Just One of the Boys

“I don’t trust this,” Zack confessed while I was in the shower.

“What, him or me?” I stuck my head out through the curtain, the soap suds from my hair making a small puddle on the tile floor.

“Both of you,” he shrugged. I pulled a face and moved back under the spray of the water. The soap moved in tiny rivers, washing away the grit and dirt.

“Gee, love ya too, Zack.”

“You know I don’t mean it that way,” Zack sighed, apparently dropping his head against the mirror, seeing as a thump echoed towards me. “I just…look, be careful, okay? I don’t want either of you being hurt, because I know that if Alex hurts you, he’s going to end up dead in a ditch by the side of the road with both you and Claudia with murder on your hands.”

“You learn fast,” I laughed, slathering in the cream rinse. “Look, I’m not some stupid cliché teenager, alright? I’m a big girl, mommy, I can take care of myself.”

I turned off the water, shivering slightly. Sticking my head out, I reached for the towel, my fingers missing it by inches. Zack, careful so as to not get a free peep show, walked towards the towel, slapped a hand over his eyes, and handed it to me. Murmuring my thanks as red painted my cheeks, I wrapped it around my body.

After getting back into my pajamas with the bind a wig secure, Zack and I headed back to the dorms, not speaking. There was no need to, everything that was needed had already been said. Zack walked me to my door, and nodded once, a slight smile on his face.

“Be careful, okay?” he whispered, tiptoeing towards his room. “Seriously, I’d rather not be killed.”

“Honestly, Zack, don’t worry,” I whispered, grinning as I unlocked the door. “I’ll take care of myself.” Rolling my eyes, I walked into the dorm as quietly as possible.

“Where were you?” I swear to god, I jumped three feet when I heard Alex’s voice behind me.

“Jesus, don’t scare me like that,” I breathed, slapping a hand over my heart. “For your information, I was showering.”

“With ZACK?” he snapped, crossing his arms over his bare chest. “I object.”

“Overruled,” I yawned, pushing past him and heading towards my bed. “You have no say in this matter. Zack gets to be in the bathroom with me because I know for a fact that he doesn’t check me out. You, however, would.”

“That’s a lie! I’m trustworthy! Just give me a shot,” Alex begged, placing his hands in prayer position.

“I think about it,” I sighed while rolling my eyes and crossing my fingers behind my back. “I’m going to sleep.” Crawling under the covers, I could hear Alex do a tiny celebratory dance before going back to his own bed.

[&cut]

The week that followed was a mess of youthful excitement, shameless flirting, and lazy summer activities. It was the typical teenaged summer, spent with friends and would-be-lovers, mainly Zack and Claudia, while Jack was putting the moves on Krista.

As the days passed, I realized how different this summer was, and it was a good thing. Instead of spending my summer on a movie set, or interning at Autumn, I was spending it with friends, people that liked me for me, not my parents or my fame. I was actually happy.

Having Alex know, was also a blessing, yet a curse. It was hard for him, having a girl in his room at all times that had no wish to date him and no wish for him to watch her change. It was like leaving an alcoholic a bottle of vodka and specifically telling them not to drink it; it was too tempting. But he tried, which I gave him credit for.

Although, it was easy for Alex to slip back into remission and ask me out. Take last night, for example:

“So,” Alex began, jumping on my bed while I was searching the web. “There’s a carnival tomorrow night in the next town over.”

“Sounds fun,” I replied, distractedly, clicking on the link to PerezHilton.com. What can I say? It’s addicting.

“Would you like to go with me?”

“As a date?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow and looking up at him from behind my screen.

“Well, not exactly,” Alex shrugged, chewing his lip. “More like ride buddies, ya know? ‘Cause Jack’s taking Krista, Zack’s taking Claudia, and Rian’s finding some other girl, so I figured I might as well have you as my permanent ride buddies.”

I mentally cooing at how sweet he was being, until, of course, he opened his mouth again. “Also, cause you still refuse to be my fuck buddy.”

I rolled my eyes, and stretched my foot out, kicking his lightly. “Oh shut up, you horny bastard.”

“Would you like to make me shut up?” he implied, wiggling his eyebrows. I giggled, turning a ferocious red.

“I could have you arrested for sexual harassment,” I teased, wiggling my eyebrows right back.

“I could have you arrested for fraud,” Alex countered with a smirk. I frowned, caught.

“Touché.”

“So…do you want to go with me?” After a beat, he added, “As friends?”

“Sure, Alex, I would love to go with you…as friends.”

[&cut]

Who was I to turn down a perfectly good carnival invitation? I mean, in all honesty, it would be nice to go on rides and pretend to latch onto Alex’s hand when it got “scary”. Hey, I’m a girl, what can I say?

“Holly?” Alex whispered, knocking on the closet door as I quickly pulled my shirt on.

“Hang on!” I called, making sure that the bind was covered before opening the door.

“You almost—wait, how come you’re dressed like that?” Alex demanded, looking me up and down.

“What’s wrong with this?” I questioned, fingering the hem of my green tee-shirt. “It looks nice!”

“You look like a guy,” Alex commented, eye-raping me.

“That’s the point,” I sniffed, turning back to my closet. “I’m going as Henry.”

“What? No! I though you were going as Holly!” Alex cried, eyes wide.

“What would have ever made you think that?” I scoffed, rolling my eyes.

“Um, the fact that I asked you as Holly? Not Henry!”

“What’s the difference? We’re just going as friends, not like it’s a date,” I laughed, shoving my wallet into my pocket. “I mean, we already specified that it was just as friends, so why not have it be just as guy friends?”

“Because—because…” Alex sputtered, trying to speak. “Just, please, for me, dress as Holly!”

“No, Alex, I’m not going to. There’d be too many awkward questions as to why I’m back and why I’m with you, not to mention it’d be too much of a hassle to change when we’re supposed to be in the car right now,” I sighed, heading for the door. Alex grabbed my wrist and made an adorable puppy face.

“Please, Holly? Just for me, dress up just for me,” he begged. “If anyone asks, say that Claudia asked you to come back for break, or you had to go back for a wedding! I dunno, I’m sure you can come up with something!”

“Fine,” I sighed, going back into the closet to change as Alex let out a whoop of celebration. “But just for tonight!”

Grumbling, I bent over towards the dresser, tugging at a bag hidden behind the carved wood and the walls. It came with a mild thump, causing Alex to knock on the door.

“Holly? You okay in there?” Rolling my eyes, I shouted yes, sticking one hand in the sack to remove the shoes that had made the noise.

I should dress in long sleeves and jeans, just to spite him, I thought evilly, tossing article of clothing after article over my shoulder. See how he’d like them apples!

“Hurry up!” Alex begged, banging on the door. “We’re going to be late!”

“You should have thought of that before you demanded I changed clothes!” I snapped, hands on my hips. “We could have been at the car ten minutes ago had you not decided that you wanted a girl to show off!”

“You sound like my mother!” he sighed, his voice slightly muffled through the thick slab of wood. “Nag, nag, nag, nag, NAG!”

“Yeah, well, at least your mother cares enough to nag,” I muttered under my breath. I ripped my shirt off and tugged clack tank top over my head, reached for a pair of denim shorts, and opened the door, a pair of gladiator sandals in hand. “C’mon, let’s go. Knowing Claudia, she’s probably ready to murder me for taking so long.”

Alex stood staring, his mouth open a tad as his eyes raked up and down my body. Raising an eyebrow, I snapped my fingers in front of his face. “Hey, Eye-Rapist, my eyes are here.”

“Sorry,” Alex coughed, moving his eyes away from me. “You look…”

“Sloppy? Like I’ve been living as a guy for the past two weeks?”

“Beautiful,” he supplied, smiling his sweet smile. I blushed, looking down. Alex’s hand moved up to my hair and untangled the mess of bobby pins, letting the wig fall down. “There, now you look gorgeous.”

“Thank you,” I whispered, running a hand through the chaos I called hair, finger combing the strands. “Give me a sec, okay? Claudia can wait.”

Bending back over the bag, I brushed a tad of mascara on and slip a thin layer of gloss over my lips, before sprinting back out. “Alright, now we go.”

“Here’s the plan,” Alex whispered as we stuck our heads out from behind the door. “You sprint towards the elevator and take it down to the basement. I’ll take the stairs and get them to pull the car up to the basement, where you climb out from one of the windows, and we head out to the fair. Good?”

“Good,” I replied, crawling under his arm. “See ya in a few!” Taking off, my shoes slapping my sides as my bare feet pounded the carpet, I aimed for the elevator down the hall.

Skidding to a stop, I slammed my thumb on the button, desperate not to get caught by one of the many teachers that guarded the halls. It was a strict rule at Hamilton that girls were not allowed in the dorms, so if I was caught, I was dead meat. The doors dinged, and I caught sight of Dean Davis chatting with one of the seniors. Heart thumping madly, I dove behind a fake plant, hoping the plastic fronds would hide me.

Turn right, I prayed, watching the men carefully. Turn right! Unfortuantly, they turned to left, headed in my direction. Oh shit...

“Ah, Dean Davis!” Alex’s voice echoed through the halls, causing Dean Davis and the senior to turn towards him. “I have a question.”

“Yes, Mr. Gaskarth?” Dean Davis rumbled in his deep growl.

“It’s about the Fourth of July,” he improvised, tilting his head slightly to the side. “Will the barbeque be moved to a different date if the weather isn’t all clear?”

“What are you talking about, Mr. Gaskarth?” the Dean sighed, rubbing his temples.

“What I mean is, are we still going to have the party?” The doors had started to close, and Dean Davis was still in the way. I panicked, ready to just risk it, when Alex disappeared from view with a loud shriek, clutching his leg.

Dean Davis bent over, shock on his face, the senior as well, as I slid in through the closing doors.

“Honestly, sir, I don’t know what happen! Something bit my leg, like a bug!” I heard Alex lie as they helped him stand. “You know what, never mind my question, I’m just going to head down the stairs…”

Breathing a sigh of relief, I pushed the button for the basement. That was too close for comfort, and I planned on getting out of this alive. This would be the last time I ever listened to Alex.

When the doors opened with a clang, I stepped out into the murky darkness, shivering slightly at the drop of temperature. Resting one hand against the wall closest to the elevator, I slid my feet into my shoes and strapped them in before brushing my palms off against my thighs.

Frowning, I walked over to one of the windows and attempted to open it. Locked. Moving to the next, I discovered it was also locked, as well as the other after it. All four of the windows that surround this particular section of the basement were locked, which meant that I had no where to go and no way to get out without being caught by Dean Davis. Gee, thanks a bunch, Alex.

Sticking my hands on my hips, I studied the basement for a second time, trying to see if I missed one. Spinning slowly, my eyes brushed over each window before facing the one behind me, and opening my mouth to scream in horror.

There staring back at me, was a face in the window.