sad..." Gina gave her a watery smile. "Thanks," she said, sniffing again. "I guess I am kinda bummed..." Wobbling uncertainly, Keely ducked down into her stall and grabbed a hunk of the uncomfortable excuse for toilet paper that the school kept stocked in their bathrooms. She nearly fell when she straightened up. Gina reached up automatically to take the paper from her, and she used it to blow her nose and wipe her face. It helped, but there were still mascara marks on her face. Keely supposed she would have to be nice and tell Gina about it before she left the bathroom. "Thanks," Gina said again. "Wanna talk about it?" Keely suggested. "Sometimes it helps to just... you know... vent." "I got a cheerleading scholarship," Gina blurted out suddenly. Tears start to gather in her eyes again. Keely blinked. "Isn't that... a good thing?" "No!" Gina wailed. "I don't want to be a cheerleader anymore! I only did it because... b-because my m-m-mom wanted me to..." Ewww, Keely thought, wrinkling her nose. And I thought my mom sucked. She had to duck down and grab more toilet paper—Gina's stall was out, big surprise there—and hand it down to her. Gina gave her a grateful smile, then went about the process of blowing her nose and wiping her eyes again. Keely knew that in general teenage girls could be serious criers, but none of them could turn on the waterworks quite so well as cheerleaders. "If you don't want to cheer anymore, don't," Keely said. She tried to keep from sounding like she thought it was a no-brainer. "But I don't want my mom to be mad at me..." Gina said quietly. "Cheerleading is all she has, you see. I mean, since dad left her, coaching me is what keeps her going..." "Well... I guess I can understand that," Keely conceded slowly. "But she's your mom. Shouldn't she be happy so long as you're happy?" Not that she would know. Her own mother would never be happy with her. She wanted a tall, slender, supermodel daughter, and Keely was never going to be that. She would love to have a daughter like Gina, she thought, chewing on the inside of her lip. She wouldn't care about the cheerleading, so long as her daughter was thin and pretty. Well, that was never going to happen, and Keely would never get along with her mother. But she would bet that Gina's mom really loved her. It was just like those silly movies... she just wanted what was best for her. "How do I tell her?" Gina was finally starting to pull herself together. "I have no idea what to say..." "Just be honest with her," Keely said. "Tell her how you really feel. She might be a little upset at first, but I'm sure when she sees that you're happier not cheerleading, she'll be fine with it." Gina stared at her for a moment, then nodded. "You're right," she said. Of course I am, Keely thought, but she didn't say it out loud. Instead she hopped down from the toilet and left the stall. Gina stood up and left hers, too. She went automatically to the mirror—some things would never change—and cleaned the left over mascara from her face. While Keely washed her hands, Gina reapplied her make-up, straight down to the lip-liner. That seemed to cheer her up a bit, though, so as long as she wasn't going to burst into tears again, Keely didn't really mind what she did. Maybe Gina wasn't as bad as she'd always seemed to be. "Thanks, Keely," Gina said quietly. Keely stared at her. "You know my name?" "Of course!" Gina laughed, tossing back her model perfect hair. "Mr. Barton only yells at you about a hundred times a day." "True," Keely agreed, grinning. "And he's about to yell at us both if we don't get moving. We're already really late as it is." "Keely, wait!" Gina called, as she turned for the door. Keely turned back and looked at her questioningly. Gina frowned. "There's something I should tell you..." ------- He knew that Keely hated Theater class, but he hadn't expected her to skip it completely. Xan didn't think she'd be that upset. Or at least, he figured she'd be more pissed off than anything, and it wasn't like her to hide. He'd been hoping to have his head together by the time Theater rolled around, and even though he hadn't, he'd at least been prepared to face her. Now he was going to have to wait even longer, and unless he ran into her in the hallway, or by her locker. Xan had only glimpsed her a few times during the day, and he'd made sure she hadn't seen him. He felt guilty, but he didn't know what else to do. Besides, Keely would understand, once he explained it to her. Xan knew he wasn't handling this whole thing between them as well as he should be, but he'd needed this time away from her to clear his head. He had to be certain of what he was feeling, or he'd just end up hurting her even more. When he was with her, he couldn't think straight; he had to be alone if he wanted to figure this out. And when Xan remembered what it had felt like to wake up with her snuggled against him, he knew he had to figure it out as soon as possible. He'd had great sex before, of course. But 'great' was a pale word to describe his experience with Keely. Sex was intimate, but Xan wasn't used to it being that intimate. Usually he fell asleep afterward, but that night he'd lain awake, listening to her breathe. In the darkness and quiet, he'd realized that that innocent looking girl curled up against his side had it within her power to shatter him. Xan had to be absolutely positive that those feelings weren't just the glow of sex before he decided to act on them. If he'd thought it was going to be easy, he was sorely mistaken. He'd only intended to pass Keely's locker, to see if she was there, but it wasn't her that he found. Mardea was leaning against her locker, her arms folded over her chest, and as soon as Xan passed into her line of vision, her eyes locked on him. Well, I guess that solves my dilemma, he thought, reluctantly making his way towards her. I won't have to worry about acting on anything, because I'm about to be mauled to death. "Have you seen Keely?" Mardea demanded, as soon as he reached her. "Look, Dea," Xan said, hold up his hands. "At least allow me to explain first." Mardea frowned. "What are you talking about?" "Wait... what are you talking about?" Xan asked, eyeing her curiously. The look she gave him was suspicious, but she didn't say anything. Instead she reached into her backpack and shuffled around inside it for a moment before pulling out her cell phone. It was one of those really expensive ones that took pictures and was basically an MP3 player, too. Mardea flipped it open, pressed a few buttons, then handed it over to him. Xan had to squint to see the small screen, until she let out a huff and reached over, pushing a button that caused the cell phone to light up. "That's been going around school," Mardea told him. "By text, e-mail, and word of mouth." Xan stared at it. "Come on... who would believe that?" He looked up. "Anyone with a brain would know that Keely would rather have her teeth pulled than sleep with Brad Faraday. She hit him, didn't she?" "Yes," Mardea said. "And if you keep reading, that little message there claims that the reason she hit him was because he broke up with her after they slept together." "What's that term Gina and her friends use?" Xan rolled his eyes and snorted derisively. "I think it's... as if!" "That doesn't change the fact that it's going around!" Mardea snapped. "And I haven't seen Keely since before Theater class!" Xan took a quick step back. Mardea when she was angry was no joke. He wasn't sure what to say to her. On the one hand, he wanted to reassure her that there was no way Keely would be bothered by this. On the other hand, he sure as hell didn't want to tell her what was really bothering Keely. If Mardea didn't know yet, it was better if she never found out. Xan didn't want to risk alienating Keely's friends. They were the only people who knew her better than he did. "Xan..." Mardea said, in a quieter voice. "We have to find her." "Something like that isn't going to upset her," Xan said. "You know Keely doesn't care what other people think." Mardea shook her head. "She's only human. And there's a lot going on at home right now..." Xan paused, mulling that over. It was true that Keely's parents had her pretty upset. And this whole thing between us... he thought. Shit! He shoved Mardea's cell phone into her hands and took off down the hallway, ignoring people who shouted at him. There was no putting it off any longer; he had to find Keely now. The problem was that he had no clue where she could have gone. She didn't have any particular haunts and if she was upset, she wasn't going to be in class. There was only one place Xan could think of to look for her. It was after lunch period, so the quad was empty. He went straight to the picnic table that he'd first found her under and crouched down, peering between the top and the bench. Keely sat in the shadows beneath it, her legs tucked up to her chest, resting her head on her backpack. She didn't looked like she was having a breakdown or anything, but she was definitely pissed off. Xan stared down into her big blue eyes and was overwhelmed by the need to protect her. He scooted closer, reaching a hand out for her. "I wish they'd just leave me alone," Keely murmured. "I'm so sick of all the crap." "Come on, kitten," Xan coaxed, in a soft, soothing voice. "Come out of there. We'll find a way to fix this." "What can we possibly do?" Keely demanded, scowling at him. "You know how people are. They love to believe the juicy stuff. It adds some entertainment to their shallow, pathetic lives." "I'm not sure what we can do," Xan said. She was beyond pissed, no doubt about it. "But we will figured out something, I promise you. All of us. That asshole isn't going to get away with this crap again, okay? Come on... come to me, kitten." Finally she reached out and took his hand. He stood up slowly, carefully pulling her out from beneath the table. Keely was on her feet when she tripped over the bench and fell against him, dropping her backpack. Xan scooped her up and pulled her free, holding her tightly. Her hair smelled like flowers and she felt warm against him. He felt a certain sense of relief, having her back in his arms. Then suddenly she pulled away from him and hit him. "You jerk!" Keely cried. "Where the hell have you been?" Xan couldn't stop himself from laughing. Now there's my fierce little kitten, he thought, pulling her close again. She struggled to get free, but he just held her tighter and buried his fingers in her hair. When she finally relaxed against him, all was right in the world again. It was worth the two hours detention he'd likely have to be holding her again. And this time, Brad is really going to pay, Xan thought, resting his cheek against Keely's. He'll want to crawl into a hole and die, by the time I'm done with him. ------- Keely watched Cy as he went after his enemy with enthusiasm. Despite his very best efforts, the cat couldn't seem to finish off Sean's shoelaces for good. Fortunately Sean was a good sport about it. In fact, he seemed pretty much oblivious, with Shauna sitting next to him. The two of them were on Xan's couch, snuggling together. Mardea perched on the arm of the couch, rolling her eyes at the mushy couple. Keely sat on the floor, leaning against the chair Xan sat in, resting her head against his knee and feeling quite blissful as he stroked her hair. They'd decided to meet at Xan's place—after he and Keely finished detention, of course—to discuss what to do about this rumor. It had been Gina who had first told her about it. She'd sworn up and down that she hadn't known that Brad was planning to do something like this. And she'd also said she didn't believe it for a second anyway. Keely was glad that someone in school had some common sense, but other kids had found it amusing to shout things at her all day, or to whistle when she walked by. That only thing that had made it bearable was Xan. He'd been very sweet to her, and the unspoken agreement between her friends to not tease him about it helped a lot. "People really will believe anything," Shauna said, rolling her eyes. "People are just gross," Mardea grumbled. "I mean, remember that whole Jerry Springer craze? People love being nosy and they love believing what they're being nosy about. You know more than half that crap was staged." "True," Xan said wryly. "And if we could somehow prove to the world that Brad was having a gay relationship with his midget cousin, we'd be all set. But since that isn't an option, we need another idea." Mardea snorted into her can of soda. "I dunno, I like the gay midget cousin thing," she said. "If punching him in the face didn't work, we have to find something that will." "It has to be the truth, though," Keely said. She snapped her fingers, and Cy left his attempted conquering of Sean's shoes and ran to her. "It's time Brad and people like him realize that they can't get away with being so nasty to other people. So it has to be something worse than a stupid rumor." She turned her attention to Cy, who was now nibbling on her fingers. What kind of dirt could she get on Brad? Maybe I should ask Gina, Keely thought. She must know him pretty well. From what she understood, Gina had also dumped Brad, but they hadn't really talked much beyond that. Still, maybe he was bad in bed, or had a really small penis. She wondered if Gina had one of those picture-taking cell phones, and if she might be willing to do a bit of acting to find a way to embarrass the hell out of Brad. Yeah, right, Keely thought, sighing. With my luck he needs Trojan Magnums. Of course, her luck wasn't all bad... Xan needed those, too. "I don't want to know what that silly look on your face is," Mardea said, frowning at Keely. "Would you come back to the conversation, please?" Keely responded eloquently by sticking out her tongue. "Hey... I think I might have an idea," Sean piped up suddenly. All eyes went to him, and he shifted uncomfortably. "There's going to be a ceremony, you know, for the basketball players and cheerleaders and stuff. There's going to be scouts there, so it's going to be televised. What we need to do is figure out something we can do during the ceremony." "You will be my favorite person in the world right now if you have an idea what that something is," Keely said. She felt a tug on her hair, and hastily amended, "Second favorite person." "Actually, I do have an idea," Sean said, grinning broadly. "Brad's mom adores me. And who knows more embarrassing stuff about you than your mother?" ------- Chapter 14: Life's a Bitch The basketball court was crowded to bursting, and Xan was feeling a little claustrophobic. Next to him Keely shifted around on the bench, too excited, he knew, to be fazed by the amount of people that had shown up. Shauna sat next to her, clutching her arm, and staring down at the stage set up in the middle of the court, where Sean was sitting. Next to Shauna was Mardea, who waiting with an expression of smug superiority on her face. All of them were feeling like they'd gotten away with murder. Or, in Xan's case, breaking-and-entering, which he had gotten away with. He still had an adrenaline rush from the night before, when he, Keely, and Mardea had snuck into the school after hours. With Dea and Keely as his lookouts, Xan had broken into the audio/visual room and put their plan into action. It wasn't exactly the world's most brilliant revenge, but it would sting like hell, and fifteen years down the road, at their high school reunion, it would still haunt Brad's every step. And there was something about having the head cheerleader not only help them plan it, but also help them execute it, that was simply priceless. Keely bumped into his elbow, startling him out of his thoughts. Xan rolled his eyes and slung an arm lazily around her shoulders, catching her attention. She looked over at him, her blue eyes bright and wide. "Settle down, kitten," Xan teased, grinning at her. "People will get suspicious. They know you hate stuff like this." Keely frowned. "I can't be excited for Sean?" "In the minds of these people? No." Xan tugged at her hair playfully. "Just relax, okay?" "I'll try," Keely said. She leaned up against him. "Hey, Xan... what are you doing this summer, anyway?" "Working." Xan sighed. "A lot. Why?" "Oh... well..." Keely hesitated. She opened her mouth to say something, but the band struck up suddenly, drowning her out. It was a ridiculous affair. The whole marching band was there, which left very little room on the court. They performed, and so did the cheerleaders, and the whole thing was so overblown. It was worse than the pep rally had been at the beginning of the year. And Xan had only gone to that because his guidance councilor had hounded him into doing it. But this time he had Keely with him, and they were both here because they wanted to witness their revenge first hand. She's so wired, he thought, leaning over and kissing the top of Keely's head. It settled her squirming a little, but not much. After the performance Gina and the other cheerleaders had to run into the locker room to change. Which left enough of a gap for the principal to start in with one of his long, droning speeches. Behind the stage students from the A/V club were busy setting up a large, portable screen. Xan felt Keely bounce around beside him as one of the club members set up a computer that was hooked into the screen. Gina came back out, dressed in a knee-length black dress, and managed to get the mic away from the principal. Which was quite a feat, actually. Xan thought she might be tougher than she seemed. No one had been more surprised than him at some of the ideas she'd had to lend to their plan. Apparently there was one person in the world who hated Brad as much as Xan did, and that was Gina. He didn't know why, and he hadn't asked, but he couldn't help wondering if her reasons were similar to his. "Thank you, Mr. Kendall," Gina said, flashing a winning smile at the principal, and then at the crowd. "As you all know, we're here today to honor Westland High's top athletes." "Which is why the football team isn't here!" someone in the crowd shouted. "Yes, well," Gina went on, smiling and laughing it off. "Among our finest athletes we have our basketball team captain, Brad Faraday." The crowd roared in approval. "And so we've prepared a little tribute to Brad. Boys!" She turned and nodded to the A/V guys. They scrambled to get the program running, all of them flustered by her attention. Gina had shocked him even more by being genuinely nice to them, and to everyone she'd spoken to in setting this up. Still, there was something behind Gina's smile that Xan wasn't sure of. Something that went a lot deeper than the anguish she'd professed to Keely over being stuck as a cheerleader. That big, bright smile didn't quite seem to reach her eyes as she turned back to the crowd. Behind her pictures were appearing the screen. They ranged from Brad's freshman year to his senior year, and they were mostly from basketball games and pep rallies. Up in the stands, the rest of the team was laughing and patting Brad on the back. Brad was looking his usual smug self, even though his eye was still a bit black, and his nose would be bent like that until after he graduated on got surgery on it. Don't get too comfortable, buddy, Xan thought. Just you wait. He'd seen the slides already, so he knew what was coming. "Of course, there are facets of Brad Faraday that most of us don't know," Gina said, in a chirpy, cheerful voice. "He is such a sweet, sweet boy. At age five, when his mom asked him to join ballet with her, why, he did just that!" Brad went pale as a picture of him at age five, in a white shirt and black tights, appeared on the screen. The crowd around him roared with laughter. The A/V guys paused the slideshow, as they'd been instructed, and sat there, laughing so hard that Xan wasn't sure if they'd see Gina's signal. He knew how often they'd been picked on by Brad and his cronies. He'd also seen what the A/V guys could do, and he had a feeling Brad would one day be asking them if they wanted to supersize their order. "Isn't he just adorable?" Gina gushed. She turned and waved at the screen, and the A/V guys scrambled to do her bidding. "And to this day, every Saturday, he goes to ballet classes with his mom." Brad's basketball buddies hooted, and one of them shouted, "So much for Saturday snowboarding lessons, Mr. Prima Ballerina!" Brad sank down on the bleachers, too horrified to move. Xan glanced at Keely, to see her watching Brad. Her eyes were hard and icy, colder than he'd ever seen them. He squeezed her gently, and she looked up at him, smiling faintly. Xan had had a very brief—and very irrational—fear of losing her to Sean, when he'd produced the pictures from Brad's mother. There were embarrassing baby pictures, pictures from his ballet recitals, shots of him in swim trunks and water wings at a much older age than most kids would wear them. The pictures were a gold mine, and Xan laughed even now as he looked at them. It was mean and petty, and he knew it, but Brad deserved it. There was only one good thing Brad had ever done in his life, and he hadn't intended to do it. He's the reason I have her, Xan thought, leaning over and pressing his face against Keely's neck. It was Brad who'd brought them together—inadvertently—both times. He'd been the one who'd chased her under the picnic table, and the target of her mischievous bet. But Xan knew he would never feel an ounce of gratitude for Brad Faraday, not even for that. Not after what he'd done. And what he could have done to Keely, if he'd gotten the chance. She was the most precious thing he had. Finally, the slideshow came to an end. Gina stood patiently, waiting for the hooting and hollering to die down, ignoring the teachers and staff that were staring at her, too stunned to move. "But that's not all you didn't know about Brad Faraday," Gina said, when the crowd was quiet enough. Her voice was hard and full of scorn. "We didn't plan this," Keely whispered, glancing at Xan in confusion. "I know how much this school worships him," Gina went on. "But he's no hero. Far from it. He's a cruel, selfish, abusive person who should be locked up. The true hero here is Xan Dayton... the only person to ever give Brad what he deserves." Xan sank down, aware that people were turning to look at him. Oh god, he thought, not this. Please. He was aware of Keely, upset and confused, but he couldn't take his eyes off the stage. Not when his past was walking onto it, wearing dress slacks and a long-sleeved blouse, and sporting a very short haircut. She stopped next to Gina and turned to look at the crowd, but it was Xan she looked for. He knew those big, brown eyes all too well. Elise, he thought, hunching down further. I didn't think I'd ever see her again. "This is Elise Jones," Gina said, putting her arm around Elise. "We met at group therapy for young women... we were both raped by Brad Faraday." ------- "Come on, Keely. Come out of there!" Keely sat huddled against the bathroom door, refusing to leave. She was feeling sick and disgusted, with Brad and with herself. None of them had known what Gina was planning. None of them had even known it had happened. Except for Xan, she thought. He knew about Elise. She was the one he'd told her about, the one Brad had hurt. The reason why Xan had spent a bit of time behind bars, so to speak. I think I might puke, Keely thought, tucking her knees tighter against her stomach. Or cry. I'm not sure which. She felt terrible. Elise was a girl who'd been violently raped at a young age, by someone she knew and trusted, and Keely was jealous of her. Because she was the one Xan had beaten Brad up for, and probably the person he'd really wanted to be with for all these years. Here I go, feeling sorry for myself again, she thought, wrinkling her nose. This was so unlike her, but she couldn't help it. Things were finally starting to go right between her and Xan. And things were still so fragile and uncertain. Keely couldn't stand the thought of something coming between them. "This is ridiculous, Keely," Xan said. His voice held a hint of irritation and warning. "Come out of there. What the hell are you doing?" "Wallowing," Keely answered. "And I'm not going to come out." "If this is about Elise..." Xan began. He stopped, and she heard him sigh. "Keely, that was a long time ago." "Stop that," Keely grumbled. "Stop what?" Xan asked. "Saying my name," Keely replied. "I don't like the way you're saying it. Like you're mad at me." She knew she was being childish. What she wanted was for Xan to hold her and call her kitten, and tell her there was nothing that would ever make him leave her. Of course, he couldn't do that while she was locked in the bathroom, but at least now she had some time to sort her thoughts out. I probably shouldn't have even come here, Keely thought, but I wasn't ready to go home yet. And even through her fears, she was more worried for Xan than anything else. She didn't want to leave him alone. Maybe he was fine, but if he wasn't, he'd never admit it. "Kitten." Xan's voice came again, a soft, seductive purr. "Come out of there, kitten, or I'll have to come in and get you." A shiver ran down her spine. Sometimes, when he spoke really softly, his voice reminded her of all the decadent things in the world... like Dove Bars. I am so weak, she thought, as she reached up for the door knob. Keely opened the door, to find Xan gazing down at her, his arms folded across his chest, looking really irritated. Uh oh, she thought, trying to get the door shut, but he grabbed it before she got the chance. She scrambled to get to her feet, although there was really nowhere for her to hide. Xan grabbed her around the waist and picked her up. She loved his arms around her too much to fight back. Instead Keely laid her head against his shoulder and leaned into him as he settled down on the bed. Good thing he never stays angry at me, she thought, looking up at him. Looking at him made her smile. Those brown eyes, so warm and comforting, surrounded by thick lashes... they made her melt. Oh, ick, romance novel cliché, Keely thought, wrinkling her nose. She wound her arms around Xan and kissed him hard, figuring just a little bit of romance novel couldn't hurt. She loved kissing him, too. Xan, however, didn't seem so fond of it, not at the moment. He pushed her back gently and smiled. "I'm not in the mood tonight, kitten," he told her. Keely frowned. "All of a sudden you never are," she said. "I don't get it. We've only done it once. Was it that bad?" "It's not that," Xan said. "It's just... this stuff today... with Gina and Elise..." I guess I was right, Keely thought, crawling out of his lap. Maybe I should leave. But Xan looked so sad. Even though this whole thing really sucked, she scooted up next to him on the bed and lay with her head against his, staying with him. He turned over and cuddled against her, burying his face against her hair; that seemed to be a habit with him. I am such a sucker, Keely thought, brushing his hair back gently. I can't even tell if he wants to be with me or not. Xan hugged her and kissed her, and they did more than their fair share of touching, but he hadn't slept with her again since prom. "Is it because I'm not Elise?" Keely blurted out, before she could stop herself. Xan lifted his head to stare at her, his eyes wide in disbelief. "What?" "Oh god!" Keely gasped. "I didn't meant that! It's just, you know, I guess I'm jealous, which I know I shouldn't be, I know it's really, really wrong, but you mean so much to me, and I keep thinking that you should be protecting me, not her, which is really horrible, I know..." She was babbling, and it was getting her absolutely nowhere. Keely closed her mouth, and her eyes, feeling sick again. Why are you such a screw up? she asked herself. Why, why, why? Then she felt the soft pressure of Xan's mouth on hers. She reached up instinctively, and wound her fingers in his hair, as his lips gently teased hers open. His tongue slid over her, and heat flooded her body, making her quiver. Keely propped herself up on one elbow, getting closer to him, pressing her body against his. She forced him back against the pillows, shifting herself up into his lap and straddling his hips with her thighs. "Kitten..." Xan murmured against her mouth. "God, Keely, don't..." Keely ignored him. She reached under his shirt and ran her hands up along his chest. Xan shuddered and kissed her hard, until she felt dizzy and giddy. She sat back slowly, pulling his shirt up, and nudging him gently to get him to let her take it off. The soft, worn cotton smelled like him, but she tossed it aside; the real thing was underneath her, reaching up for her. Keely sat up straight, flashed him a small, coy smile, then pulled her own t-shirt off. She'd thought she had Xan trapped beneath her, so she was startled when he sat up, sending her tumbling into his lap. Suddenly she was the one trapped, held tight in those strong arms she loved so much. Keely tipped her head back and closed her eyes, allowing Xan to trail kisses along her neck and shoulders, and down to her breasts. His hands ran slowly up her back. She shivered as he released the clasp of her bra, and continued to moved his mouth downward, brushing his lips lightly over the tip of one nipple. I don't want to wait anymore, Keely thought, as he nipped gently at her flesh. I want this now. She tugged gently on Xan's hair to get his attention. He looked up, and his eyes widened; apparently what she wanted showed clearly on her face. Keely kissed him again, and then everything became a blur. An amazing, hot blur that felt better than anything she'd ever done. She wasn't entirely sure how they got the rest of each other's clothes off, or how Xan had that presence of mind to remember a condom. After all, they hadn't actually had sex since prom, and that had all kind of built up inside. At least, it had for Keely, and she would guess, based on his reaction, that it had for him, too. It was all a bit hazy, but there was no forgetting the way it felt when he was inside her. Keely let herself go, aware only of his hands pinning her wrists against the bed, his mouth fierce on hers, and each deep, hard thrust. Some corner of her mind realized that she was loud, crying out and calling his name, but she didn't really care. Why should she? She loved Xan too much to be concerned about something like that. They were both panting, sweaty, and trembling, and whether it had been five minutes or an hour, neither of them knew, or cared. Keely kept her eyes closed, savoring every last spark that ran along her nerves, and every shudder of Xan's body inside hers. His hair was damp between her fingers and his breath was warm against her breasts. I could do this all summer, she thought, smiling to herself. Which reminds me... "Hey, you," Keely murmured, tugging at his hair. "I never got a chance to tell you about this summer." Xan groaned. "I think I'll still be recovering a few months from now." "Wimp," Keely teased. He nipped her gently in response, and she giggled. "Seriously, though. My dad and I are going away this summer. You know, a little vacation from... all this." Xan lifted his head to look at her. "That sounds like fun." "Yeah," Keely said, nodding. "The thing is... dad basically said I could bring you along... if you want to come, I mean..." Xan sighed. She could see sadness in those gray-green eyes, and she realized she didn't want to know the answer. I could stay home, Keely thought. Dad isn't forcing me to go with him. I could stay with Dea... or maybe Xan would let me stay with him... But her father needed her right now; she couldn't bail on him. She'd even gotten a cat-sitter—Sean had agreed to it, since his mom loved cats—for Cy. I guess I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up, she thought, reaching up and gently touching Xan's cheek. I just wanted to spend the summer with him so bad. "I'm sorry, kitten," Xan said quietly. He turned his head slightly and kissed her fingertips. "I promised pretty much my every waking moment this summer to my uncle... long before this whole bet thing got started..." Keely shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, even though she couldn't help being a little hurt. "That's okay... if you made a promise... but you'll come to see me off the day I leave, right?" "Of course," Xan said, smiling. "That I can promise, too." ------- The last days of school, those few pointless days after exams but before graduation, should have been relaxing. For Xan, they were exhausting. He was working more hours at his uncle's garage, and would be working even more after graduation. At school he had to deal with all the people who were hanging around him, now that they all knew he was really the good guy. At home he dealt with Keely's cat, who still woke him up in the middle of the night, and was starting to get bigger. And, of course, Xan had to deal with Keely, too. He spent as much time with her as he could, but she seemed a bit morose and despondent usually. Her parents were in the middle of their divorce, which was upsetting enough, but Xan knew she was also upset because he couldn't spend the summer with her. It wasn't that she wasn't understanding—she was trying her best, and he could see that—but the whole thing with her parents was obviously making it worse. Xan did as much as he could to cheer her up, and was usually rewarded a few hours a day of the cheery, passionate Keely that he knew so well. Xan wasn't feeling all that cheery himself, either. Keely was going to be gone all summer, and he didn't know how much time he'd have to even talk to her on the phone. Certainly he wouldn't be able to go visit her. His uncle was strict, and while he might be willing to give Xan time off, he wouldn't be happy about it. Besides, he needed the money for his college tuition. Keely was important to him, but so was school. He wanted to be able to have the experience of going to college with her, and he wasn't about to give that up. That day, the day he was supposed to see her off, he was feeling pretty down. Xan arrived at her house at nine o'clock in the morning—earlier than he'd originally planned—and was a little surprised to see only her mother's car in the driveway. Keely's dad had bought a minivan, as far as she'd told him. Maybe it's in the garage, he thought, as he walked up to the door. It is new. Much to Xan's irritation, it was Keely's mother who answered his knock. She looked just as awful as she had the last time he'd seen her, except that this time she was carrying a box of Krispy Kreme donuts. "What do you want?" she growled, glaring at him. "Um... I'm here to see Keely..." Xan explained hesitantly. Her mother studied him for a moment, then her eyes widened in recognition. "Oh. It's you," she said. "Keely isn't here." "But... she's supposed to be here!" Xan protested. "She told me between nine o'clock and noon." "I'm sorry, but they've already left," her mother said, not looking sorry at all. "They left early, to avoid traffic. Didn't she tell you that?" Xan just stared. That couldn't be right. They'd made plans for him to come over at ten and go have breakfast together. He'd figured since she'd said it was okay to come over earlier, that he'd surprise her. She can't be gone, he thought, standing there, hardly flinching as Keely's mother slammed the door in his face. That has to be a lie. Keely just wasn't that type of person. Besides, why would she do that? Xan knew she was upset, but he didn't think she would be unreasonable about it. She certainly hadn't been before now. He jumped down off the front steps and went to the garage. It was dim inside, and hard to see, but Xan could tell there was no minivan in there. He saw a very old lawnmower, a bike, and a deflated basketball, but certainly no minivan. His mind reeling, he turned away and headed back towards his motorcycle. That can't be right, he thought, leaning against his bike. Keely would never do that sort of thing... Would she? ------- Chapter 15: Far Apart Far above the water, fireworks were blooming into giant, colorful flowers in the sky. People ooh'd and ahh'd, children shrieked and chased each other around the beach, and music blared in bursts from radios up and down the shoreline. Keely huddled beneath the dock, ignoring the sound of scampering feet on the wood above her head. She chewed on her lower lip until it stung, and her nose ached from holding back tears. Usually she loved the fourth of July, but there wasn't much to celebrate this year. So far it had been the worst summer of Keely's life. She'd been doing her best to appear cheerful and happy, so she wouldn't ruin her father's vacation, but she had the feeling he was catching on to her. Nothing had been right since they day they'd left, the day Xan hadn't shown up to say good-bye. She still couldn't understand what had happened. Keely had thought that things were good between them, but now she thought she must have been wrong. Not that she hadn't tried to find out. She wasn't about to bail on her poor father, so going back home was out of the question. However, Keely had tried calling Xan quite a few times, to no avail. She'd tried calling Olivia, too, but it turned out the older woman had gone away on vacation as well. Xan was busy working, she knew that, but could he really be busy all the time? Keely had called even really early in the morning and really late at night, but no one had picked up. And neither Mardea nor Shauna was able to get in touch with Xan, either. It hurt so much. Keely missed him like crazy, even though she should probably be angry with him for ditching her like that. She just couldn't imagine that he didn't have a good reason for not showing up. Xan simply wasn't the deceitful type. I need to distract myself from all of this, she thought, biting her lip. I need... I need... "Wow, you look like you need a hug!" chirped a sweet-sounding voice. "Or a bottle of vodka, at least!" Keely was so startled that she almost screamed. She hadn't thought anyone would find her in her hiding spot. She was as far back under the dock as she was willing to go, and it was dark and not very inviting. Yet there was someone standing near the edge of the dock, looking at her. It was a woman, no doubt, tall and slender. From what Keely could see, she had dark hair in a short pixie cut, a thin face, narrow hips and really small breasts. Yet when she ducked into Keely's hiding place, there was something about the way she moved that was eye- catching, and oddly familiar. "What are you doing all alone under here?" the woman asked, plopping down unceremoniously next to her. Keely eyed her uncertainly. "I wanted to be alone," she said quietly. "I don't think so," the woman said, shaking her head. "If you really wanted to be alone, you would be inside, instead of hanging around all these folks celebrating here." "It's none of your business," Keely grumped, pulling her knees against her chest and huddling down. "Why are you bothering me, anyway?" "You looked like you could use a friend," the woman said. "But I'll leave, if you want me to." Suddenly Keely felt guilty. This woman hadn't done anything to deserve such treatment. And there wasn't enough kindness in the world, to turn it down when she actually found it. Something about the woman's eyes—which were a stunning shade of green so bright that they seemed to glow—was strangely familiar and comforting. It made her long for Xan, and how safe she felt when he was holding her. Maybe I should try calling him again, Keely thought. Or... or I guess I could go back for a day or two... She just didn't know what she'd do if she did go back. "I'm sorry," Keely said quietly, to the woman. "I uh... well, it's just that things are kind of rough for me right now... I didn't mean to take it out on you." "Don't worry about it," the woman said. "I'm Zoë, by the way. Zoë Jones." "Keely McKenzie." Keely reached over and shook Zoë's hand. Zoë's eyebrows went up. "Keely, huh? Interesting..." She shrugged, then smiled brightly. "So, Keely, why don't you tell me what's bothering you?" Much to her surprise, she found herself spilling out the whole story to Zoë. Something about her was just so familiar. It would have been disturbing, if it wasn't so nice to have someone to talk to. At home she would have talked to Mardea and Shauna—and perhaps Bridget, although she hadn't so much as called in weeks—but here Keely had no one. Her father was a good, kind man, but she simply couldn't talk to him about this. Not just because it would be embarrassing, but also because he didn't need the stress right now. Talking to Zoë made her feel a lot better, actually. The other woman listened mostly in silence, occasionally nodding her head or making sympathetic noises. By the time she was finished, Keely was feeling like maybe she could figure this out. Xan obviously liked her to some extent, after all. Perhaps he was just a bit freaked out. Maybe he needed some space. She supposed she could understand that, although she wished he could have just said something to her. Keely said as much to Zoë, who nodded thoughtfully. "Men can be a little... stupid, when it comes to relationships," Zoë said. "Look, I think maybe... maybe you shouldn't give up on this guy, you know? I just... have a feeling." Keely sighed and dropped her head into her hands. "I don't want to give up," she admitted. "But... I dunno. You can't make someone love you if they don't." "You wanna bet?" Zoë grinned broadly, looking very much like a little imp. This made Keely pause. Even though she'd thought from the beginning that Zoë seemed like a nice person, she never would have guessed that the woman would listen to her plight so attentively. She remembered early on, when Olivia had been the one helping her, and she felt a longing for that kind of guidance again. When Zoë reached out a hand, Keely took it, and allowed the older woman to pull her to her feet and out from under the dock. It was brighter than she'd expected it would be, with the fireworks going off overhead, and although it was still crowded, she found she didn't mind as much. The two of them made their way down the beach, carefully avoiding other people, until the reached a broad strip of shore that was mostly empty. Together they sat down, closer enough to the ocean that the waves rushed up to their legs and the water soaked their shorts. Keely found out a few things about her new acquaintance then; Zoë was about twenty-three, she was very happily married, and she usually lived a good deal further north, on a small farm, but she was on vacation with her husband and some old friends. She sounded so sophisticated and wise, and it made Keely feel a little bit silly. "Well, now you know about me," Zoë said, after a while. "But what about you? Are you going to give up on this guy or what?" "I don't want to give up," Keely said firmly. She paused, and smiled sheepishly. "Maybe, though, the problem is me. I just... usually I'm not bothered much by what people think of me, but it's different when I'm with Xan." Zoë nodded. "I understand," she assured her. "And I think I can help you, if you'll let me. But there's something I want to make sure you understand." Keely tilted her head curiously. "Okay..." "Communication is important in a relationship," Zoë said. "Very, very important. You said yourself that he's very busy this summer, so maybe he isn't ignoring you at all. Maybe you're just having trouble connecting. So when you two do get in touch again, don't let your first assumption be that he doesn't like you." Zoë reached over and tugged Keely's hair gently. "And make sure you find out the whole story, from the day you left until the day you return, before you pass judgment. Got it?" Keely nodded. She was pretty sure she understood what Zoë was saying. It made a lot of sense; the relationship between herself and Xan had been riddled with confusion due to a lack of communication. Okay, she thought, taking a deep breath. I can do that. That's perfectly reasonable. She would sort herself out before she tried to sort things out with Xan. Although his birthday was coming up soon, and Keely wanted to send him something, so he'd know she hadn't forgotten. Maybe Zoë could help her with that, too. Between the two of them, they could fix whatever had gone wrong. They had to be able to. "I can do that," Keely said finally. "Xan's worth it." "See?" Zoë smiled brightly. "And I bet you that with my help, by this time next summer he'll be madly in love with you." "What do you get if I lose?" Keely asked, grinning back at her new friend. It was funny how she'd managed to make her feel so much better. It kind of reminded her of Xan. A lot, actually. Zoe's eyes sparkled. "Oh, I'll think of something. Trust me." ------- "Excuse me? Are you open?" Oh, god, go away, Xan thought, biting back a groan. I just want this day to be over. Hell, at this point he wanted his life to be over. The constant work, day in and day out, was bad enough. Being stuck under a car so often that he didn't think he'd ever get the smell of grease off his skin, that sucked too. The fact that he was getting so little sleep, that he was eating poorly, that he wasn't feel too good... it all sucked. And it might not have sucked so bad if Xan had heard from Keely this summer. Which he hadn't. Not even once. Okay, so in her defense he wasn't exactly around much to get in contact with her. But he'd kind of thought—well, hoped, really—that she might come back to see him. Xan knew she was trying to be there for her father, but it was hard remembering that at four in the morning, when he stumbled out of his bed so he'd get to his construction job on time. And it was even harder when he was dealing with an extremely depressed cat. An extremely depressed cat that had started to grow at an alarming rate and now weighed close to fifteen pounds. "Um... excuse me? Are you all right?" Remembering that there was a customer, Xan slid out from under the car. He found himself staring up into the striking blue eyes of a tall, slender, leggy blonde. Her smile was a bit uncertain, but he thought that he saw concern on her face. Wow, he thought, as he pushed himself wearily to his feat. She's gorgeous. She wore minimal make-up, and her hair was pulled back into a loose, casual braid. Xan wiped his hands on his coveralls and smiled back at her, hoping she wouldn't think he was rude. He was just really tired, that was all. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," the blonde said. "It's just that there's something wrong with my car, and... well, I wanted to get down here sooner, but I had work, so..." "It's all right," Xan told her, when she trailed off. "I can take a look at it for you." "No!" the blonde protested. She looked a little uncomfortable. "It's okay if you're closed already. It's not like I don't have someone to give me a ride for a day or two. And... you look exhausted. I couldn't ask you to do anything today." There was something a little awkward about her, but sincere nonetheless. Like she didn't interact with a lot of people. She smiled at him, a sweet little smile that made him wish he wasn't about ready to collapse. Normally he'd take a look at her car anyway, see if there it was something that could be easily taken care of, but he didn't have it in him tonight. I wonder if she's knew in town, Xan thought. I don't think I've ever seen her. She looked like she was maybe a couple of years older than him, perhaps around his sister's age even. "It'll be the first thing on my list tomorrow, okay?" Xan said, managing a weary smile. "Promise." "Thank you so much!" The blonde reached out and took his hand, apparently not bothered by the grease. "I have a dinner to get to, anyway. I'd hate for you to think I'm hurrying you." She stopped and took a step back, realizing that she was being a bit more touchy feely than he was comfortable with. "Sorry about that. Um... who do I ask for? When I come to get my car, I mean." "Xan." He took her hand this time, for a quick, careful shake. "Xan Dayton." "Alyssa Holmes," she told him, brightening. Behind them a car horn honked, and Alyssa's eyes widened. "Oh, shoot! I'm so sorry... I don't mean to be rude, but I really have to go!" She stumbled a little as she raced off into the darkening evening, largely due to the fact that she kept looking back at him and apologizing. Xan was reminded vaguely of the rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. That was weird, he thought, chuckling to himself. She seemed sweet, though. He finished cleaning up for the night, too worn out to think about much while he worked. Although the thought that he'd just encountered one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen did keep occurring to him. And really, there was nothing wrong with that, was there? It wasn't as if Xan had even heard from Keely lately. They'd never really given their relationship any kind of definition, so it wasn't like he was doing anything wrong, simply by thinking another woman was pretty. Okay, gorgeous, but hey, he was still alive, wasn't he? By the time Xan was ready to go home, he was both tired and confused. The roads were pretty much deserted, which was good, because he felt a little uneasy driving himself home. There was too much on his mind. He kept thinking that he should get in touch with Keely somehow. Maybe he should go see her. But he'd made commitments already, and he couldn't back out of those. Besides, maybe they just needed some time apart. Xan could understand that. Really, he could. Well, okay, no he couldn't, since they'd never seemed to have any issue with that sort of thing before, but he could try to understand it. His apartment was a mess. Since he didn't have much time to clean, stacks of old mail were everywhere, alongside empty take-out containers. His answering machine was blinking, letting him know he hadn't listened to the messages on it in weeks, but he didn't care. Xan dropped onto the couch, deciding he wouldn't move again, ever. Cy came out of nowhere and jumped onto his stomach; he was so exhausted that even fifteen pounds of cat hardly fazed him. Only the phone ringing made him groan. It was two feet away on the coffee table, but there was no way in hell he was answering it. Let the machine get it, for crying out loud. "Xan Richard Dayton, you pick up that phone right this instant!" Surprised, Xan grabbed the phone and hit the talk button. "Zoë?" "Hey, baby bro," Zoë teased. She knew he hated that. "It's about damn time. You're harder to get a hold of than the Roadrunner." "Sorry," Xan said. He began scratching behind Cy's ears to keep the cat from biting him. "I've been pretty busy." "Our good old uncle working your ass off?" Zoë's tone was sympathetic. "I told you that you should have come on vacation with us." Xan smiled, feeling better than he had in weeks. He loved spending time with Zoë, even when her husband, Greg, was around. Although if he hadn't been scheduled to work all summer months in advance, he'd probably have said yes to Keely's invitation. And instead, everything is just one great big clusterfuck, he thought, sighing. I should have just taken Zoë up on her offer. She and Greg had offered to loan him the money he'd need for school, but nooo. Xan had had to let pride get in the way. He'd just had to do it himself. "Whoof, big sigh," Zoë said. "You know the offer still stands. Both offers. You should just let us loan you the money and come join us. You'd love it here." There was something in Zoë's voice that he found a little suspicious. "I've gotten this far," Xan told her. "Might as well continue." "Oh, you sound so convinced," Zoë said sarcastically. "Come on, baby bro. I know you better than this. Tell big sis what's bothering you." How does she do that? Xan wondered. Zoë really did always know when something was upsetting him. Even since they'd been young, he'd never been able to hid what he was feeling from her. Maybe it came from the way they'd grown up, always having to rely on one another. Although Xan wasn't much for sharing, he found it easy to tell Zoë what was going on in his life. She had a way about her; somehow she was the best listener in the world. Xan had told her things about Keely before. Not anything about the more serious side of their relationship—that was simply something one didn't discuss with one's sister—but just things in general. Zoë knew about the bet, about Cyclops, and about the prom. Well, except for what had happened after the prom. He should have talked to her about it before now, really. Zoë always gave good advice. She was an amazingly sympathetic person. Which was why Xan was shocked to find that, by the time he was done, she was laughing. "Sorry, baby bro," Zoë said, still chuckling. "I'm not trying to be insensitive. I swear. It's just, from what you've told me about this girl, I can't imagine she could manage any kind of deceit without help." "Keely is clever. Too clever." Xan sighed. "Although she does seem to need help with those sorts of things." He and Olivia had helped her with the bet, he and Mardea had helped her make Shauna prom queen, and she'd damn near had a posse to help her with her revenge on Brad. "Still... I just don't understand why I haven't heard from her." Zoë huffed. "Duh! Try answering your phone!" He heard her murmur something to someone else, and then she was back. "I know you're having trouble with this, Xan. I totally understand. I'd just hate to see you lose something that makes you so happy over what is obviously major miscommunication." "I guess," Xan hedged. He smiled to himself. "What makes you so damn sure that it's miscommunication? Or that Keely makes me happy?" "I know she makes you happy because you talk about her like she's an angel come down to earth," Zoë said matter-of-factly. "And you have always been an excellent judge of character. Why are you arguing with me about this, Xan? You know I'm always right." Xan grinned. The truth was, Zoë really was always right about these kinds of things. She wrote a column for a magazine, answering questions about relationship problems, and her readers adored her. Plus, she'd had a lot of experience with this particular issue; it was the same one she'd had for awhile with Greg. Xan had been there for her through the whole thing, and had been a bit amazed when they'd worked it out. But they had, and the two of them were still like a couple of disgusting newlyweds. He knew he should listen to Zoë's advice. He talked to her for a little while longer before he just couldn't anymore. By the time he hung up, though, he was feeling much better. Talking to Zoë was soothing. This will work out, one way or another, Xan thought, closing his eyes and settled back on the couch. He thought about checking his answering machine, to see if Keely had called him, but he couldn't move. Besides, he needed sleep. He'd promised that woman Alyssa he'd take care of her car first thing tomorrow morning. And it was the middle of the night, too. Keely was probably asleep. Remembering how sweet she looked when she was sleeping, Xan didn't want to disturb her. ------- Chapter 16: Strange Reunions Think positive, think positive, think positive, Keely thought, as she opened the door to the pizza place. You can't let all your work be for nothing. She took a deep breath, bracing herself as she crossed the threshold... only to find that the object of her concerns wasn't yet present. Mardea was there, and so were Sean and Shauna, sitting at one of the really large booths in the back corner. They had all agreed to meet here, as a reunion of sorts. Well, okay, almost all of us, Keely thought, frowning. She herself had not been able to get in touch with Xan, although Sean had apparently spoken to him. Mardea noticed her first. She sat up straight and waved so enthusiastically that it sent her braids bouncing wildly. Unable to fight a grin, Keely made her way across the pizzeria to the table. Mardea and Shauna both jumped up, and she found herself caught in a tight, three-way hug. I really missed them, she realized. I missed everything. It was her same old hometown, yet something felt distinctly different. It wasn't her friends; they were pretty much the same, aside from Shauna's clothing being pink and white rather than red and black. It was something inside of her, Keely knew, yet she couldn't begin to guess what. As excited as she was to see her friends again, a part of her wished that the summer never had to end. She got comfortable in the booth next to Mardea. They chatted while they waited for the pizza to arrive, but Keely remained silent, happy just to hear her friends' voices. Though none of them had gone to the beach for a long stay, like her, they'd still spent a fair amount of time by the ocean; even Shauna had gotten a tan. Apparently Sean's family owned a boat and he'd taken them out for rides frequently. Though Keely would have loved to have been with them, she had had a lot of fun this summer with Zoe and her husband. They didn't own a boat, but they'd rented one from time to time. And Zoe had been a wonderful friend. She was even coming tomorrow to help Keely move into her new apartment. "I still can't believe your dad is getting you your own place," Mardea said. They were in the midst of a conversation about where they'd all be staying during college; Mardea in a dorm, Sean and Shauna in an apartment together. "Well, the house is too big for just the two of us," Keely explained. "Dad is selling his half. I told him I wouldn't have a problem sharing an apartment with him, but he keeps insisting he wants me to have a place of my own." She shrugged. "Who am I to argue? I think it'll be nice." Shauna laughed. "Keely, you're the queen of the understatement." "Hey! Hey, you guys!" None of them realized, at first, that the petite blonde coming towards them was trying to get their attention. Not until she'd come to a halt at the head of the table and planted her hands on her hips, frowning down at all of them. Keely looked up at her, wondering what the heck she wanted with them. With her perfectly done hair and nails, her expensive-looking handbag, and her no doubt designer clothes, she didn't look like the type of person they generally associated with. Wait a minute, though... Keely thought, studying the blonde's face. No... no way! She was thinner—much, much thinner—and a whole heck of a lot blonder, but she was certain that was... "Bridget?" Keely asked, staring at her incredulously. "Bridget?!" Shauna and Mardea echoed, both of them looking stunned. Their friend laughed—a kind of fake-sounding laugh, actually—and slid into the booth next to Keely. Suddenly Keely got a sneaking suspicion where their friend had been all this time, and why they hadn't heard from her. It didn't make sense, though; Bridget had always been firmly—and loudly—against surgery. Yet Keely couldn't think of any other way, off the top of her head, that Bridget could have lost that much weight in such a short period of time without looking like... well, like she'd lost a lot of weight in a short period of time. I guess I can understand how she feels, Keely thought, frowning. But I would have thought she'd have come to us for support... it couldn't have been much fun all alone... Bridget didn't show any signs of loneliness, though, or of missing her friends. She simply took over the conversation, chattering on and on about her fabulous trip to Paris—supposedly a graduation gift from her parents—and all the cute guys she'd met there. All right, Keely thought, glancing sidelong at her friend, who the hell are you and what did you do with Bridget? This was the very last thing she could have imagined coming back to. Or so she thought. Though Keely imagined that Paris was an interesting place, she wasn't in the mood to listen to Bridget ramble. Feeling a bit like she was in an episode of The Twilight Zone, she let her attention wander and her gaze drift around the pizzeria. Ugh, I'm moping, she thought, frowning. God, I hate it when I... Even distracted as she was, she couldn't miss the striking blonde who walked into the pizzeria, followed by a tall, dark-haired, very familiar guy who'd been holding the door for her. "Is something wrong, Keely?" Mardea's voice sounded very far away. "Keely?" Like someone mesmerized by a train wreck, she couldn't look away. Tall, thin, absolutely gorgeous... the mysterious blonde was everything Keely wasn't. Why is my life suddenly turning into some kind of really bad joke? she wondered, as Xan's gaze met hers. I'm too busy wallowing in self-pity to pay attention to my friends, Bridget had gone and become some kind of pod person, and Xan... Those gray-green eyes that she loved so much widened when he saw her. The blonde looked at her too. Keely thought she saw sympathy in her eyes, but she didn't appreciate it in the least. "Who the hell is she?" Mardea hissed. "I thought you were dating Xan, Keely," Bridget put in. Something about her voice, so sweet and innocent-sounding, put Keely on edge even more. "Shut up, Bridget!" Shauna snapped. Her eyes were narrowed on Xan and the blonde. "I've never seen her before," Sean said quietly. He glanced apologetically at Keely. "If I'd known..." "We can tell him to go away," Mardea said. She didn't try very hard to keep her voice down. Keely just shook her head. What is going on here? she thought, staring down at the tabletop. Please, please just let this all be a nightmare... Where had her wonderful summer gone? She felt numb at how quickly it had disappeared. Was she being punished for not making more effort to stay in contact with her friends over the summer? For not trying harder to get in touch with Xan? She'd thought that leaving him alone for awhile was a good idea but now... Stop feeling sorry for yourself! Keely thought. Stop, stop, stop! As Xan and the blonde scooted into the seat across from her, Keely felt all the confusion and insecurity that her parents' divorce had caused welling up. She peered at him from beneath her lashes, afraid to actually just look, and was surprised by how worn out he looked. I knew he was working hard, she thought, biting her lip, but I never suspected... She really wished she could hug him, but somehow she didn't think his date would appreciate it much. Although—and it pained Keely to admit it—she had such a sweet look about her that it was hard to believe she ever got mildly annoyed, let alone angry. Neutral ground, Keely reminded herself. Just... just keep things light and friendly. Which didn't look like it was going to be easy. Mardea looked like she was about three seconds away from strangling Xan or the blonde—or both—Shauna was frowning disapprovingly, and even Sean seemed ready to come to Keely's defense big brother style. Bridget had huddled down a bit, looking confused and seeming a lot more like her old self. "Um... don't... all say hello at once..." Xan sounded unsure and irritated at the same time. Keely cleared her throat. "How was your summer?" she asked, sounding much more cheerful than she felt. "Busy," Xan responded. He glanced around the table. "Uh... this is Alyssa. We... just thought we'd stop by and say hello..." "We're going to a movie," Alyssa chimed in. She was making an effort to ignore the tension that had every person at the table holding themselves rigid. "Oh, hey! Maybe you guys could tell us if it's worth seeing, have any of you seen..." She trailed off, cowed by Mardea's fierce glower. Keely didn't think she was supposed to feel bad for the other woman, but she kind of did anyway. Alyssa was genuinely trying to be friendly and upbeat. I don't think they're gonna give an inch, Keely thought, looking around at her friends. With the exception of Bridget, they were all pretty mad. Even Sean, who was one of the most laidback, understanding people she knew. I guess it's up to me, then, she realized. "I didn't watch any movies this summer," Keely said. "I mean, my father and I were staying by the beach, so I spent a lot of time outdoors." Alyssa smiled gratefully. "That must have been wonderful! I love the beach, but I always end up burnt to a crisp even if I only spend an hour in the sun." "Me too," Keely told her. "I went through so much sun block, I think my dad was ready to buy stock in Banana Boat." It felt very strange to be talking like this with someone who was her rival, but it made Xan smile, so Keely didn't care how it felt. The rest of her friends were staring at her in amazement. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Sean and Shauna relax a bit, but Mardea still looked furious and Bridget looked like she didn't have the faintest clue what was going on. And it was all worth it to see Xan smile. Boy, I sure am pathetic, Keely thought. But it's just so good to see him again... even if he does have a date. She turned her attention to him, still a little nervous, but able to meet his eyes this time. "I'm sorry your summer was so... nonexistent," Keely said, smiling sheepishly at him. "Did you like the present I sent you, at least?" The last thing she was expecting was Xan's bewildered expression. "What?" he asked. So much for her friends relaxing. Even Bridget understood that exchange, and Keely had to kick Mardea under the table to keep her from leaping at Xan and clawing his eyes out. Even though I'd like to do as much myself, she thought, quickly getting to her feet. She was so torn between anger and sadness that she didn't know what to do with herself. Xan had the good grace to look ashamed and quite alarmed, as well. Maybe he would have tried to stop her but Alyssa had the very outside of the booth and the only way to get to Keely would be to reach across her. Probably, Keely would imagine, not the best thing to do on your date. "I have to go to the bathroom," she said. "Excuse me." Somehow she managed to walk across the pizzeria to the bathrooms, even though what she really want to do was run far away, preferably to a nice rock she could crawl under and die. The bathroom wasn't empty, but a stall at the very end was vacant and Keely went in there, pulling the door shut and making sure it was locked. She sat down on the toilet, not really caring that she was in a public bathroom and public bathrooms were strictly classified as ick. Her eyes stung with unshed tears but the very last thing she wanted to do was cry. It seemed she'd been doing a lot more of that, especially since her parents had decided to get divorced. Keely wasn't even sure who she was anymore; this teary, self-conscious girl wasn't her. It was Mardea who found her. By that time the tears were escaping, leaving tracks down her cheeks. Keely didn't even try to stop her friend from hugging her while she cried. It's bad enough that Xan brought his date here with him, she thought, pressing her face against Mardea's shoulder, but then he doesn't even remember the gift I sent him!? She, Zoe, and Zoe's husband Greg had spent hours working on that. It had been a lot of fun and Keely had been kind of hurt when she hadn't gotten so much as a quick call from Xan after she'd sent it to him. Now she knew why. "Keely..." Mardea said quietly. "I'm so sorry." "I want to go home," Keely muttered, her voice thick with tears and partially muffled by Mardea's shoulder. "This sucks! I want to go home!" "Then I'll take you home," Mardea told her. ------- "You don't look like you're in much of a mood to go see a movie." Xan started guiltily and turned to Alyssa. She looked fantastic tonight, in a flowing dark blue babydoll top and a pair of shorts; simple and understated, which he liked. Tonight was supposed to be their sixth attempt at a real date. It was bad enough that he was busy constantly with work. But Alyssa—who was twenty-three—worked full time as an accountant at a huge corporation, so they barely had time to say 'hello' to each other all summer. Xan had been determined to have a good time tonight; he should have known better then to go to the pizzeria. The moment he'd seen Keely... She looked amazing. Whatever she'd done over the summer, she'd lost weight doing it. Not a lot of weight; Keely would probably always be a little chubby. But he could definitely see it, in her face, her legs, and even her hips just a little. It wasn't so much that she looked thinner as... more mature. It was the first time that Xan had looked at her and seen an adult rather than a cute teenager. She was dressed with more consideration than she had even after Olivia had gotten hold of her. The shorts she was wearing might have looked like cut-offs, but their fraying was by careful design, not because they'd been hacked apart with a scissor. The change-over from black and army greens had stuck, because she was wearing a lavender camisole layered over a very light pink one. She was taking better care with her nails which, while not long, looked like they'd been treated to a manicure. Xan had found himself wondering if her toes were painted the same warm, rosy pink as her nails. And then he'd managed to screw up majorly. It was bad enough that Keely had run off—though she'd tried to hide it, he knew that was what she was doing—but then Mardea had gone a smuggled her out of the pizzeria before he had the faintest clue what was happening. Sean had received a call on his cell a few minutes after Mardea had left the table, and then he and Shauna had left without explanation, followed by that strange blonde girl that Xan didn't know. The whole thing had been a disaster and to top it all off, he was now supposed to go see a movie when what he wanted to do was go home and ransack his apartment to find that present Keely had mentioned. "You really should tell her how you feel," Alyssa said quietly. "She seems very sweet." "Yeah..." Xan ran his fingers through his hair, not sure what to do. He'd been amazed by Keely's kindness towards Alyssa. It had made him feel even more like a jerk. "The thing is, I'm just not so sure about us," Alyssa went on. "It's not that I don't like you, because I do. But... we really just live in two different worlds, don't we?" "I don't really know," Xan said. "I can't even think straight right now." Alyssa smiled gently. "Go home. We don't have to talk about this right this minute. To be honest... I need to do some thinking of my own." This was precisely the reason that he liked Alyssa as much as he did. He felt guilty, canceling their date like this, but at the same time he didn't think it would be fair to her to go to the movie when he was in such a mood. Xan gave her a quick hug before heading to his motorcycle; the two of them didn't even go anywhere in the same vehicle. He'd wanted to be rid of the damn thing, but memories of rides with Keely had stopped him. He would beg for Alyssa's forgiveness later if he had to, but at the moment he had only one thing on his mind. Even if he knew where Keely was right now, she probably wouldn't be very happy to see him right now, so the best he could do would be to go home and find the present she'd sent him. It took all his self-control not to drive home like a maniac. Once he was home, he raced up the stairs to his apartment, nearly tripping and landed flat on his face as he went. Like every other time he came through the door, Xan was greeted by over twenty pounds of ugly, demanding cat. Cyclops, being absolutely huge and very mean towards anyone he didn't like, was better than a guard dog. He was also worse than a puppy sometimes, getting into everything and getting in Xan's way when he was trying to do something like, say, search through the piles of unopened mail from the summer months. "Move it, monster," Xan scolded, pushing Cy off a pile of bills and solicitations. "Your mom sent me something very important and I need to find it." Cyclops stared at him disdainfully. Only a cat could make a person feel as utterly stupid as Cy made him feel most of the time. And it was no wonder, really; the cat's tail was thumping on a small package with Keely's loopy, sloppy handwriting on it. Uncanny beast, Xan thought, picking up the package. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew that was there all along. Ignoring the cat's continued starring, he tore open the package and pulled out a clear CD case with a CD in it marked simply 'Xan'. His hands actually shook as he took the CD out and put it in his stereo. It started up almost immediately with a soft, uncertain giggle that was definitely Keely, backed by something playing an acoustic guitar. Then his apartment was filled with the angelic sound of her voice, as she sang an old Pink Floyd song. Xan settled down on the couch with Cyclops sprawled over his feet and listened. Her voice drove out all the weariness and confusion of the last few months. "We're just two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl," Xan sang along, ignoring Cy's look of disgust, "year after year..." Cyclops got up off his feet and went to lay atop one of his speakers instead. Apparently my voice is no substitute for mom's, Xan thought, chuckling to himself. Even after three months, he knows the sound of her voice. He got up and turned the stereo down just a little, then found the found where it was laying beneath a pile of Sports Illustrated magazines that he kept getting even though he'd never so much as thought of getting subscription. Though he didn't know if she would be at home or, if she was, if she would be alone, Xan dialed her number anyway. Her singing voice was sweet, but he needed to hear more than just songs. "Hello?" The answer was tentative and she sounded like she might have been crying. "Keely... it's Xan," he said. "Please don't hang up. I need to talk to you. I... I owe you an apology." There was a long pause, in which he thought that she'd hung up anyway, and then, "Oh." "I did get your present," Xan told her. "I just... haven't been paying much attention to my mail. I'm really sorry... It's a great gift..." "Oh." Softer than the first, and not exactly the answer he'd been expecting. He remembered the hurt in her eyes. Did he really think she was just going to forgive him so easily? Keely had a forgiving nature, but he couldn't blame her if she wanted to stay mad at him for this one. Damnit, Xan thought, looking around desperately for something he could talk about so she wouldn't hang up. I can't let this end like this! He caught sight of Cyclops, still laying on the speaker, his tail actually thumping to the beat of a Bob Marley tune. Duh, he thought, rolling his eyes at himself. That one is a no-brainer, you moron. Xan was oh-for-two on the brilliance scale tonight. "Caten... er, Cyclops has gotten huge," Xan told her. "I think he eats more than I do." That earned him a soft giggle. "How big is he?" "You have to see him to believe it," Xan replied. "I'm kind of surprised you haven't been here already... I mean, you know, to see him." "I know he's in good hands," Keely said. "You won't have to worry about him waking you up in the middle of the night much longer, though. I'm getting my own place. In fact, I'm moving in tomorrow." Well, I guess that oversized furball turned out to be good for something after all, Xan thought, gazing affectionately at the cat. Hearing that Keely trusted him with her precious Cyclops filled him with warmth. Though the cat did get on his nerves a lot, he'd been making sure that Cy was taken good care of. The cat might not have eaten more than Xan, but he certainly ate better, that was for sure. He'd even brought Cy to the vet for what he'd thought, in a moment of panicked idiocy, was a coughing fit. Of course, Keely didn't need to know about the hefty vet bill he'd had to pay for the privilege of learning that Cy had hairballs. Then what she'd said finally registered with him. Her own place? Xan wondered. I wonder how that happened. He'd missed far too much of her life. What he should have done was taken Zoe and Greg up on their offer so he could spend his summer with Keely. "I can help you move," Xan offered, then added for good measure, "and bring Cy to you." "Do you have time for that?" Keely asked. Her voice sounded a bit hollow, as if she was holding something back. I'll always have time for you, Xan thought, wishing he could do something to stop the hurt in her voice. "I definitely have time," he said. "I want to help you, Keely. And... I've missed you." "All right then. Ten o'clock. Don't be late." "Not a chance, kitten. Not a chance." ------- Chapter 17: Two Alike The apartment's small kitchen was rather crowded with five girls in it, but it was a nice, homey sort of crowded. They'd set up a radio so they had music while they unpacked the set of dishes that Keely's father had gotten her and put them in the cupboards. It was like their own little world; they hardly noticed the moving men bringing boxes and furniture up into the apartment. Keely perched on the counter, listening to her friends chatter away and trying not to wonder where Xan was. So much for him not being late, she thought, tapping her heels against the counter. I wonder if he's with Alyssa after all... "Stop being such a mope, Keely," Zoë scolded, tossing a dishtowel at her. "Your boy will be here." "He promised he wouldn't be late," Keely said sullenly. Zoë shrugged. "Yeah, but shit happens. His motorcycle could have broken down. Wouldn't surprise me... that old piece of crap should have fallen apart by now." Mardea snorted. "He's just a jerk, that's all." Keely frowned. Did I tell Zoë that Xan has a motorcycle? she wondered. I must have... I told her everything else. Still, it was weird that she would say that. Zoë reminded her a bit of Mardea, actually; stubborn and outspoken. Mardea had decided that Xan was an asshole and refused to be persuaded otherwise. Shauna and Bridget—who had been very apologetic about being too paranoid to tell her friends her plans—were a bit more forgiving. Thank god, Keely thought. I couldn't take it if all four of them were bitching. She was angry enough as it was without adding fuel to the flames. Both Sean and Greg—Zoë's husband—were helping to bring the furniture and boxes up. Something Xan should have been doing too. Keely had griped about it for awhile, until Shauna had done something she hadn't done in a long time; she'd said something in that voice she used whenever what she said was going to come true. That sort of thing had been fun in high school, but now Keely didn't really believe that Xan would show up at eleven thirty on the dot, the way Shauna insisted he would. It was eleven twenty-five already. "Oh, hey!" Zoë set down her stack of dishes. "Turn the radio up! I love this song!" "It's one of Keely's favorites, too," Shauna said, reaching over to turn the volume knob. Her eyes twinkled with mischief. "She loves to sing along to this song..." Keely shook her head. "Forget it. I'm in no mood to sing." They'd been trying to get her to sing all morning. They'd cajoled, they'd wheedled, they'd even threatened, but Keely remained stubborn on the matter. Which was not at all an easy thing to do when her friends were all such goofs. The dishes forgotten, they danced around the kitchen singing at the top of their lungs. Even Bridget, who hated to dance, was having fun. I wish they'd stop, Keely thought. They were all so determined to act like there was nothing wrong that it was starting to piss her off. Or... well, it should have been, but she found she couldn't help tapping her heels against the counter in time to the song. I want to pretend everything is okay too, Keely thought. I don't like this new, sulky Keely. I miss the old happy-go-lucky penguin-sock-wearing, cat-loving Keely. She bit her lip. The music was getting to her. She bobbed around on the counter, her feet making loud clunking noises on the cabinets below her. Watching Bridget and Shauna clumsily bump their hips together was what finally broke her down. They looked so ridiculous, but they were laughing, clowning around to the music the way Keely used to. Before my parents got that stupid divorce, she thought. And before Xan started being a... a... a stupid guy! She hopped down off the counter and ended up crashing into Zoë, who just laughed loudly and threw her arms around her. "I just want someone to say to me, oh, oh, oh, oh," Keely sang loudly, bumping her hip against Zoë's. "I'll always been there when you wake!" The kitchen filled with their voices. "You know I'd like to keep my cheeks dry today..." "So stay with me and I'll have it made!" Zoë finished the line on her own. Keely twirled away from Zoë, her singing interrupted by a fit of giggles. She knocked into Bridget, who gave her a playful push, sending her into Mardea. She ended up feeling a bit like a human ping pong ball, bouncing from one friend to the other, dancing in circles and shaking her hips. So what if I'm not a skinny, pretty little blond chick? Keely thought, linking arms with Mardea. If Xan doesn't like it, he can just go stick his head in a toilet! Not the most mature thought ever, but it made her feel better. As the song wound down, Keely leaned against the counter, catching her breath. She tapped her toes against the kitchen floor and murmured along with the last few 'oh oh oh ohhh's. It felt great to have all of her friends back together, even if things had changed. Shauna was no longer the Queen of the Damned and Bridget was no longer 'the fat one', and Zoë was a new addition, but it still felt right. She could feel the melancholy that had been hounding her since the end of summer start to fade away. "Zoë!?" They all turned to look at the new voice. Xan stood at the entrance to the kitchen, his clothing rumpled and his hair it's usual Harry Potter-esque style. An enormous pet carrier and a small box were set at his feet. Keely noticed first that he was still wearing the same clothes—his usual jeans and t-shirt—that he'd had on yesterday. Then she noticed the angry red scratches on his hands. He stood there staring at Zoë with wide green-gray eyes, while the cage at his feet emitted an irritating rumbling noise. "Hey, baby bro," Zoë said cheerfully. "You look like death warmed over. Come give big sis a hug." What? Keely thought, watching as Xan stepped forward dazedly to hug Zoë. They're... but that's... she never said... he never mentioned... Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as her brain refused to continue the dizzying stream of questions. The facts were obvious enough. The reason Keely had thought that Zoë looked familiar was because she and Xan shared the same hair, the same eyes, the same mouth... they could have been twins. I just don't get it, she thought. Why didn't either one of them tell me? Had this all been some kind of cruel joke? "I told you that you should have come out to see us this summer," Zoë said, sounding irritatingly smug. "I told you that you'd have fun. You didn't want to listen." "You... you never said..." Xan stammered, flushing hotly. "You didn't tell me a goddamn thing! You just had to meddle, didn't you? You just had to stick your nose where it doesn't belong!" The cage at his feet let out another rumble and he threw his hands up in frustration. "I'm sorry," Zoë said quietly, taken aback by her brother's anger. "It didn't seem like you were going to listen to my advice and I wanted to help." Everyone else had gotten deathly silent. It was Keely, still reeling from her confusion, who crept forward to pull the growling cage away from Xan. She peered inside and saw an enormous, ugly cat glaring back at her. At least I have you, she thought, opening the cage and pulling Cy out to cradle him in her arms. That was no longer so easy to do, because he'd gotten huge. I guess he really lived up to his name, Keely thought, hugging him. He's a great bit one-eyed giant. And he wasn't going to ever be a traitorous, skinny blonde-loving jerk, either. After a moment she realized that everyone was looking at her. She let go of Cy and stood up, brushing cat hair from her jeans. Enough was enough. She was sick and tired of all of this. "You're late," she said. Xan groaned. "It's not my fault! First of all, your cat—" "Don't you dare blame Cy for your being a jerk!" Keely snapped, cutting him off. "You said you wouldn't be late! But you were! You said you'd come say good-bye to me before I left for the summer! But you didn't! Then you show up at the pizza place yesterday with some skinny blonde chick and you hadn't even bothered to open the birthday gift I sent you!" "That isn't fair!" Xan retorted. "I was working hard all summer! And you're the one who told me the wrong time!" "I did not!" Keely shouted. She felt like stomping her feet, she was so frustrated. "You just didn't show up! I don't know why I'm so surprised! But I guess it's my fault for being stupid enough to fall in love with an asshole!" She stormed past him and into her new room. There was nothing in it except for her bed, which was only partially made, but she didn't care. Keely slammed the door shut, taking some small satisfaction from it. She made sure the door was locked, then threw herself down on the bed and pressed her face against the mattress before the tears started. So much for the old Keely coming back. It looked like she was destined to be a miserable mope for the rest of her life. ------- Silence. Mardea, Zoë, Shauna, and that blonde girl was standing like statues in the kitchen. Sean, who had come through the door carrying a box, came to a sudden halt and stared in confusion. Even Cyclops was surprisingly still, only the tip of his tail twitching as he stared at the door that Keely had just slammed shut. Xan stared at the door as well. He was so angry that he was shaking and so confused that he wanted to scream. Yes, he'd been late when he had sworn he wouldn't be, but there was a reason for that. Keely couldn't have been bothered to let him explain. Xan glanced down at the box near his feet. I should never have bothered, he thought, scowling. I could have just gone to be and been here on time instead of staying up all night working on that. He'd been looking forward to giving it to Keely. All night, while he'd worked, he'd imagined the look on her face when she saw it. So much for that, Xan thought, sighing. I was so hoping... Well, he'd been stupid to hope. She'd proven that pretty quickly. And she had to look so damn cute, too. All she'd been wearing was a pair of shorts and a clingy, bright orange camisole—with polish on her nails and toes to match—but she'd looked so very... Keely. Her hair had gotten longer and the color seemed richer after all her days out in the sun. She'd wound it into a bun and held it in place with two of those hair stick things—these ones topped with fluffy orange feathers—that he'd always thought were impossible to use. Watching her dance around the kitchen with her friends had brought back memories. Xan sorely wished that things could be like they'd been before. But they can't be, he thought, turning away. A hand on his arm stopped him. He turned and found himself staring down at Zoë. "Xan..." she began quietly. "Don't bother," he grumbled. "I'm leaving." "Come on," Zoë cajoled. "She's going through a tough time right now. You know how hard it was for us when dad walked out. How hurt and confused we were. Keely's feeling like that now, and she needs you." Xan snorted. "I doubt that. Besides, I'm sick of this shit, Zoë. I'm sick of the arguing and I'm sick of never knowing what the hell is going on!" "Greg and I had this same problem," Zoë reminded him. "And we were able to—" "We're not you and Greg!" Xan snapped, cutting her off. "For once in your life, Zoë, leave it alone!" He pulled his arm out of her grasp and stomped out of the apartment, nearly running into Sean, who was coming up the stairs with another box. Sean yelled something after him, but Xan didn't care. He made his way quickly down the stairs, avoiding the movers as best he could. I don't have to put up with this, he thought, scowling. I mean, god, I'm only human. It wasn't like I was late on purpose. That was the problem with women... they always took those things too personally. Xan wasn't sure at first what to do or where to go. Olivia wouldn't be back from her vacation for another week, so he didn't even have her to talk to. And all he had to get around in was his stupid bike. Why did he still have the damn thing? He should have gotten rid of it a long time ago. In the end he wound up driving to the café Alyssa liked to go to on her lunch break. He wasn't certain why. Alyssa was beautiful and sweet, and wouldn't jump on him like a rapid cat for being late, but she really was too busy for a relationship with him. Maybe if Xan was actually working the way she worked, rather than going to college, but as it was... Not that it matters, he thought, as he pulled open the café door. I think I've had enough of women for awhile. At least dating them. Alyssa was at the back of the café, browsing through a magazine and nibbling on a sandwich. She looked older in the charcoal gray pantsuit she was wearing; older and more professional. At first she didn't notice him, but as he got closer to the table she lifted her head and smiled when she saw him. "You look like hell," Alyssa commented. "Sit down. Are you hungry? I'm not going to finish this, if you want it." Xan plopped down into the chair across from her. "Thanks," he said, pulling the sandwich towards him. "Good to know I look better than I feel." "I thought you were going to be helping Keely move," Alyssa said, frowning. "I was going to," Xan grumbled. "But... well, it doesn't matter. I was late, she didn't want to give me the chance to explain, so what's the use? Obviously it's just not going to work." "Oh," Alyssa said in a small voice. He was startled by the sad expression on her face. Of all the reactions he could have expected, this was not it. I'm so confused, Xan thought, sinking down in his chair and resting his head on his arms. What the hell do they want from me? All he'd wanted was to do something special for Keely and it had blown up in his face. Now here he was with Alyssa, whose feelings he'd thought he'd hurt over the whole Keely thing, and she was upset because that relationship wasn't going to work? That made no sense whatsoever. "I'm sorry." Alyssa sighed. "I know it must seem weird that I'm so disappointed, only... You two started out as friends, right?" Xan just nodded. "I guess you made me hope," Alyssa said. "Someone once told me that people who start as close friends can't be anything more than that. I thought that was ridiculous. I thought..." Xan lifted his head and looked at her. "Who is he?" "Someone I've known since I was a little kid," Alyssa answered, smiling sheepishly. "I know that's not the same as you and Keely. I guess... a part of me was rooting for you two. Because... because maybe if it worked out for you, then..." Alyssa and Keely. The two of them were so different, and yet... That sounds just like something Keely would say, Xan thought, smiling to himself. It didn't make sense, not really; Alyssa's situation was very different. But he could imagine Keely thinking the same way. It wasn't about what was logical... it was all about hope. He knew how that felt. And he also knew what it felt like to have your hope crushed. Xan knew what it felt like to be so lost and confused that you couldn't figure out which way was up. Zoë was right, he thought. Keely needs me now. He hadn't intended on being late, and if he could just show her why he had been, he knew she'd understand. Keely always understood. She was too sweet and forgiving. Hadn't she forgiven him when he'd been such a jerk about the whole prom thing? She means too much to me to just give up, Xan thought, sighing. "I'm sorry to bother you with my problems," Alyssa said, still looking sheepish. "It's okay," Xan assured her. "Actually..." He wanted to get back to Keely, but Alyssa was proving to be a good friend. A few extra minutes spent to cheer her up wouldn't hurt. And maybe she could help him figure out what to say to Keely so that he didn't end up putting his foot in it... again. ------- Keely's eyes were sore from crying and her nose was dried out from having to use too many tissues. She was glad she'd made sure her bedroom was the first place that got set up; at least she had a place to hide. Though the bed wasn't really made, she could still huddle under her blankets. She wished that she'd brought Cy in the room with her, but once she'd closed the door she'd had no intention of opening it again. Not for awhile, anyway. The knock on her door was inevitable, she knew, but when it came she didn't move. Keely had been able to hear everyone moving around, still bringing up the furniture and boxes and putting things away, even though she had locked herself in her room. She knew that she should really go and apologize to everyone, but she was afraid. What would she do if they were angry at her? I wouldn't blame them if they were mad, Keely thought. Even I know that I'm being rude. But she needed to figure out how to explain what was bothering her before she went out there. Another knock. Then another. I guess they're not going to let me get away with this, she thought wryly, as she pushed away the covers and rolled off the bed. Keely kind of hoped that it would be Zoë at the door. The older woman always seemed to understand, no matter what the situation was. It wasn't Zoë at the door. It wasn't anyone, in fact. Confused, Keely glanced around her apartment; there was the furniture and half-empty boxes, but no people. She took a hesitant step forward and her foot knocked into something. A glance down revealed that it was the box that Xan had had with him earlier. Oh yeah, she thought, crouching down. I... I wonder if this was why he was late? The box wasn't taped, the flaps were just folded down, and it was easy enough to open. Inside, staring up at her from behind a slender wooden beak, was a carved emperor penguin with a chubby baby tumbling at its feet. With shaking hands Keely reached into the box and carefully lifted the penguins out. "I didn't mean to be late." Keely jumped at the sound of the voice. She clutched the penguins to her chest and stared up at Xan. "I was only going to close my eyes for a few minutes," Xan explained, crouching down just outside her door. "After I finished the penguins, I mean. And then the next thing I knew it was after eleven in the morning and I was late." "How... did you stay up all night?" Keely asked. She felt perilously close to tears, even though she had thought herself all cried out. Xan shrugged, looking a little uncomfortable. "I just wanted to get them done for you, that's all. You know... like a house-warming gift. We're done in here, too. All of your stuff has been brought up." "You've been here all this time?" Keely stared at him. "Why... ?" Now she felt sick, too. She scooted backwards and fell, almost dropping her penguins. Fighting a smile, Xan moved closer to her and took the penguins, setting them safely in the box. He pulled the door shut and leaned up against it, almost like he was guarding her. I was so mean to him earlier, Keely thought, swiping furiously at her tears. She hated being mean to people. Well, except for Brad. And her mother. And Gina, before she turned out to be kinda cool. But her friends and people like Zoë and especially Xan... Xan pulled her towards him. As guilty as Keely felt, that didn't keep her from throwing her arms around him and pressing her face against his chest. She might have dreamt of him holding her a lot during the summer, but dreams were a far cry from the real thing. His body was warm and strong, and it made her feel safer than she had in months. Everything had seemed so uncertain before, but now Xan was back with her and things could start making sense again. Not that that was enough to keep her from crying yet again. Keely was getting sick of crying. "It's okay, kitten," Xan murmured. "I know how you feel. You're hurt and confused, and you keep thinking that what happened between your parents is your fault." He gently stroked her hair back; how she'd missed that soothing touch! "But it wasn't your fault, Keely. It wasn't." He kissed her temple. "Go ahead and cry, sweetheart." "Why... why'd y-you come back?" Keely hiccupped, her voice muffled against his chest. "I wasn't very nice about it..." "It was my fault, too. If I had actually stopped to think for once, I would've put my alarm on so I wouldn't risk being late," Xan replied. He chuckled "Besides, what else could I do? I guess it's my fault for being crazy enough to fall in love with a bratty little kitten." ------- Chapter 18: Truth and Love Xan hung back from the group hug. Keely was lost somewhere in the middle of all her friends; Mardea, Shauna, Bridget, Zoë. It was getting late and he was kind of glad they were leaving. After he'd held Keely and let her cry for awhile, she'd insisted upon apologizing to everyone. That had turned into a female bonding session that he wasn't sure he wanted to be a part of. What he wanted was to spend a nice, long night, just him and Keely, the way they used to before the whole clusterfuck that was the summer. Xan had taken it upon himself to order some Chinese food while he was waiting for the group hug to break up. Zoë was the first to break away from the crowd. She looked a bit tired, but her eyes was just as bright as always. Still, the smile on her face was unusually timid as she approached him. Xan put an arm around her and pulled her against his side when she was close enough to him. She might be an irritating, meddling brat, but she was his sister and he adored her. He always had. Growing up all they'd had was each other, and it made their bond a strong one. "Are you still mad, baby bro?" Zoë asked, leaning her head against his shoulder. "I really am sorry. Maybe I should have come straight out and told you, but I knew you'd get on my case for meddling." Xan shrugged. "You're probably right," he admitted. "But... I don't understand why you didn't tell Keely." "I had a few reasons," Zoë said. "Mostly I just wanted to be certain of what her feelings were. If she knew I was your sister, would she have been as honest with me as she was? You always talked about how sweet she was, but I wanted to see it for myself. The best way to do that was to make sure she wouldn't be nice to me simply because of who I am." Xan supposed that made sense. He didn't have the kind of twisty, analytical mind that Zoë did, though. He doubted he would have thought about the situation so deeply. That's Zoë, I guess, he thought, giving her a quick hug. Since he already knew she'd be staying in town for awhile, he wasn't worried about not getting time to talk to her. When she left, followed shortly after by the other girls, he was mostly just relieved. It had been a long day, and so much had happened that his mind was spinning. Xan wished he was Cyclops, so he could simply rest his head against Keely's breasts without risk of getting in trouble for it. There weren't too many things he could think of at the moment that would be more soothing. Keely shut the door and turned to him. She had changed into pjs, blue plaid bottoms and a blue camisole that looked cute but clashed just a little with her orange nails. Xan kinda liked it. Her hair was down, somewhat rumpled and tangled, and her eyes and nose were red from crying. I really must be in love, he thought, smiling to himself. Even when she's a wreck from crying her eyes out, I still think she's the most adorable creature on the face of the planet. Staring down at her toes, Keely made her way across the apartment to him. He caught her around the waist and pulled her against him, dragging them both towards the couch. She turned into him and snuggled against his side as he settled them both down comfortably. "You feeling a little better, Kitten?" Xan asked. "Kind of," Keely replied, her voice a bit thick and sleepy. "I feel a bit stupid, though. Getting so worked up over this and acting like I did..." "Well, you shouldn't," Xan told her. He kissed the top of her head gently. "I know that on your eighteenth birthday, the law declared you an adult. But that doesn't mean you really are one. Dealing with it when things go bad between your parents... that's not easy." "You sound like you know about it from personal experience," Keely said. "I... could you tell me..." A buzzing sound kept him from having to answer. Xan wasn't sure how much he wanted to tell Keely about his parents. Or even how much he could bring himself to say. The bemusement on her face—he hadn't had the chance to tell her that he'd ordered dinner—was as kittenish and cute as she always was. He gave her a quick kiss on the lips and then rose to answer the door. ------- Keely poked at a piece of sesame chicken with her chopsticks and groaned. It was mostly gone; between them she and Xan had polished off a carton of beef lo mein, about a dozen beef teriyaki sticks, a large wonton soup, an order of crab rangoon, and most of the sesame chicken. I needed that, she thought with a contented sigh. She wasn't even mad at Xan for going behind her back and ordering food. Chinese food was perfect for the way she'd been feeling lately. All summer Keely had avoided eating too much and had spent a lot of time walking and exercising. It had paid off—though she was always going to be a bit chubby, now she had more muscle and was stronger. Still, sometimes it was nice to just without thinking about it. Xan had stretched out on the couch next to her and now his head rested against her thigh. He held a piece if chicken with his chopsticks, holding them steady while Cyclops nibbled with ironic daintiness at the morsel. They'd flipped through channels on the TV while they ate, never really paying much attention to what was on, though they'd stopped for awhile on one of those makeover type shows. Keely used to think those shows were stupid, but now she kind of understood. She set her chopsticks down and reached for the remote to turn off the TV. Xan shifted, turning onto his back so that he could look up at her. Keely brushed his hair back away from his face, pushing it away from his eyes. "You've got that look on your face, kitten," Xan told her. "What look?" she asked. "I can't describe it," Xan replied. He reached up with his free hand and gently touched her lips. "It's like... something is on your mind, but you don't realize it." Keely laughed. "I know exactly what's on my mind. Like how I still want to know what you meant when you talked about things going bad between parents." She was a little nervous about bringing it up; the last thing she wanted was another argument. Xan's eyes darkened a bit and his brow furrowed, but he didn't look as though he was going to yell or anything. He never really told me anything about his parents, Keely thought, lowering her head. The only family he's mentioned is his uncle... She toyed with his hair, twirling it around her index finger, and waited. The last thing she was going to do was pressure him. For awhile there was nothing but silence. She played with his hair while he ran his fingertips along her neck, tickling her a little. Whatever she'd seen in his eyes seemed to drain away as he relaxed. Keely watched his eyelids droop and found herself admiring his eyelashes. She really did love him. Maybe it wasn't a smart thing to be so devoted to someone when she was still so young; after all, her parents had been high school sweethearts. But we aren't them, she thought, and just because things went bad between them doesn't mean it will between us. Keely would never allow herself to be like her mother and if Xan turned out to be like her father, well, her father was a great guy. Finally Xan let out a big sigh and opened his eyes again. The smile he flashed her was a bit weary, but at least it was a smile. "My father liked motorcycles," he said quietly. "Wanted to race them, I guess. Only he wasn't very good at it. The amount of money he spent buying bikes... every time he smashed one up, he went and bought another one. Every damn time. The amount of debt he ran up..." "So that's why you don't like motorcycles?" Keely asked. Xan shook his head. "If it was only that, I probably wouldn't care much either way," he replied. "Except that once dear old dad's debt became too much for him to handle, he left. Just packed up his things and skipped town. We never saw him again." What an ass, Keely thought, frowning. That's even worse than my mother. She'd always thought that there was something in Xan's past to make him the way he was. It wasn't that he was standoffish or antisocial. In fact, he wasn't nearly as antisocial as he first seemed. There was a kind of maturity about him, something about him that was more dignified than other guys his age, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was, exactly. Xan had always been the first person to admit that he was just a nineteen-year-old guy with a nineteen-year-old guy's thoughts and desires. Keely found that honesty to be... well, kinda sexy, in a way. "Mom followed suit a few years after," Xan continued. His voice was cold and detached, and it made a shiver run down her spine. "Never saw her again, either. I always had Zoë, though, and that was enough. My uncle was our legal guardian until Zoë turned eighteen. After that... well, it was a struggle, but we always got by." "You don't miss them at all," Keely said, "do you?" "I was five when my dad walked out," he told her, shrugging. "Just about eight when mom left, and she wasn't all there even when she was there, if you catch my drift. You can't miss what you never really knew. Eventually I started working with my uncle at the garage. When I got old enough to drive... well, Zoë needed the car for work, so I fixed up one of dad's old bikes and that was how I got around." And someone like you would never take the school bus, Keely thought. It would drive you crazy, all that noise, and even though you act so tough, you wouldn't like people making fun of you for it. There was no need to say that out loud; no doubt Xan knew it well enough himself. And maybe he really didn't miss his father or his mother, but he was angry about them leaving, obviously. Keely understood that all too well. She wasn't mad at her father, but she hated her mother for being such a rotten bitch. She leaned over further and pressed her mouth against his cheek. It was a bit rough and scratchy. I guess sleeping in doesn't allow any time for a morning shave, Keely thought, trying not to giggle. I actually kind of like it. She moved her lips down to the corner of his mouth, giving him little kisses the whole way. "I'm sorry," Keely murmured, her lips close enough to his that they touched, although just barely. "I didn't mean to ask about something painful." Xan chuckled. "It's not painful," he said. "I mean, it sucked, yeah, and I guess maybe I'm still kinda angry, but I've got all the best things in the world now. What if my mom and dad had never left? We might not have even met." "Now that would suck," Keely admitted. Xan dropped his chopsticks and reached up, burying his fingers in her hair. She was vaguely aware of Cyclops jumping onto the coffee table, snatching up a chunk of chicken, and taking off, but it was difficult to concentrate on much of anything when Xan was kissing her. Little bit of chicken won't kill him, Keely thought, turning all of her attention to the lips that were coaxing hers open. Kissing him from this angle was awkward. As his tongue slid up against hers, she wriggled her thigh out from beneath his head and scooted down so she was next to him on the couch. It was a tight fit, so Keely tangled her legs with his and pulled herself partially up onto his chest. Apparently Xan didn't mind this, since he wrapped his arms around her tightly and kissed her harder. She hadn't realized before now just how much she'd missed this. Rough fingertips brushed her back. Xan pulled down one of the straps of her camisole, letting it slide down her shoulder. The other followed. Keely pushed herself into a sitting position, straddling his hips with her thighs. He grumbled softly when she pulled her mouth away from his, but it turned into a low growling, almost like a purr, as she slid her hands up under his shirt. She could feel the muscle move beneath his skin when he stretched out beneath her, pressing up against her hands. His skin is so warm, Keely thought, leaning down to kiss his stomach. She wanted to know if every inch of him was as warm. Xan was perfectly willing to cooperate with her exploration; he lifted his body so she could get his shirt off. Keely ran her hands along his belly, chest, and arms, watching his lashes flutter when she found a spot he really liked, or his lips quirk of she hit a spot that was ticklish. Some of those spots she teased with her lips and tongue, too, most especially the softer skin along the underside of his arm, and the area near his hips that felt good and tickled at the same time. His breathing was growing ragged by the time she got to his jeans. With him trapped beneath her, Keely could only get them down his hips a little bit, but it was enough. She could feel her cheeks heat up as she touched him tentatively. She'd never really done all that much touching before, but the little sounds he made emboldened her. Every stroke, no matter how small or how light, had an effect on him. Keely was so focused on what she was doing, teasing him until he was so hard and probably a bit frustrated, too, that she was caught off guard when he suddenly pulled her back down on top of him. He kissed her until her lips felt swollen and bruised; a good kind of bruise, like the ache left behind after hard work. His fingers caught the waistband of her pajama bottoms and tugged, pulling them down. Keely braced herself with one hand and used the other to wiggle—somewhat awkwardly—out of her pjs and panties. She had gotten them only half off when she felt him press against her. It had been far too long since she'd had him inside her. Not caring that they were both still partially dressed, or that they were still on the couch, she lowered herself onto him slowly, enjoying every little gasp and twitch that accompanied each inch sliding into her. When he was fully inside her she sat there, still straddling his hips, watching his face. All of the control was hers. Feeling more like a lioness than a kitten, Keely grabbed his wrists and pushed his hands over his head. "Move them and I'll stop," she warned. Xan's eyes widened. "Oh hell. I should have gone with you this summer." "Yes, you should have," Keely agreed, shifting her hips. "I wouldn't have minded the extra practice time." He grinned up at her. "Neither would I." It didn't matter anymore, though. Keely forgot all about the summer as she started to move, trying to find a rhythm that suited her in this position. She could feel so much and even the slightest motion provoked a pleasing reaction; for her and for him. Xan was frustrated, not being allowed to touch her, she could tell, but she stuck by her rules. When he moved his hand to reach for her she stopped and sat still. This was met with a groan, but it didn't sound entirely disappointed. Being on top was a lot more work. It was easier once Keely found her rhythm, but even so she was soon damp with sweat. She had to prop herself up with her hands and as she looked down into Xan's eyes, she wondered if it felt like this for him, too. Each rise and fall took all her strength, but the feeling of him moving in and out was worth it. He brought his hips up to meet hers as much as he could, but it was hard work for him too, since he couldn't use his hands. Keely didn't think he minded; there was a hint of a goofy smile at the corners of his mouth. The more she moved, the more she created tension inside her body. Everything inside her tightened in anticipation. She kissed him; not gentle but hard, demanding with lips and tongue that he open his mouth to her. Xan complied, but he didn't just submit, and as soon as his lips were open his tongue was in her mouth. Both of his hands were in her hair, but by then Keely was coming and her no hands rule was completely forgotten. She let him hold as tight and kiss as hard as he wanted, until her trembling arms gave out and she collapsed against his chest. The effort, coupled with her climax, left her weary and breathless. She could hear his heart beating—or perhaps it was hers—and all she could do was lay there, recovering. Keely was aware of Xan's arms around her and even though she was hot and covered in sweat, she didn't want him to let go. "You all right, kitten?" Xan sounded a lot less out of breath than she was. "Will be," Keely panted. "Geez... is it that hard every time?" "Yeah," Xan answered. "But it can be very, very worth it." That was something she would definitely have to remember. Still shaking, Keely pushed herself up to a sitting position. As good as he felt inside her, she was sticky with sweat and really starting to feel it. Somehow she managed to get to her feet with minimal stumbling. She kicked away her pajama bottoms and panties, which she'd forgotten about, and turned to look at him. Only then did she realize that he'd still been hard when she pulled away from him. "Didn't you... ?" she began. Xan shook his head. He was watching her with that familiar patience, that expression that said the decision was so hers. "You are so damn polite," Keely groused, planting her hands on her hips. Which was great much of the time, but sometimes he got too passive. "If you want me, come and take me!" So much for passive. Before she could so much as blink he was off the couch. Apparently not hampered in the least by his jeans, he caught her around the waist and spun her around. Keely yelped in surprise as she found herself bent over the arm of the couch. She dug her fingernails into the cushion beneath her as Xan thrust himself inside her again. His hands came up beneath her camisole, which only half on, and cupped her breasts. It left her lightheaded with surprise and arousal. She pushed back against him and realized she was able to feel everything this way, too. "Silly kitten," Xan scolded. He nipped at her earlobe. "I haven't touched you in months. Did you really think it was going to be over so soon?" Her reply was lost in a moan as he thrust again, pushing her up against the couch. "You had your turn." Warm breath rushed over her neck. She felt his tongue run over the curve of her ear. "Now it's mine." This time she had no control. All she could do was bring her hips back to feel him as deeply inside her as possible. Xan fondled her breasts and teased her nipples, his touch a bit rougher than usual. Keely liked that. She liked the way his body moved into hers, hard and fast, building up a glorious friction alike and yet different from what she'd felt when she'd been on top of him. His mouth pressed against her neck, nipping and sucking in turns, finding every last sensitive spot that he could. Keely sank down further, until she could press her face against the cushion to muffle her cries. The way he was moving, so hard and fast, she didn't think it could get more intense. That was, until he slid one hand down her belly and between her legs. She held her breath, waiting for a long, long, long moment, and then she felt his fingertip against her clit. Where he found that presence of mind to do that, when her own thoughts were an endless loop of how damn good it felt, she'd never guess. Keely lifted her head from the cushion, not caring one whit that she had neighbors, and let him hear as well as feel what he'd done to her, when she climaxed. This time she felt the shuddering of his body as he came. Both of them were out of breath and sweaty. The arm of the couch pressed against Keely's belly, which wasn't very comfortable, but fortunately Xan regained his composure pretty quickly. He slid out of her and pulled her up, holding her tightly so that she would fall. She couldn't quite believe that she was still standing, her legs were shaking so bad. "God, I missed you, kitten," Xan murmured against her neck. She sidled around in his arms to face him. "You know I'd never lie to you, don't you? I swear I didn't tell you the wrong time. I would never, ever do that." Keely paused, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. "I love you too much." "I know." Xan gently tucked a strand of sweat dampened hair behind her ear. "I should never have thought for a second that you would lie to me. I should have gone with you this summer. At the very least, I should have told you that I've been in love with you since I found you under that damn picnic table." "Yes, you should have," Keely agreed. She was laughing and crying at the same time, she knew. "Oh god... We're both so stupid. Do you think we're gonna end up like our parents someday?" To her surprise, Xan laughed. "Of course not! Zoë would never let us do that." ------- Chapter 19: Just as You Are It was the soft murmuring of his name that woke him. Xan had slept like a rock after spending half the night with Keely. Even when he'd been too tired to make love to her he'd found it difficult to stop touching her. It was so good to be with her again. It seemed that crying her eyes out over her parents' divorce had been exactly what she'd needed to do; afterward she was the same cheerful Keely he knew and loved. Well, okay, there was something a little different about her, but Xan couldn't put his finger on what, exactly, it was. He shook off sleep slowly. The voice calling his name was persistent, and finally he rolled onto his back and opened his eyes just enough to see. Keely was leaning over him. Her hair fell across her cheek on one side and had been shoved hastily behind her ear on the other. That's my kitten, Xan thought sleepily, reaching up for her. She let out a soft squeak of protest as he wrapped his arms around her and drew her down against him. Not that that stopped her from snuggling close. "Come on, sleepyhead," Keely cajoled. She managed to get herself partially up on her elbows in spite of his hold on her. "Get your lazy butt out of bed. We've got somewhere to be." "What time is it?" Xan asked, releasing her. "And where the hell are we going?" Keely pulled away and climbed off the bed. "It's a lot earlier than you're going to like. And it's a surprise." Xan glanced at the clock on her bedside table. Indeed it was a lot earlier than he liked; six o'clock in the morning, to be exact, meaning he'd gotten maybe four hours of sleep. Groaning, he dragged himself into a sitting position and took a quick look around the room. Keely was waiting for him by the door. She leaned against the doorjamb, her arms folded and her expression surprisingly patient. He recognized the outfit she was wearing quite well, or at least the camouflage thermal with the Pink Floyd shirt over it. They'd gotten a bit big on her, but then they always had been. Her jeans were a newer, cleaner pair than the ones she'd been wearing that time and she had on sneakers instead of her old Doc Martins. And, of course, her hair was its natural strawberry blonde, not whatever pseudo-goth Manic Panic color it had been when she'd first made her little bet. Even with only four hours of sleep he couldn't keep from being intrigued. Besides, he was used to a lack of sleep. Though he was still feeling tired and a bit sore, Xan got out of bed and got dressed. All he had was his clothes from the day before, which were actually his clothes from the day before that. I guess they'll have to do, he thought, wrinkling his nose. If he'd had known he would end up staying with Keely all night, he would have brought something else with him. "We can stop at your place so you can change," Keely said, apparently noting his discomfort. "If you'd like." Xan grinned. "As if I'd say no." They didn't even pause for breakfast—although Cyclops got his—before leaving the apartment. It was a relatively cool morning, though summer hadn't quite ended yet, and the ride on his motorcycle was a pleasant one. Xan enjoyed having Keely's arms wrapped around him once again, and hearing her delighted laughter. At first he'd been uncertain about speaking of his parents and why he hated motorcycles so much. It wasn't that he didn't think Keely would understand; it was just that he hadn't been sure how he'd felt about the matter. He really didn't miss his parents, but he was starting to realize just how much anger and resentment he'd built up since they'd walked out on him and Zoe. Xan's life had ended up working out even though they hadn't been there, but they still should have been there. Maybe, in the end, it was better that they hadn't. He'd been better equipped to help Keely because he knew just what it was like to have messed up parents. Xan had only thought of Alyssa once, briefly, when he and Keely had been having a sleepy chat about hanging out with their friends. Now he wondered if she'd gotten up the courage to speak to that friend of hers. When Keely had been gone that summer, what he'd really wanted was to have that sort of companionship back, and he'd thought that maybe he could have it with Alyssa. Now he still hoped that they could be friends—he suspected that Alyssa and Keely would get along well—but he was glad things were back to the way they belonged. Xan hadn't felt right without his kitten by his side. After a brief stopover at his apartment so he could change, they were on the road again. Keely shouted directions to him over the wind and the roar of his bike. At first Xan had no clue where they were going, but eventually he began to suspect what their destination was, based on her directions. Why she would want to go there was beyond him, but he often couldn't fathom what Keely was thinking; it was part of her charm. When they'd started their trip it had still been somewhat dark out, but by the time they pulled into the parking lot of Westland High the sun was far above the horizon. There was no one else there—school hadn't started just yet—and it was eerily quiet. As soon as Xan parked his bike, Keely climbed off and started across the parking lot. He had to scramble to catch up with her. "There isn't anyone here," he pointed out. "Yep," Keely agreed. "Good thing our school never cared much for alarms, huh? You got something on you to pick the lock?" Xan frowned. "No, I don't. And you'd better not, either." She grinned at him impishly. Already resigned, Xan took a seat on the steps leading up to the front door and let her work. Normally he'd do it himself—just in case they got caught—but he didn't think Keely would entirely appreciate the sentiment. She was back to her bubbly, stubborn, independent self, after all. He couldn't help but admire how well she'd learned. Before he knew it he was on his feet again, following her into the school. The halls were bright with the sunlight spilling in through the high, rectangular window. Xan stared at the rows of dull, orange-colored lockers and felt a strange pang of sadness. Once he'd thought that he would never look back on high school with anything other than loathing. After the months he'd spent with Keely, though, he realized he actually would have some fond memories of Westland High. Xan was not surprised by where she led him. The doors out to the quad were close to the lunchroom and he peeked in as they passed by it. Not once had he eaten lunch in there, so he'd never been aware of just how big and cavernous it could look. Keely didn't spare it so much as a glance. She shoved open the door to the quad and headed straight for the picnic table where they'd first met. I suppose this is the last time we'll get to come here, Xan thought, smiling to himself. I almost wish we could take the stupid table with us... Fortunately Keely decided to sit on top of it, rather than under it, this time. "I had to see it one last time," Keely said, echoing his thoughts. She settled herself on top of the table. "I think that was one of the best moments of my life... when you rescued me." Xan hopped up onto the table next to her. "Same here, kitten," he said, reaching over to ruffle her hair. "So, why else are we here?" "You know, you're just as perceptive as your sister sometimes." Keely leaned back on her hands and tilted her head to look up at the sky. "Last night was so wonderful... I missed you like crazy, and I was so happy to be with you again. But then I started wondering about... you know..." "Alyssa?" Xan suggested. Keely's sheepish smile made him chuckle. A faint breeze stirred her hair. She scooted closer to him and rested her head against his shoulder. He and Alyssa had never shared that sort of affection. They'd always been too busy, and they hadn't made the kind of connection that he'd made with Keely. Xan liked physical affection, but with Keely it was something he couldn't really do without. Even the way she curled her fingers around the sleeve of his shirt did something to his heart that he couldn't quite define. "I know I'm just being silly," Keely said softly. "But she's tall and thin and so pretty... I can't help thinking that I'll never been that thin and my legs will never be that long and... well..." "You are just being silly," Xan assured her. He put his arms around her and rested his head atop hers. "I love you just the way you are." "That's why I wanted to come here," Keely explained. "This is where you first found me and... I dunno. There was something really special about it. Like some part of me deep down knew that you looked under this table and saw... something. I mean, not just the chubby dork but..." Xan lifted his head. He cupped her face in his hands and brought her gaze up to meet his. He understood what she was trying to say perfectly. Somehow he'd always known that when Keely looked at him, she saw more than just some moody punk. Maybe that was why he'd been able to tell her about his parents. This is scary, he thought, resting his forehead against hers. Being so crazy about her... It was a good kind of scary, though. Even though it was making him think about things he never wanted to think about, he knew that wasn't enough to keep him away from her. Her lips touched his lightly. Last night she had been as bold as he'd ever seen her, and he liked that, but the mix of shyness was nice, too. Xan put his arms around her again and held her close against him, letting her kiss him in that sweet, explorative way of hers. He remembered what Zoe and Greg had gone through when they were younger; the same communication issues, the same kinds of arguments. Xan thought he could deal with those things, if it meant having the same kind of relationship his sister and her husband had now. ------- Laughing, Keely shook confetti out of her hair. She was suddenly glad for the hardwood floors of her apartment; the confetti was a nice touch, but it would have been a bitch to get out of the carpet. Tomorrow she and her friends were going to be starting college, and Zoe—with Mardea rooting her on—had insisted upon having one last party to end the summer. Since there was no chance of persuading the two of them otherwise, Keely had leant her apartment to the cause. Fortunately it was just their usual group of people, so it wasn't like it was unbearably crowded or noisy. Actually, there were two extra people. Keely had invited Alyssa—to be nice and to prove that she really wasn't jealous, even if she was, just a little—and had been a bit surprised when the other woman showed up with a guest. The guy made her think of Xan a little. He was broader through the shoulders, a little shorter, with hair that was just as dark but not as long or messy, and gray-green eyes that leaned more towards gray, as apposed to leaning more towards green like Xan's. Instead of jeans and a t-shirt, the guy wore very tidy khakis and a dark green Westland University sweatshirt. Keely wasn't entirely sure how Alyssa had made the jump from this guy to Xan—despite some slight physically similarities—but hey, whatever made her boat float. Xan himself was just coming out of the kitchen, where he had hid in order to avoid the confetti. He hadn't entirely succeeded; there was a few bits of it in his hair and on his clothes. Why would any guy wear khakis, Keely wondered, when they could wear jeans like that? They were the kind of jeans that fit just right and were faded exactly where they needed to be. She was only glad that Mardea couldn't read minds or else her friend would probably be teasing her like crazy right about now. "What?" Xan asked, noticing her looking at him. He ran his fingers back through his hair, trying to shake the confetti loose. "Something wrong?" "No." Keely widened her eyes innocently and hoped her wouldn't figure out what was on her mind. "Just wondering who's gonna be sweeping up the confetti..." "Yeah right," Mardea put in with a snort. "You know you two are gonna kick us out as soon as possible. None of us will even get the chance to sweep the confetti." Keely stuck her tongue out at Mardea. "Maybe I should make you do it." "You can try." This came from Shauna, who was sitting on the floor with Sean, lounging against him. "I'm pretty sure Mardea is allergic to cleaning, though. Haven't you ever seen her bedroom?" Someone had better not be allergic to cleaning, Keely thought, scowling as Mardea threw a handful of popcorn at Shauna. Mardea must have seen her expression, because Keely too was treated to a face full of popcorn. It might have turned into a full on food fight if Xan had put himself between her and Mardea. He sat next to her on the couch, picking confetti and popcorn out of her hair. Her apartment was really turning out to be very homey. The penguins Xan had carved for her were on display, up on shelves with the rest of her beloved breakables. The couches were a nice dove gray; you could only tell that Cy was shedding on them if you looked real close. Some of the furniture—the coffee table, the ottoman, the kitchen table and chairs—had belonged to her grandmother, so they were ancient but incredibly sturdy. Good thing, too, since Cyclops had taken to racing across the apartment at full speed and leaping onto the kitchen table. Her bedroom looked far different from the way it had when she'd lived with her father and mother. Zoe had been insistent about her having a mature looking room. So the queen-sized bed had a blonde wood frame and was made up with bedding in pleasant shades of blue. She had two dressers and a vanity table that matched the bed frame, too. Cream-colored curtains with little blue flowers covered the bedroom windows, while the windows in the rest of the apartment had curtains with a gray and cream art deco print. Actually, it was all much more mature than Keely's room had been, but she found that she liked it. "That's girls for you," Sean commented, flicking away a piece of popcorn. "Right, man?" This was directed to the guy who'd come along with Alyssa. The guy smiled, and it was a really nice, charming smile. "Ayssa is a neat freak. I wouldn't know." "Oh, shut up, Ol!" Alyssa retorted playfully. "It's not my fault you're a slob." "Ol?" Keely asked, before she could stop herself. "Oliver," he explained, wincing. "My mother was..." "A bitch," Alyssa finished for him, scowling. She immediately turned pink. "Um... I mean... I wasn't trying to..." Oliver put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against him tentatively. That's so cute, Keely thought, ducking her head to hide her grin. Are Xan and I like that? She glanced at him to find him also trying to keep from grinning. This was the first time she could remember having fun with so many people around. Well, except for maybe prom, once Xan had finally started dancing with her. Keely rested her head against Xan's shoulder and watched from beneath her eyelids as Alyssa shyly snuggled closer to Oliver. The way she felt at the moment... Keely couldn't begin to describe it. Her life had changed a lot in the last months, but now it seemed like it was mostly for the good. She thought back to the day when she had made that bet with her friends; now it seemed so silly and childish that she almost couldn't believe she'd agreed to it. Yeah, Keely struggled to say no to bets, but still... A knock on the door startled her. She knew that Olivia wasn't going to be able to make it until later, so who could possibly have shown up? The room went quiet as Keely untangled herself from Xan and went to answer the door. Though she was not surprised to see Katranne—in purple jeans with white zebra stripes and a clingy mesh shirt that was just short of see-through—she wouldn't have recognized the girl if it weren't for her clothes. Katranne had gotten taller and thinner since the last time Keely had seen her, like she'd hit a sudden growth spurt. I never did know how old she was, Keely realized. Guess she's younger than I thought. Even more surprising was when someone else stepped into view. With blonde hair that was just long enough to be put into a ponytail, wearing jeans and a Westland High basketball jersey, he looked like a younger version of Sean. He was a little shorter and not quite as muscular, as if he still had some growing to do, but he had the same sweet, boyish grin. "I invited some family," Sean piped up from behind her. "You know Kat, the Amazing Rapidly Growing Teenager. And that's Scott, my younger brother. He'll be taking over as captain of the basketball team now that Brad and I are gone. And he's very proud of that it." Keely turned to look at Sean. "You never mentioned a brother." He shrugged. "I have three sisters and four brothers. I can't help if he got lost in the shuffle." Keely stared at him. It had been surprising to find out he had a sister at all, let alone that many siblings. She quickly realized that she was being rude and moved out of the way, allowing both Katranne and Scott to come inside. "Ignore him," Kat said, rolling her eyes. "He's full of it. It's just me, him, and Scott." Scott grinned. "Ask me about my middle child syndrome." Whoa, Keely thought, looking around the apartment. Once she'd had only three friends—Mardea, Shauna, and Bridget—but now she had a lot of them. Even weirder than that, though, was that she really hoped she'd make more once college started. She made her way back to the couch and Xan, moving carefully to avoid stepping on any of her friends, most of whom had decided the floor was just fine as a place to sit. Cyclops was in his glory, moving from one person to the next in search of affection. Only Bridget wouldn't pet him, but Keely forgave her for that because she was allergic to cats. As soon as she was back on the couch she curled up against Xan's side. There was still a bit of awkwardness and uncertainty in the way he put his arm around her, but that was okay with her. "Who would have ever guessed that Dork-Girl would make so many friends?" Keely mused. Xan laughed. "Kitten," he said, reaching out to gently tweak her nose, "I think it's time to stop calling yourself that." "Yeah," Keely agreed, grinning. "I think I'm only a semi Dork-Girl now." ------- The End ------- Posted: 2006-01-03 Last Modified: 2006-11-25 / 11:29:21 pm ------- http://storiesonline.net/ -------