"Oh," is the first thing I say. She has a boyfriend. Shit. "Who is he?"
"It's Ray," she says and bites her bottom lip, moving the car forward in the green light of the streetlight. "We've been going out for a while and I just kind of never told you."
"Why not?" I ask. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I don't know," she says. "I mean, I'm not even sure if we're still together. We haven't been on a proper date in a few weeks— he hasn't even talked to me since the 19th, besides that time in the hallway."
"That's the day I started school," I comment. "The 19th of October."
"Oh, yeah, it is, isn't it?" LynZ asks, even though I can tell that she doesn't want an answer. "I'm only telling you this because— This is an awkward thing to say to a 15 year old— I felt your dick twitch when we were kissing."
Horrified, I look down at my crotch for a second. I twitched? As if she can read my mind, LynZ nods and says "Like I said, it's an awkward thing to say. But I just thought that you should know."
"Know what? That I twitched when we kissed?" I ask and shudder when I mention my— ahem— movement.
"No," she says at almost a whisper. "I wanted you to know that we could never be a thing, because of Ray."
"Oh," I say again and clasp my hands together in my lap, looking down at my white knuckles. "It never even occurred to me that we could've been a... Thing."
LynZ nods and slows to a stop in front of my house. "See you on Monday," she says, twirling the ring on her finger.
"Your grandmother didn't give you that ring, did she?" I ask suddenly. LynZ looks down at her lap and shakes her head guiltily. "Who did?"
She's silent for a moment before she says "I found it. Thought it was nice." I nod slightly and get out of the car, shoving my hands deep in my pockets.
"Bye, Lyn," I say and she smiles weakly at me. She drives away and I stand still on the sidewalk in front of my house, watching Pansy until I can't see them anymore.
I shiver and go inside quickly, trying to stay quiet. I make my way up to my bedroom and open the closed door to find Mikey passed out on his bed, his arm thrown over his eyes. I bet he's drunk. I slip out of my jeans and hoodie and into my bed, turning off the bedside lamp.
I quickly conclude that I won't be able to sleep well tonight, with this new information. I twitched? I do that? I'm capable of doing that? I lift the sheets and look down at my crotch again, as if inspecting my manhood for any signs of movement. It stays motionless, though, and I drop the sheets once more, burying my face in my pillow.

---

*Two Months Later*
"Hey, Gee," LynZ's voice says over the phone.
"Hi, Lyn," I say and tug on the neck of the white button down I'm wearing.
"Yeah, umm... Frank and my parents were wondering if you could come by tonight?" She asks and I glance at the clock. Three hours until the new year. "If you can't, that's fine, we were just wondering."
"Umm..." I mumble and flick my eyes to the other side of the room to my mom. "Hold on." I cover the mouthpiece of the landline with my hand and say "Hey, Mom?"
"Yes, baby?" She asks, pulling her attention away from the T.V screen.
"Can I go over to the Ieros'?" I ask. "LynZ and Frank and Mr. and Ms. Iero were wondering."
"Sure. Do you need a ride?" Mom asks.
"Mom was wondering if I would need a ride?" I ask LynZ, who responds quickly.
"No, we can come get you," she says and I relay the information to Mom. "I'll be over in 15."
"Alright. Bye," I say and hang up, sliding my phone back in the pocket of my dark jeans. "She'll be here in 15 minutes."
"Okay," Mom says and continues to look at me for a few seconds.
"Do I have something on my face?" I ask, touching my cheeks.
"No... I just never realized how fast you're growing up," she says and I internally groan. "Going over to your girlfriend's house on New Year's Eve—"
"Woah! Gee's got a girlfriend?" Mikey exclaims, sitting down next to me. "Who's the lucky girl?"
"I don't have a girlfriend," I say, defending myself. In the two months that I've been secretly hanging out with Frank and LynZ, Mikey's never found out. "I have a few friends who are girls but I don't have a significant other."
"Oh, don't be like that!" Mom exclaims happily. "I've seen you hanging out with LynZ a lot— you don't have to pretend, Gee."
I've never seen anyone change emotions as fast as Mikey does as soon as Mom says those words. He's rigid for a few seconds, then he slowly turns his head to look at me. "LynZ, hmm?" He asks and I know instantly that I'm in it deep. He forces a smile and says "She's... Nice."
"Yeah," I say quietly, looking down at my lap. "I'm... Uh... Going over to her house in a few minutes."
"You are, are you?" Mikey asks. He nods, staring me down, and adds "Have a good time tonight. You've been so stressed out lately."
"Yeah," I say again and clear my throat. "I'm gonna go to the restroom." I quickly make my way to the restroom closest to the living room and sit on the edge of the bathtub, holding my head in my hands. Oh shit, shit, shit!
My phone buzzes in my pocket and I pull it out.
From: Mikey
Sent: 9:32 P.M
You are so dead. Just know that.
I know that. I wouldn't be surprised if he's telling Mom that I punched him a few months ago right now.
From: Mikey
Sent: 9:33 P.M
I won't tell Mom 'cause it was a long time ago but I'm still mad at you for sneaking around behind my back.
Oh, thank God. At least he's only mad at me. He'll just give me the silent treatment— I can deal with that.
From: Mikey
Sent: 9:35 P.M
Your girlfriend's here ;)
I quickly leave the restroom and grab my jacket from off of the coat rack. I slip it on as I slide into my black Vans. I give Mom a brief kiss on the cheek and shoot Mikey a look before saying "See you guys next year."
"Love you, baby bird," Mom says and Mikey grunts and nods at me. I hear LynZ honk the car horn outside and I speed-walk through the cold air and into Frank's car.
LynZ smiles at me and messes with her dress a bit. It's a nice dark red color and it's a bit tight on her, highlighting her curves.
I mentally slap myself. Gerard, remember Ray. I think and focus on the other aspects of her outfit. She has a black crochet cardigan on and it ends at her knees, making it longer than the dress. From what I can see, she has on black lace-up ankle boots that have a heel on them.
Her hair is in a half-ponytail kind of thing, and it's curled very nicely. She has black cat-eye eyeliner around her beautiful hazel eyes and her lips shine a dark red, the same color as the dress. Damn— this dress is effing me up.
"I'm really glad you can come," she says as she starts to drive away. "Mom and Mr. Iero— he insists I call him 'Dad' but that is not happening at all— have this little cocktail party thing going on and it's a total snore."
"It's fine. Better than hanging out with Mikey and Mom," I say. "Oh, get this: Mom thought that you were my girlfriend. I shut her down pretty quick, though." I chuckle slightly and notice LynZ face fall for less than a millisecond. "Mikey found out that I've been sneaking around with you guys, though, but he said that he wouldn't tell Mom."
"Okay," she says, nodding a bit. She turns the radio up a bit and hums along to the song playing.
"You have in your nose piercing," I comment, taking notice of its presence. LynZ reaches up and touches the small silver stud in her nose, as if noticing it for the first time.
"Oh, yeah,"She says. "Parents' friends coming over— gotta show off the body mods and such." She smiles and adds "Frank has his nose piercing in, as well as his lip piercing and ear gauges. We're kinda freaks."
"A little bit," I say and laugh. LynZ laughs with me.
"Yeah, that's why I'm wearing this dress in particular 'cause it shows a bit of my tattoo," she says and messes with the bottom of her dress, letting the simple outline of Tokyo show a bit. That damned dress.
We pull into the driveway and LynZ and I get out. Her heels click on the walk up to the front door and she grabs my hand, pulling me to a stop in front of the door. "I told my parents that you're my boyfriend," she says. "That's the only way they would let you over."
"Oh," I say.
"I'm just warning you," she says and takes my hand in her's. She ruffles my hair a bit and frowns. "Your hair dye came out."
"Oh, yeah," I say. "Just a little longer, then I'll dye it red."
"I like that idea," LynZ says and opens the door. We quickly go in and she takes my jacket, putting it on the coat rack.
The living room is filled with adults all dressed very nicely. They all have small cups of various drinks in their hands and Frank approaches us, carrying two cups. He hands me one and says "Mom won't let me touch the champagne, after Desolation Row last week." Frank had a little too much to drink last Friday night and threw up in the backseat of his car. Since then, his mom won't let him near anything with alcohol in it.
"I've got raspberry vodka up in my room," LynZ whispers and I take a sip of the drink. Ginger ale— not the preferred drink, but it'll do. "I'll introduce the parents to Gee, then we can go up there and do whatever."
"Sounds like a plan," Frank says and bites his silver lip ring. He leaves us and LynZ and I are immediately surrounded by, who I assume to be, her parents.
"Mom, Dad," LynZ says, putting as much sarcastic emphasis on 'Dad' as possible, "this is my boyfriend, Gerard."
"Hi, Mr. Iero, Mrs. Iero," I say and shake the couples' hands. As soon as I'm finished, LynZ takes my hand in her's.
"How is it that you've been to our house as much as you have and still haven't ever met us?" Mrs. Iero asks, laughing. I laugh weakly and LynZ grips my hand tightly.
"Okay, Mom, we're gonna go watch Dick Clark's in my room. See you at midnight," LynZ says quickly and we quickly escape before any more questions can be asked. "They were about to pull out the sex talk, I can tell," she giggles as she closes her bedroom door, locking it. Frank's already in here, splayed out on her bedroom carpet, watching Dick Clark's on her T.V. He has a bottle wedged in-between his body and arm and hands it up to LynZ as she lays down on her bed. She pats the empty space next to her and I slip off my shoes, laying next to her. I put my cup on the bedside table and LynZ kicks off her heels, taking a sip of vodka.
She hands me the bottle and I take a tentative sip. It does taste like raspberries, but it's more like the fake raspberries that Jolly Ranchers taste like. I dump a bit in my ginger ale and Frank says "Spiking our drink, are we?" I flip him off and hand the glass bottle back to LynZ. She gives it to Frank and he takes a large drink from it.
"Don't get drunk, Frankie," LynZ warns, pulling the drink from his grip. He whimpers as it leaves his fingers but quickly recovers and turns back to the T.V. She puts the bottle on the bedside table and I put my cup next to it.
I lean back against the wall and LynZ curls up next to me, putting her head in my lap. I run my fingers through her hair as I absently watch the T.V and I listen to Frank's mindless comments for a long time.

---

"Gee," LynZ says gently, shaking my shoulder a bit. I lift my head and find that it's laying in her lap and she's running her fingers through my hair. "It's almost midnight."
I sit up all the way and LynZ adds "Mom and Dad wanted us downstairs for the ball drop, so we gotta get going." I nod and move off of her, finding my shoes in the light of the soft fairy lights of her bedroom. She turned off the overhead at some point while I was asleep but she quickly finds her heels. She inspects herself in her mirror and clucks her tongue disdainfully. She looks over at me and laughs slightly. "Have a good nap, Gee?" She asks and fixes my sleep-matted hair.
We leave the darkened room and quickly get down the stairs, sneaking away with two flutes of champagne. LynZ checks over her shoulder and says "Let's go out to the patio." above the light din of the room. I nod in agreement and the two of us move towards the back of the house.
It's cold out here, giving LynZ all the more reason to press herself into my body. She places our flutes on the wooden railing of the patio and presses her forehead against mine, her height increased with the addition of the heels. Her breath is warm on my nose as her arms go around my shoulders.
There's a faint thumping in the house next door, signifying that there's a more hardcore party there. I put my arms around her waist and pull her closer into me. She bites her bottom lip and connects eyes with me.
From the inside, we hear everyone counting down from 10. Her breathing starts to speed up and, in unison with with everyone else, she says "One."
I bring my lips down to her's and we kiss, the world seemingly blurring at the edges. She pulls away after a few moments, running her hands down my arms and taking my own hands in her's. She looks at our hands and my eyes train on her lips. Her lipstick's come off a bit from the countless times they touched the opening of the vodka bottle, but the dark red tinge is still there.
She takes her hands away from mine and grab our flutes from behind her, offering me one. "To a better year," she toasts and we clink our plastic glasses together.
"To a better year," I repeat and we both take a sip. LynZ pulls a face and puts her's back on the railing behind her.
"Ugh," she groans. "This is the cheap stuff."
I nod, not able to contribute anything. I continue to look at her lips and she says "Let's go inside. It's cold out here."
I swallow and she grabs her champagne flute from behind her. "Yeah, let's go," I agree and we go back in, finishing our drinks.
The people have started to trickle out of the house, midnight having passed. Frank's laying on the couch, a small smile etched on his face, watching the aftermath of the ball drop.
LynZ and I sit down next to him and I ask "Who'd you kiss?"
"I dunno," Frank says. "I don't remember his name."
"Oh, a kiss and run," LynZ says and the three of us laugh. "Did he use tongue?"
"God, no! Did you?" Frank asks and LynZ shakes her head, almost regretfully.
"Nope," she says and leans her head against Frank's shoulder. The two yawn almost in unison and LynZ adds "You can stay over if you want, Gee."
"Okay," I say and the two stand up. LynZ takes my hand in her's and leads me back to her bedroom.
I quickly strip off my jeans and button-down shirt, leaving me in my green boxers and white undershirt. LynZ takes off her dress and sweater, leaving them where they land on the carpet. She digs an oversized t-shirt out of her closet and pulls it on.
She turns off the overhead light and unplugs the fairy lights before saying "Come on, the room is cold and the bed is warm." I nod wordlessly and slide in next to her again. Her arms go around my torso, pulling her into my body, and she presses her cheek against my chest. Our legs tangle underneath the sheets, like last time.

---

I lazily open my eyes and feel LynZ still next to me. It's still dark outside outside the window and the clock on her bedside table says that it's only 3:00 in the morning. That's not why I woke up, though— she's talking.
"I just don't think we're..." She starts and I turn a bit to see her. She's sitting up, one hand on the phone pressed to her face, the other holding my own hand. She sighs and whispers "Working out. I think we need to break up."
There's a moment of silence before she says "I'm sorry, Ray, but this is just how I feel." Holy crap, she's breaking up with Ray. "No! Jesus Christ, of course not!" She looks over at me and I slam my eyes shut, feigning sleep. "I just... We haven't really—" she starts and waits for a second. She gasps and exclaims "You did?... No, please don't do that!... No, but—"
She pulls the phone away from her face and looks at it for a few seconds. She exhales and reaches over me to put the phone on the bedside table. "I know you're awake," she whispers and lays back down, still holding my hand.
"Did you just break up with Ray?" I ask in a soft tone. She nods and turns so that she's facing me and I put my arms around her waist, pulling her closer to me.
"I guess that I need to tell you this," she says quietly and sighs. "Ray was— apparently— at the party tonight and he was the one that Frank kissed, but that last part's not important. Anyway, he got a picture of us at midnight and he said that he'd pass it around school if I broke up with him."
"Oh my God," I mutter and she nods.
"That's not all," she says. "Since I broke up with him, I'm sure that everybody in our grade has this picture in their messages right now. I have to warn you: when we get back to school in a few weeks, everyone will— most likely— call me a slut for kissing you when I had a boyfriend. They may call you a slut—I'm not sure."
"That's horrible," I say.
"Yeah," she says, leaning her forehead against my chest. "I'm just letting you know, so that's not a big shock."
"How do you know that they'll do this?" I ask. I can practically hear the gears turning in her head, most likely debating whether to tell me something.
After a few moments, she says "Last year, I was— to put it nicely— taken advantage of. When I got to school that Monday, everyone was calling me a whore and the guy..." She pauses, shuddering a bit, before she continues. "Did nothing. He didn't tell anyone that he did it; I'm not even sure he remembers doing it."
"Who is he?" I ask, trying to process the information. She was raped? Holy crap.
"I can't..." She says and starts to cry. "That's one of the reasons why I tried to kill myself— I hated being called a whore and slut. The kids at school are so malicious. Honestly, they scare the living shit out of me." She's crying hard now, her tears soaking my shirt. "I'm so sorry."
I grab her chin and gently tilt her head up to look at my face. "It's not your fault. You know this, right?" I ask but she doesn't respond, she just keeps looking at me with her pitiful doe eyes. "LynZ, your being raped is not at all your fault. Whoever it is that did it to you, they're a jackass and, frankly, if I ever find out who it is, I'm gonna punch the son of a bitch in the face." That earns me a small smile and she stops crying.
"Thank you, Gee," she says. "You always know what to say."

Notes

Disregard the weird time links, I couldn't get them to go away. Anyway, my sister just forced me to watch the Secret Gymnastics thing (does anyone know what I'm talking about? Probably not...) and she's out in the front yard, tumbling. Random parts of Bec's life! Remember: comment! xo Bec