Z Day -4,755

  JAMES

  Shae wasn’t there in the morning. I sighed with my morning trudge to the school bus stop. I could see Megan coming down the street about the time the bus pulled up. She was usually early, but today, maybe she wasn’t looking forward to the bus either.

  I quickly got a seat and opened my unfinished homework, trying to ignore the world. Well, not the world, really, just her.

  “Hi, James,” Megan said as she passed by.

  “Hey,” I half waved, a pencil in my hand, my eyes never leaving the book. She paused by my seat for a moment and then, without a word, headed back to find her own seat. Luckily, the rest of the ride was uneventful.

  Shae wasn’t there at lunch. I sat alone, my books out, giving me an excuse to ignore Megan, who was sitting with our friends at our normal table. I’d caught her glancing my way several times, but she turned away when I looked up.

  Girls continued to confuse me. I got along with girls better than guys for the most part. They were more comfortable to be around and easier to talk to…usually. That is, until you asked one out, apparently. Then, the entire friendship dynamic changed. It didn’t matter if they said yes or no (not that anyone had ever said yes to me before.) Everything changed. Everything suddenly became suspect. What did that mean? What are they thinking? Can I say this without hurting someone’s feelings?

  I’d been asking around about Shae at school but so far, no one knew who I was talking about. The office didn’t recognize her when I tried to describe her. I was starting to worry I’d imagined the whole thing as I couldn’t even find someone who’d seen her in the lunch room yesterday.

  Shae wasn’t there after school, meaning another bus ride home. Megan only glanced my way this time when she passed; my nose stuck in a Douglas Adams novel. I eavesdropped on the chatter behind me, where Megan sat, but my name never came up. I buried myself back in my book and tried not to think about the end of the bus ride.

  As soon as the bus stopped, I was off and down the street. I knew we’d eventually have to talk, but it wouldn’t be today.

  The rest of the week was the same: I avoided Megan and no Shae. So, when Shae was suddenly waiting for me after school the following week, I was in disbelief.

  “I thought you had disappeared or something,” I said.

  “Or something,” Shae agreed with a sly smile. “Come on, let’s get you home.”

  “I am so glad you came back,” I said once we were on the move.

  She raised one eyebrow as she looked at me.

  “I mean, I thought I’d imagined you or something,” I said.

  “Or something,” the corner of her mouth turned up slightly. “You normally imagine women?” she teased.

  “Well, yeah,” I shut my mouth, realizing what I’d just said.

  She laughed.

  “Oh boy,” I sighed.

  “What?” she glanced at me.

  “You’re going to get me into so much trouble,” I managed, trying to laugh off my embarrassment.

  “You have no idea,” I heard her say under her breath. “How so?” she said in a normal voice.

  “It’s too easy to talk to you,” I complained.

  “That’s a bad thing?” she asked.

  “When it’s someone I just met? Yeah, it’s…odd for me…” my sentence just sorta fizzled.

  Shae seemed amused. “There’s nothing wrong with being honest. It’s a trait not many people have anymore.”

  “My head filter just doesn’t work sometimes, especially when I get flustered,” I sighed.

  She looked at me slyly. “Do I get you flustered?”

  My answering blush saved me from having to speak.

  That was about how our conversations went over the next few weeks. We’d talk, and she would make innuendos that I either wouldn’t catch until after I got home, or I’d clam up in embarrassment. Meanwhile, my inner self screamed at me to do something about it.

  The strange part was sometimes; she’d say something and then seem embarrassed about it, like me. It was almost like she wasn’t used to talking to boys, even though to me, she seemed cool and confident.

  I came to find out she was only in town every other week or so. She was a courier for a company in town and made regular trips all over the country. When she’d be in town, she’d give me a ride home. When she wasn’t, I continued to ride the dread bus.

  “You’re still not talking to her?” Shae asked the following week. She’d noticed the silent exchange between Megan and me as I crossed the parking lot to Shae’s car.

  “What do you mean? Talk to who?” I asked.

  “The queen of England,” she growled, “who do you think? Megan was your friend before all of this, wasn’t she? You’re going to have to talk to her eventually, you know that, right?”

  “She’s still my friend,” I said uncomfortably.

  “Then you need to talk to her; friends are important,” Shae said seriously.

  “I don’t need friends; I’ve got you,” I managed. It just came out of my mouth, no filter. I immediately felt my cheeks get hot.

  She looked at me sideways. “I’m not always around. What do you do when I’m not here?” Thankfully, she seemed to be ignoring my blush.

  “I’ve got friends, we hang out, play games, you know…stuff.”

  “And do these friends happen to live in Canada?” she teased.

  “What?”

  “Never mind,” she sighed. “What stuff?”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  I hesitated. I was a gamer, and gaming wasn’t very “cool” to most people. But I didn’t have anything else. “We play role-playing games,” I said quietly, praying this wouldn’t be the last time I got a ride home.

  “Like Dungeons and Dragons, that stuff?” her voice wasn’t as condescending as I’d thought it would be.

  “Yeah.” I was impressed. Not many people knew what a role-playing game was, let alone the title of one. “How do you know that name?”

  “I’ve heard the name here and there,” she said.

  “Tell me it wasn’t from the news,” I groaned. The TV had done a series of not-so-nice stories about D&D a while back. I dreaded having to explain how I didn’t worship the devil.

  “No,” she laughed. “I also have friends, you know. What else do you and your friends do?”

  “Boffguard.”

  “Boff-what?” Shae choked.

  “Uh, boffer games.” She clearly didn’t know what I was talking about, so I continued. “You dress up, run around the park and beat each other up with foam swords.”

  The pause before she replied was painful. “So, no dice.”

  “Nope,” I confirmed.

  “Rock, paper, scissors?” she asked.

  “What?”

  “Nothing, never mind. So, you just beat the crud out of each other?” the curiosity in her voice got my hopes up that she didn’t consider me a complete loser.

  “About the sum of it,” I shrugged.

  “When?” she asked.

  “You want to go?” I couldn’t believe it.

  “Why is that so surprising?” she sounded offended.

  “Uh, it’s just…” I backpedaled.

  “What?” she sounded exasperated. “Just spit it out.”

  “It’s not a very popular game,” I said.

  “Popular with whom?” her eyebrow rose again; I was starting to find it strangely attractive. Of course, everything about her was attractive to me.

  “With…you know…people…‘normal’ people,” I was blushing again; it seemed like I was always blushing around her.

  She exploded with laughter. “And I’m a ‘normal’ person?” she found that hilarious for some reason.

  “Well, yeah, I mean, look at you,” My lack of a mouth filter struck again.

  Her laughter stopped. She turned to me, head tilted, completely ignoring the road. “What about me?”

  I sputtered and stammered as a turn came into view that she couldn’t possibly see. It was obvious she wasn’t going to move until she got an answer. “You…uh…well, you’re gorgeous; there’s no way you’d be into the geek scene.”

  Her hands flashed on the wheel, taking the turn without taking her eyes off me. Her blue eyes seemed to harden, making it hard for me to breathe.

  “So…girls can’t be into your geek scene?” she asked slowly.

  “Oh, no, no, no, girls can,” I tried lamely.

  “They can’t be pretty, though?” she continued.

  “Not in my experience.” Her expression had me too off balance to think rationally.

  “Not in your…” she started, then turned back to face the road. “You’re an eejit,” she shook her head.

  The rest of the ride was in silence as I replayed the conversation repeatedly in my head. It was true, though. I couldn’t recall having seen an attractive girl at any of the gaming shops around town. Then I started to really think about it. “I guess I don’t have a lot of experience,” I mumbled.

  She said nothing until we got to my house.

  “Thanks for the lift,” I said as I got out of the car. “Um, sorry,” I said meekly and started to turn.

  “What time is it at?” her voice made me jump.

  “Is what at?” Her stare made me continue quickly. “Ten o’clock Sunday, Barrison Park.”

  “OK,” she said.

  “You’re gonna come?” I was shocked.

  “Well, someone’s got to broaden your experience,” she sighed. “Maybe I’ll be able to knock some sense into that thick head of yours.”

  Before I could open my mouth to say something, she was gone. My head spun. She was going to be here Sunday. She’d never been here more than once every other week. Now, I would get to see her twice in one week. And then it hit me, what I’d said in the car. I’d called her beautiful and then insulted her in the same sentence.

  My inner voice just shook its head at me in disgust.

  (∞*0)?(0*∞)

  SHAE

  “You’ve been a busy girl,” Shelby said as she brushed her hair.

  “What do you mean?” I asked, leaning against the doorframe of Shelby’s bathroom and watching her preen.

  “Word on the street is you’ve been asking to hang out here more than is…needed?” Shelby said.

  I frowned at her.

  “I mean, not that I’m complaining,” Shelby said. “I love seeing you so often; you’re much more interesting than the locals here. But with how often you’re coming around now, you might as well be a local.” She turned and pointed her hairbrush at me. “Don’t get boring on me,” she threatened me in mock seriousness.

  I touched my chest and gave her an innocent look.

  Shelby rolled her eyes and turned back to the mirror. “What do you think?” Shelby had cut her hair since I saw her last. What was once a curly mass of brown hair was now in a simple pixie cut like mine. Granted, her hair was a bit more symmetrical than mine, but at least it was still her original brown.

  “It works,” I nodded.

  “It does, doesn’t it?” Shelby moved another piece of hair to make it look just so. “It's been forever since I had short hair, and I’ve never tried this style before. How do you—”

  I spent the next few minutes helping her fix her hair in a way that was comfortable for her. I’d been doing it so long that I had her done up in no time.

  “So…” Shelby started.

  “Here it comes,” I sighed.

  “What? You’ve seen him for a couple of weeks now. How’s it coming?”

  “You mean, have I tapped him yet?” I shook my head.

  “Well…yeah. That was kinda the whole point of this, wasn’t it?” With a final flick of the brush, Shelby nodded at the mirror and headed to the back patio.

  The back patio was simple, with just a few wrought iron chairs and a table. The view out across the Texas hill country was amazing in the dying light.

  “Oh, you got the pool working,” I said, indicating the kidney-shaped pool.

  “Yeah, I figured if you’re gonna have a pool at your house, you might as well use it,” Shelby said.

  “I’ll have to bring a suit next time.”

  “Malik isn’t here, feel free,” Shelby said.

  “Nah, maybe next time,” I said.

  “Are you getting shy on me?” she looked at me curiously.

  We’d never been shy around one another in the past. She was like a sister to me at this point. I wasn’t sure where this was coming from, either.

  “Now quit avoiding my question,” Shelby said.

  “Just once, could we have a conversation where a man wasn’t involved?” I asked.

  “Sure,” Shelby started, “but you didn’t pick up a girl at that high school; you grabbed a boy. Had you nabbed a girl, I’d be asking about her now, wouldn’t I?”

  I sighed in defeat and told her about James and my most recent conversation.

  “Boff…what?” Shelby said.

  “Yeah, I know, but it's what he does,” I said.

  “Well, it sounds more interesting than those summits we attend, but that’s not saying much. I mean, who the hell uses rock, paper, scissors as a system to resolve combat?” Shelby shook her head. “You’re going to go to his game this Sunday?”

  “I said I would, didn’t I? You going deaf in your old age?” I teased.

  “Bite your tongue woman,” Shelby said. “I’m just surprised you’re taking the next step.”

  “How’d you know I—” I started but bit my tongue.

  Shelby eyed me suspiciously. “I meant you were having a day out with him. What were you thinking? Wait, are you going to tap him?” Shelby asked excitedly.

  I sighed and flopped in one of the chairs before covering my face with my hands. “I don’t know.”

  “Hey,” Shelby said, kneeling in front of me and pulling my hands from my face. “It’s a tap, Shae. Not a bloodbinding. Why all this drama?”

  “It's that he’s still just a boy,” I said.

  “Trust me, a modern high schooler is not a boy. Besides, a tap is practically a handshake to us. It's not like you’re bringing him into the fold or anything,” Shelby said.

  “I just don’t understand these feelings I’m having. They’re confusing and don’t make any sense.” Abruptly, I stood up and turned away from her.

  “Feelings?” Shelby stood but kept her distance. “What feelings?”

  “That’s just it, I don’t know,” I said in frustration. I didn’t hear Shelby approach, but I felt her hand rest gently on my back.

  “It's probably just a physical attraction, Shae, nothing more,” Shelby chuckled softly.

  I didn’t say anything for a while.

  “What if it is something else?” I whispered. I honestly couldn’t remember the last time I had feelings for anybody.

  “If it is, we’ll deal with it when it comes.” Shelby wrapped her arms around me and held me for a moment before continuing. “Besides, you might enjoy a little cradle-robbing.”

  “Shut up!” I laughed before clearing my throat and turning around.

  “You know what you should do?” Shelby asked.

  “Get my head examined?” I offered.

  “You should take him to Drakes.”

  “Drakes? I don’t know; Drakes can be a bit intimidating to the uninitiated,” I said.

  “Stop overthinking it,” Shelby said. “Drakes is…confidential. You won’t be seen if you don’t want to be. Plus, it's safe. Just in case, you can top off if you need to before you do the deed.”

  I rolled my eyes, “Now, who’s making more out of this than there is? I don’t think—” was all I got out before Shelby picked me up and threw me, clothes and all, into the pool twenty feet. I came up sputtering after a moment.

  “Stop thinking!” Shelby yelled at me. “If you analyze this, you’re going to screw it up. This is really simple; just go with it,” she said before jumping into the pool next to me.