Invisible

Alec and I were playing Assasain's Creed and he was kicking my ass.

"What do you think of Quinn?" I ask rather randomly, but I've been planning it for an hour.

"What?" Alec asks, startled.

Its now the Thursday of the first week back , and I know Quinn's been checking him out. Corrie and I have this entire elaborat setup plan. I don't entirely know how I ended up being the one that talked to both of them about it.

"What do you think of Quinn?"

"He seems cool, I guess.... Why?" Alec asks me suspiciously.

"He likes you."

"What?"

"Well, certainly you've noticed. Half the gays have been checking you out."

"What?" Alec now looks alarmed.

"Didn't Corrie tell you? She told me you were gay."

"What?"

"Chill, Alec."

He stares at me with huge eyes. I give him an encouraging smile. "Its cool, really. You're still Alec."

He blinks, then shudders and looks down. "I can't believe she told you without asking me."

"I was going to find out eventually, man. I wasn't going to remain that cluess forever. Or maybe I would have. I sure as hell wasn't catching on." I try to remain cool and go back to the game.

"So... What do you think?"

"It doesn't matter to me, if you're gay or straight. Like I said, you're still Alec."

He rubs his eyes harshly. "And Quinn..."

'Gay."

'But he's on the football team."

"So?"

"And he... Likes me?"

"Everyone does, but yeah, I think so."

"Really?"

"Is that such a hard concept to understand?"

Alec turns a knob on his controller, his white and red hair hiding his face. "I've never had a boyfriend before..."

"You shouldn't keep it hidden. No ones going to care. And if they do, then fuck them, 'cuz you're great."

Alec tackle hugs me, dropping his controller. I yelp in alarm and fall over sideways.
~
"You like Alec, don't you," I accuse Quinn when we get to school the next day.

He jumps, then smiles sheepishly. "Well yeah, maybe a bit. Would he... Is he... How straight is he?"

"Straight as a circle dude. He's too scared to come out of the closet. I've talked to him about it, and so has Corrie, but... Well, I think you should go for him, really."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

"Thanks." Quinn walks off and Corrie replaces him. "Sooo, how'd it go?"

"I think Alec has a date."

"I'm glad. He doesn't need to be depressed over Jake."

"I'm going to kill Jake."

"Don't..."

'He was fucking her! In my house!"

"Well, its kind of Lorrie's too."

"Don't defend them."

"Well, they are kind of in a relationship. We're having sex, in your house."

"Yeah, but thats different. And we haven't done anything since before school started back up."

"Well, it is Friday. Maybe we could do something about it." Her hand slips into mine as she presses up against me, giving me a perfect view of all the way down her shirt.

"Oh, I hope so."

"Keep it PG, would you!" Jake says obnoxiously, walking over.

"Thats rich," I half-growl.

Jake flinches back, stunned.

"Aaron," Corrie sighs. "Be... Civil."

Lorrie tugs Jake back, holding onto his hand.

The bell rings. I'm frostily silent to Jake, and even he remains morosley silent, twisting his coffee in his hands. Eventually, he does try to reason with me though. "Aaron you can't be mad at me."

"And why not?"

'You've never hated it when other people have dated- or just fucked- Lorrie. Even the guys. why me?"

"Because you're like my best friend. Snd she's my fucking sister. And it did bother me, knowing the guys were sleeping with her, but you... You're like the ultimate betrayal," I seethe.

"Aaron..."

"Is there a problem Mr. Maccero and Mr. Dilling?" Mr. Cannon hisses.

"No sir," we say sycophantly.

"Aaron, switch with Mr. Grace."

Score. Mitch Grace was sitting right behind Corrie. I jumped up and happily traded spots. Everyone in the entire school but this one clueless teacher knew two things. One, Jake and I were a terrible combination and two, I was dating Corrie.

I spent the rest of the class period paying even less attention than before and playing with Corrie's hair while Mr. Cannon wasn't looking. Corrie evntually scooted her desk forward, vainly trying to pay attention, but I dragged it back so it was right against mine with my feet. "I think not angel."

"Aaron I'm trying to learn."

"Whats the fun in that? We can just copy Alec's notes later."

"You and Jake always copy our notes. You're going to fail."

"How can I concentrate with you sitting right in front of me? Or with hyper Jake chattering in my ear?"

"Well, be nice and quit destracting me. I want to do well in this class."

I ran a finger up her spine, which Mr. Cannon just barely missed.

Jake hit me in the back with a pencil. When Mr. Cannon turned back around and threw it back, narrowly missing, so it hit the wall with an alarming clack. I shot back around.

"MR. DILLING! To the office!"

"But-"

"Ha HA!" I yell.

"You too Mr. Maccero."

"God dammit," I groan, standing up. Corrie smiles mischeviously, pushing hair behind her ears. I don't think I've ever seen her do that.

Msr. Hastings at the front des doesn't even let us in. "Go ahead back to class."

"No punishment?" Jake asks, confused.

"Its Friday," she says with a resigned voice.

We begin our walk back to Pre-Calc. "Would you quit trying to sex up Corrie in public? Its wierd," Jake says.

"I was not, I was just messing with her hair. And that is so rich, coming from you. Would you like to know whats really wierd? Watching you face-fuck Lorrie in public."

"Aaron-"

"Don't. I'm pissed off at you enough as it is."

Jake has this pained expression. "I really like your sister Aaron. Please stop being such a bitch about it."

"I'll bitch about it all I like."

"You've never been this protective over her."

I open the door to the class.

'What are you two doing back already?" Mr. Cannon asks shrewdly.

"Sexual favors work on middle aged women, Mr. Cannon," Jake says, waltzing over to his seat.

I snort. "Mrs. Hastings gave us a break, as its Friday."

Corrie drops her head onto her desk. Izzy and Penelope laugh.

"Whats wrong babe? I thought you'd be happy I got off scott-free," I say, sliding into my chair and sweeping Corrie's hair behind her shoulders.

Mr. Cannon seems to be regretting his decision to move me behind Corrie. Corrie seems to regret it too.

At the end of class, Quinn holds Alec back. Corrie notices it, and holds me right beside the door, bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. Alec comes out with Quinn, beaming. "Will you two come to dinner with us tonight?" Quinn asks almost instantly.

"You sure?" I ask. "We aren't the best mediating couple."

"Who else are we supposed to take? Ashton and whatever slut he's got now?" Alec piques. "Please Corrie?"

"Better than being at home with Jake and Lorrie. Or worse. Ashton and whoever he drags in."

Corrie blanches. "Alright. When?" We start walking.
~
"Do I look okay?"

"You always look stunning."

"Would you look up and tell me if I look okay?"

I look up. "You always look stunning," I say again. She's wearing a grey sweater dress with sparkly blue tights I didn't even know she had.

Not believing me, she ran off to go find Alec, who had already changed thrity times and had two nervous meltdowns from Ashton's tauntings. Ashton had been banished to the living room.

I leave the room and go downstairs. "Don't you have to go pick up.... Stacy?"

"Not until seven thirty. And its Emily, not Stacy."

Corrie drags Alec down the stairs. "But Corrie- I don't look any good- I have to change," he was whining.

"We don't have time," she replies patiently.

"There's a hole in your shirt," Ashton says cruelly.

Alec yelps. "Where?!"

"He's kidding. Ass hole," Corrie snaps. "You look great. If only you weren't gay..."

"Hey!" I protest. She flashes a brilliant smile at me.

Alec smiles. "If only I weren't gay..." He responds, looking Corrie up and down.

"Hey!" I protest agan.

Ashton laughs.

The doorbell rings and all the color leaves Alec's face. "Come on, you two," I say, leading the way to the door. Alec blanches, and Corrie drags him forward. I've never known Alec to be shy. Its wierd.

I shove him to the front of the group and he shakingly opens the door. "Hi."

"Hey," Quinn says, grinning. "You three ready to go?"

"Where are we going?" Corrie asks as the two of us slide into the back seat of Quinn's car, Alec getting shot gun.

"T.G.I Friday's."

"Yes!" Alec crows, high fiving a laughing Corrie.

"Did I miss something?" I ask her in amusement.

"I don't know, did you?"

Alec sniggered and Quinn looked just as pleasantly confused as I was.

Alec came out of his shell at dinner, reverting to his normal funny self. Corrie warmed up to Quinn at a surprising rate, so it wasall in all a good night. Alec and Quinn were hitting it off marvelously, and Corrie had this high and mighty look.

We end up in two seperate worlds. Alec and Quinn, then Corrie and me. Corrie and I aren't talking much, but that isn't a problem, it isn't awkward. Corrie barely ate a quarter of her food, and is now resting against my chest with her eyes shut and I have one arm around her shoulders. She's humming the song that we can barely hear on the speakers perfectly in pitch.

"I love you," I murmur quietly.

She smiles. "I love you too." And those little words have enough power to make me go through warm chills, if that makes any sense.

The waitress comes back with the seperate bills we asked for, giving Corrie and me odd looks. I just smile blissfully at her and take the check.

"Whats on your arm, Corrie?" Quinn asks, peering over the table.

Corrie stiffens.

"While we were at the beach Corrie lost a fight with some barbed wire..." Alec sighs.

"Ouch," Quinn said, his brow creasing.

"You could say that," Corrie replies quietly.

I kiss her on the forehead just as the waitress comes back to take our checks. Now she's shooting us jealous looks. She should be jealous, but I'm glad Corrie has her eyes closed. It would just upset her.

"Dammit, where're my keys?" Quinn mutters as we walk out, digging through his pockets.

"Um... Those keys?" Corrie asks cutely, pressing the tip of a tiny finger on the glass of his driver seat window.

"Oh fuck," Quinn groans.

"Don't worry, I can get the door open. Give me like two minutes." Corrie skips off, back towards the restaraunt.

"Whats she going to do?" Quinn asks suspiciously.

"No idea," I answer.

Corrie comes out, with something in her hands that I don't catch. She winks at me and messes with the lock .A few seconds later she opens the door. "Ta-da."

"Woah. Can you teach me how to do that?" Quinn asks in awe.

Corrie laughs. "Trade secrets. I've got to go give these back." So she waltzes off again.

"Damn," Quinn says in awe.

"Damn is right," I say, grinning.
~
Its raining, so much rain. I'm drowning in it, just trying to stumble through it. I keep slipping in the muddy ground, up to my knees, and I'm not getting anywhere.

But thats not the most rpessing issue.

"Corrie? Corrie!" I scream. I can't see her, but she must be here somewhere. I'm looking for her, and if I'm half dead in this weather, she will be too. So small. So fragile. How could I have let her get away from me in the first place.

"Corrie?! Corrie, please! Angel, can you hear me?!" I scream, but I can hardly hear it over the thunder and the rain. I can't see anything, just a persistant hazy blue-black.

"Corrie! Please!" She has to be here, she was just here, I know it.

"CORRIE!" I scream when I finally see her. I drag myself out of the mud and onto the road, I think its a road. She's nearly bent in half so her feet are touching the back of her head. Her arms are at odd angles and a car screams by, so big, narrowly missing us.

Her eyes are empty, stating at nothing, and the rain turns into blood. "Corrie!" I wail, and the pain is so so real.

I sit straight up, gasping. I'm drowning, the rain is in my mouth and Corrie's dead and I can't breathe-

"Hey, hey, breathe Aaron, whats wrong?" That oh so familiar soft voice asks from beside me.

It was just a dream. There's no rain, I'm crying. There's no road, we're in my bed. Corrie's not dead, she's right here, her eyes still full of life.

She wipes my cheeks with her hand and pull me back so my head's on her chest. I'm shaking. Corrie strokes my hair and face. "Do you want to tell me about it?"

"You died. You were hit by a car... I think."

she smiles a little. "i'll make sure to look both ways before I cross the street."

"I don't know what I'd do without you angel." I say turning my face into her neck.

"You'd manage quite well, I imagine. I'm the one who'd fall apart."

"Oh Corrie, you've got it all wrong. Now that I've got you I could never let you go." I kiss her cheek and wrap my arms around her. "And you aren't allowed to go near a street without me, Or go out in the rain."

"I love the rain." She's already drowsing back to sleep.

"Goodnight lovely."

"Night night."