Chapter 9

Wakefulness hurt. There were war drums behind her eyes. Her fingers shook. Her bladder was practically stabbing her. Her tongue had grown fatter than a Grinch’s heart on Christmas morning. She rolled over, hardly recognizing David’s room, until her feet landed on the too short carpet. She scowled. The only part of her free of aches was her pussy.

Avery lurched across the room to her bag. Her party clothes were distributed imaginatively around the room. Her little skirt hung off the headboard. It bothered her that the only clothes of David’s were the ones that had been on the floor yesterday when she had climbed in his window. She dragged out a pair of shorts and a tank top from her bag. She packed her party clothes as deep as she could. She smiled and reached back in. She tossed the her panties under the eave of the bed from the doorway.

She hardly made it to the bathroom. Never had a pee been so perfect. She wanted to throw up but never crossed the Rubicon. She brushed her teeth three times. She felt much better after drinking from the tap. She wiped the water off her chin and met her own reddened eyes.

“What the hell is wrong with me?” She mouthed silently, “If that whore had just granted my wish, I wouldn’t have made a fool out of myself with David.”

She rinsed her mouth out and gulped down another draft from the tap. She looked to the door with dread, raised her chin as high as she could and walked out of the bathroom. David’s father’s bedroom door was closed over. She tiptoed across the landing and down the stairs. Her phone told her it was seven in the morning. Her brain told her that her skull was too small.

David was tangled up in a blanket on the couch. The blanket covered nothing. He was shirtless but was still wearing his jeans, even if his fly and button were open and his belt was laid across the coffee table. He had kicked his socks off over the arm of the couch. They lay crossed on top of a picture frame he had knocked onto its face.

“Jesus!” Avery half-shrieked as Michael’s hand settled on her shoulder.

“Shh,” David’s father handed Avery a cup of tea. It smelled of lemons and she melted into a smile as it tickled her nostrils, “He finally fell asleep.”

“Morning,” She croaked, trying to smile her best smile. He put his hand just below her shoulder blades and walked her into the kitchen.

“Did you have a good night?” He asked once there was a door between them and David.

“I hope so,” Avery sipped her tea, “It feels like I must’ve.”

“Well, hopefully you got the stupid out of your system,” He chuckled.

“Hopefully,” Avery grinned, “But if I hadn’t...”

“I’m sure you can pressgang David into helping you,” Michael nodded, “Now, finish your tea and go home. Your mother wants to make a new rug out of your skin.”

“There isn’t another cup?” Avery hoped with as big of a smile as she could muster.

She was feeling this side of human when she crossed through the copse of trees separating her backyard from David’s. Three cups of tea will do that. She licked her lips. She stepped in through the backdoor. The backdoor in David’s house went into the kitchen. The backdoor in her house went into the living room. Victoria was sitting on the couch, playing on her phone. The moment the little sister noticed the elder, Victoria stomped her way upstairs.

“You home, babe?” Luke Shannon rolled his office chair to the door across from her.

“Looks like,” Avery didn’t smile for her dad. He saw through it.

“Liz!” Luke called through the house. There was no answer. He sighed, standing up. He crossed into the living room. Avery tried not to break eye contact. He turned his head first and called, “Sheriff!”

“Goddammit!” Was not the expletive Avery was hoping for. Luke shook his head and checked his watch. He pinched his nose and sighed.

“I wish you didn’t have to go into work today,” Avery pleaded.

“Sorry babe,” He said and gave her a hug as his wife entered the room, “But the specialist should be in by this afternoon. I leave you in good hands.”

“Go,” The sheriff gestured to the doctor. She accepted the kiss on the cheek as her husband left. Avery didn’t realize she had been holding her breath until her mother turned to her, “You didn’t come home last night.”

“Yeah, I--”

“Got blackout drunk and took advantage of David,” The sheriff suggested.

“I mean, I tried, apparently,” Avery remembered waking up naked, “He’s too nice of a guy.”

“Avery, for chrissakes!” The Sheriff clenched teeth.

“Mom, I get it,” Avery let all of her energy pump up inside her, just to hold up her shoulders, “I knew what I was getting into, and I knew I was going to be OK. That’s why David was there. I didn’t tell you because there was going to be drinking and you’d have to act. It’s your job.”

“Yeah, my job. I--”

“Kids are going drink, mom,” Avery interjected and watched her mother’s face glow red, “I wanted to know what it was like and I took the opportunity to do it as safely as I could.”

“Avery, this isn’t OK,” She declared through clenched teeth at her daughter, “And what about David? You dragged him into this.”

“And I’ll find a way to say thank you,” Avery promised, “I think I tried last night but, like I said, he’s a gentleman.”

“Don’t you dare play with that boy’s heart, Avie,” Elizabeth stabbed her finger into her daughter’s chest, “You weren’t interested. We already dealt with that and now you’re setting him up to be hurt.”

“It’s not a game,” Avery nodded, “I promise.”

“I’d send you to your room but you’d just get into a fight with Victoria,” Elizabeth sighed, “Give me your phone. You’re grounded at least until the kitchen, the bathroom, and the basement rec room are spotless. Your father may have some more to add when he gets home.”

“K mom,” Avery acquiesced gladly, “But first can I get some aspirin and water?”

“Fucking hell,” The Sheriff grumbled, “C’mon, my little disappointment, let mommy take care of you.”

“I still don’t understand why you were the one on the couch,” Curtis summed up the tale David had told him.

“I don’t think I could’ve gotten Avery down the stairs without her killing herself,” David reiterated. He rolled his shoulders and cricked his neck. The trees were mostly changed now. Swathes of red and gold lead the way down the street to Kristi’s house. A couple of maples remained green.

“Then push her to the side of the bed and join her,” Curtis shrugged.

“But--”

“She climbed in your bed. She doesn’t get to kick you out of it,” He continued.

“But--”

“It’s not like you were going to fuck her, right?” Curtis shrugged.

“I’ve been saying I’d like to since--”

“Since you learned fuck was a verb,” The Shannon son reminded his friend, “I’m pretty sure second grade you didn’t know what you meant when you said, ‘I’d like to fuck your sister.’”

“Your mom spanked me,” David recalled the only corporal punishment in his life.

“Your mom made coffee and watched,” Curtis recalled the only corporal punishment he remembered the reason for.

“Yeah,” David nodded. They took the last turn before Kristi’s house. It was still a couple of blocks. They weren’t talking but that wasn’t really strange for them. Curtis leaned against the post as David rang the bell, “I’m going out with Leanne in like three hours. Why didn’t Kristi come visit us today?”

“Persephone accused Avery and them of doing witchcraft against Quinn,” Curtis declared as they heard Kristi’s feet running to the door. David was about to question his friend but the door whooshed open.

“You don’t have to ring the bell every time, guys. You can just come in,” Kristi rolled her eyes. She was dressed lazily in a sweats and t-shirt. Her hair was up in ponytail and clipped out of her face. One nipple tented the t-shirt’s faded Pepsi logo.

“Well, we don’t really want to be busting in on your dad and mom, you know?” Curtis walked through David to follow the redhead to her room.

“I met her mom,” David mentioned, “I was girled up. She seemed nice. Distracted.”

“Yeah, whenever we move, dad and mom spend a few months with a really crazy workload,” Kristi scrunched her face, “I just hope I can finish high school this time.”

“Yeah, then we’ll get an apartment together for college,” Curtis decided.

“We’d have to get into the same college,” Kristi worried. She led them into her bedroom, “I haven’t really given thought to college yet.”

“OK, we’ll work this out, I promise,” David announced, “But I’ve only got so much time. What are we doing here?”

“Your girlfriend’s using magic,” Kristi declared. She immediately walked it back, “Probably. There’s a chance.”

“Is that a good thing? More friends we could share this with?” David was not getting that idea from the sour faces Curtis and Kristi were wearing.

“Quinn’s in the hospital,” Curtis reminded his friend.

“In a coma, right?” David remembered.

“Yeah, a neurologist flew in from Seattle,” Curtis nodded, “They’re deciding whether they need to move her to a better facility where she might be helped.”

“OK, but--”

“Persephone said that Natalie gave her a free cupcake,” Curtis continued, “But she traded with Quinn.”

“When did you talk to her?”

“Last night. She’s been hounding me all week though,” Curtis sighed.

“And you believe her?” David sneered, “Why? She’s been a trippy witch for years. Five minutes with Kristi showed us Persephone has no idea what she’s talking about.”

“Do you remember when we went to check out Gia for you?” Kristi asked.

“Yeah, and you pointed out Leanne liked me,” David found himself smiling. Hard.

“How’s Natalie looking?”

“Good, great actually, she lost a lot of weight over the summer,” David smirked at Curtis who shook his head, “But--”

“She lost a lot of weight, this week,” Curtis explained.

“That’s not possible,” But it was possible. Technically, Curtis lost 60 lbs changing from boy to girl, “Hey, we should try drinking our potions while on the bathroom scale.”

“On topic, please,” Curtis gestured to Kristi. She waved them over.

“C’mere,” Kristi walked was sitting at her desk. In front of her, opened on the table, was the black binder, “This would do it.”

“Snow Princess Sleep?” David raised an eyebrow, “Put a maiden to sleep until her Prince comes. Prince is capitalized.”

“We’re thinking the Charming Prince potion,” Curtis nodded.

“OK, but, Jesus,” David looked down at the list of ingredients. Sleeping pills, a coin from a wishing well, a dollop of honey, the ashes of an innocent, baked into a cake, “Is that what I think it is?”

“Yeah, there was that car accident last week, right?” Curtis reminded David, “They handled that through Corkwood’s.”

Corkwood Family Funeral Home was owned and operated by Leanne’s family. Leanne had worked last night, the wake for that family that had died in the car crash. It had been why David had been free to go out with Avery. He looked between Kristi and Curtis.

“And we went out for dinner at The Dragon last weekend,” Curtis referred to the Chinese restaurant on Juniper Street, “Avery was needling Vic and she eventually pushed Avery into the fountain in the lounge. I think Ave took a dive.”

“Yeah, Vic never gets the upper hand on Avery,” David grumbled, but he shook his head, “OK, but this might explain why Quinn’s asleep but it doesn’t explain why Natalie lost weight.”

“No it doesn’t,” Kristi agreed, “But, I mean. It’s not just Natalie right?”

“How do you mean?” David asked.

“Eiko needed bigger bras, too,” Kristi reminded him, tapping her index finger.

“She did?” Curtis raised an eyebrow.

“And Leanne’s acne cleared up,” Kristi counted onto her middle finger.

“She just had one zit under her lip,” David shrugged, “It was tiny. Besides, that’s not much of a change. Zits clear up.”

“Dude, she’s hot,” Curtis agreed.

“Yeah, and--”

“And she wasn’t,” Curtis retorted, “She was never ugly. She was just OK.”

“Dude, don’t talk about her like that,” David shook his head, “Well what about Avery or Gia? What did they get out of it? They were already hot.”

“Yeah,” Curtis deflated, “I don’t know.”

“Avery’s nose is a bit smaller and Gia’s butt is bit rounder,” Kristi counted off her ring and pinkie fingers.

“Her nose could be a little different,” David chewed his lip, “So how does putting Quinn in the hospital make girls hotter? Why not just use a Blossoming Beauty?”

“I couldn’t tell you,” Kristi shook her head, “It’s just an idea. I was just kinda hoping that we could go see Quinn. Curtis can get us in to visit her. If they don’t take her to bigger hospital, I guess. Will you come with us tomorrow?”

“I’m going to be Princed up,” Curtis declared, “Persephone just thinks all I’ll need to do is kiss her but I doubted it.”

“And we magic together,” David agreed, “Sure, yes we’ll go. Of course, we will. But what about tonight?”

“I’m going to keep looking,” Kristi pulled the red binder out, “I mean, there might be something. Maybe another sleeping curse or something. Something that’d also make them pretty.”

“I meant, I’ve got a date with Leanne,” David worried, “Do I bring it up?”

“No!” Kristi shouted, “Don’t mention it. Please don’t. This is our thing. What if Quinn is just sick?”

Curtis squeezed Kristi’s shoulder, “Yeah, let’s make sure we’re right first.”

“OK,” David sighed, “I better go.”

“Good luck, buddy,” Curtis grinned, he picked up the black binder and flopped down on Kristi’s bed, “Have a good one. Leanne is hot now.”

“Really, have fun, David,” Krist beamed over her shoulder at her friend at the door.

“Thanks, Kristi,” He smiled back and she smiled differently. He waved and left.

Nico’s was built in an L-shape. There were very cozy booths in the back. Leanne and David sat at the table in the window. Leanne had picked the table in the window. Everyone who walked down the busy street could see them together. She smiled around her next bite of pizza. This was a good night, even after the movie had sucked.

She was beautiful. It wasn’t the kind of beauty Kristi or Shannon or even himself, as Dee, had. They had natural eyeshadow, natural lip gloss, a beauty that seemed perfected. Leanne still looked like a girl next door. She was a brunette, though with much fairer hair than the Shannons or David had. David’s, and Dee’s, brown was approaching red; Leanne’s was approaching blonde. She had light brown eyes and had just a little blue eyeshadow on. She licked a little tomato sauce from her light lips. She had freckles and hardly a tan. The Blossoming Beauty wiped out Kristi’s freckles and gave Shannon a perfect and even tan. David kept the gears turning. Trying not to believe his friends’ theory.

“You’re staring,” She grinned. She was wearing a light blue dress and David was wearing a new pair of jeans and a dark sweater. He felt way underdressed.

“You look great tonight,” He said with a smile. His stomach was fluttering, worrying about everything and that smile disappeared rather quickly.

“You said that on my step, in your car, when you gave me my popcorn, during the trailers, during the credits, and in line for our slices,” She reminded him, “I won’t let you say it more than a few dozen times.”

“Yeah,” David frowned and nibbled at his slice.

“Is something wrong?” She reached across and ran her fingers over his hand. He smiled, sadly.

“I, uh, just,” He looked away not forming a sentence.

“You can tell me,” She smiled. Certain and happy, “I want to know.”

David had to catch his tongue before it fell out with an accusation, a fear, and a betrayal. He felt her sneaker run along his sneaker. It was hard to stay all the way inflated.

“I went to a party last night, while you were working,” He hurried.

“Yeah, Avery told me,” Leanne shrugged.

“She told you?” David was really shocked.

“Sure,” She shrugged, “She’s my best friend. I hope you don’t mind, but I may have encouraged her to take you. I liked the idea of having her looking out for you.”

“Uh, that’s a little--”

“I know,” She pouted, “I never went out with someone before. I guess I got a little nervous. A little insecure. Plus, I mean when dad needs me to work, it’s not the happiest place on Earth.”

“Yeah, and that poor family,” David agreed. Leanne blanched. That didn’t say anything. A mom, a dad, their kid. That’s terrible, “Well, I mean, it’s not just the party.”

“What else is there?” Leanne sipped her coke.

“There’s,” David took a deep breath, “I’d never been at a party like that. I’d never been around drunk people before.”