Chapter 3: The Price Of Genius

  The remainder of August went by far too fast for anyone's liking, but most of all for Evan. On the morning of the first day of school, the boy found himself standing alone in his room, feeling anxious about the day ahead with his friends waiting for him downstairs in the dining room.

  Holding out his tie, Evan frowned slightly at it's deep purple colour, strikingly different from the dark green his previous one had been, the boy smiling a little at the sense of nostalgia he felt.

  His friends were still in green, Evan reminded himself, suddenly feeling a bit weird about standing out. He'd never been one for that sort of thing, but once the initial reaction was out of the way, things would just become normal, Evan supposed. Plus which, next September they'd all be wearing the same colours again, and that'd definitely make things easier.

  Sighing heavily, Evan made a few st adjustments to his uniform, brushing the lint off of his dark purple and bck checker patterned trousers and ensuring that the white, long-sleeved shirt he wore wasn't missing any buttons. Adjusting his gsses, the boy bundled up his courage and stepped boldly out of his room. No sense putting off the inevitable, the boy reminded himself.

  Coming down the stair, Evan's body tensed, wishing he could hide his reaction to the look on his mother's face, dreading the words that were already spilling from the tall blond woman's mouth.

  “Oh! You look so cute! I'm so proud of you!” Victoria gushed as her husband sighed softly, doing his best to give his son an understanding smile.

  “Mother!” Evan excimed as the woman hugged him close, his father shaking his head slowly and sipping his tea, “It's not that big a deal!”

  “Well, it is somewhat of a family tradition at this point,” Jacob added with a bit of a shrug before gncing at the two children seated quietly at the table, both of them giving tight smiles, trying not to ugh.

  “Only thing I skip is school!” Zack commented with amusement, Samantha letting out a snort of ughter in response.

  “But never meals!” she teased, poking him in the ribs.

  “Hey, it's not my fault my dad's side of the family has crazy metabolism genes,” the boy retorted, leaning closer to the girl so he could slip some of the bacon off of Samantha's pte without her noticing.

  “And his sense of humour genes, too,” Jacob added wryly, motioning for Evan to take a seat before heading into the kitchen, grabbing his son breakfast.

  “Uh, I can do that...” Evan protested, his mother smiling and shaking her head.

  “This a special day, whether you like it or not,” Victoria chuckled, sliding her ptop off of the table and letting out a heavy sigh, “Anyway, I'm in early again, so I'll see you when you get home.”

  Evan smiled helplessly at his friends as his mother leaned over, brushing his hair back and kissing him on the forehead, trying not to ugh as Zack sat a little taller in his seat with sly expression.

  “Can I have one too?” the boy inquired with a wide, teasing grin, ignoring Samantha's heavily sigh as Victoria ughed, shaking her head.

  “Only if you skip the next grade,” she told him half-seriously, Samantha giving him a pyful swat as she shook her head.

  “Haven't you had a enough blonds this year?” she inquired teasingly.

  “Make your mistakes when you're young,” he replied with a shrug, Samantha smirking in response.

  “Well, do try your best to leave the ones at school alone,” Victoria chuckled, giving Jacob's hand a squeeze, the two exchanging a meaningful look before she headed for the front of the house, “See you all after school!”

  Evan sighed heavily, closing his eyes for a moment as a pte was set down in front of him. “Maybe I'll take a few extra credits and stay a year longer at the end so we can all graduate together,” the boy chuckled.

  “Oh, I'd advise against that,” Jacob chuckled, giving his son a bemused, but still serious look, “You'd only be holding yourself back and possibly missing out on opportunities that'll help you in the future. Seize the day and all that.”

  “I suppose,” Evan replied with a shrug, knowing he should make the best of it. It wasn't like he was moving to another town. Nothing much would change other than not having lunch together at school and occasionally seeing one another during breaks and such.

  “Don't worry, it'll take more than you skipping a grade to break up our group,” said Zack reassuringly, “We're a team, right?”

  Evan gave a small smile and nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, it's just depressing is all,” he replied, pushing the food on his pte around.

  “We'll make it up to you after school,” Samantha promised with a hint of slyness in her tone, Evan blushing a bit at the thought as he tried not to ugh nervously.

  “Well, eat up, you don't wanna be te for your first day,” Steven added, ruffling Evan's hair teasingly, “Anyway, I've got work to do. Try have fun today, okay?”

  Evan could only nod, and as his father went up stairs to his office, try and join in half-heartedly with the conversation his friends were having, but the looming sense of dread was hard to shake off.

  He was going into secondary school a year early after all. He'd be a year younger and bit shorter than most of the other guys there, and Evan couldn't help but shudder at the thought of how some of them might react to that. Best to just keep his head down. At least for the first year the boy supposed...

  *****

  The three friends met up with Sarah and Jeremy as they past the park, the two clearly as excited about their st year of primary school as Samantha and Zack were.

  Doing his best to smile and appear attentive, Evan still found himself distracted as they made their way up the street, though, barely noticing the conversation going on around him.

  The closer they got, the more other children joined the precession, some of who wore the dark purple and bck of the high-schoolers, causing the knot in Evan's stomach to tighten, wondering if they'd notice him or not.

  Finally cresting the hill, the group stopped, everyone staring at Evan for a moment, the boy feeling terribly uncomfortable, their expressions both happy and sad at the same time.

  Zack was the first to move, holding his hand out to Evan, the blond boy taking it almost instinctively. “Good luck, bro,” Zack said quietly, his dark eyes betraying the emotion behind his mostly pcid expression, “We'll be joining you soon enough.”

  Evan just smiled, not trusting his words, Zack stepping back as Samantha threw her arms around him, giving the boy a firm hug. “I'll kiss you twice after school,” little redhead promised in a soft whisper, making Evan blush a bit, his arms nearly refusing to let her go.

  Jeremy and Sarah gave him a sad smile, the two holding hands, making Evan smile a little, gd that they felt no need to hide their retionship. “You gonna be okay?” Sarah inquired sympathetically, the blond boy exhaling slowly and giving the girl a sullen nod.

  “If anyone gives me any trouble, I'll just run to Jennifer,” Evan replied with a nervous chuckle, Zack grinning at the idea.

  “There's always David too,” Jeremy added with a shrug, Samantha making a bit of a face, even if what the boy was saying wasn't untrue, “He's practically your older brother when you think about it.”

  “He does act a bit like one at times, I suppose,” Evan chuckled, nibbling his bottom lip nervously as he saw the crowd of older students making their way down the right-hand side of the street, “Anyway, I better get going. I've got orientation things to deal with and such.”

  “We'll miss you,” Samantha said softly as Zack gave Evan a wave, the group of friends making their way towards the building on the opposite side of the street, merging into the crowd of simirly dressed children.

  Straightening his shoulders, Evan took a deep breath and lifted his chin. If nothing else he could pretend to not to be bothered by his situation. Fake it until you make it, he reminded himself, the boy walking boldly into the crowd on the opposite side of the street.

  Thankfully, the other first years weren't hard to find, a group of them clustered near the entrance where a woman with shoulder length red hair stood on the steps looking them over them with a rather serious expression. Evan smiled a little to himself, recognising her as one of Samantha's aunts. Aunt Lily's cousin, really, but aunt had always sort of fit, the boy supposed.

  As he joined the group, the woman did another quick head count before looking down the street, the other students milling about with a mix of nervousness and impatience.

  Evan recognized a fair number of them from his csses the previous year, so that was something to be thankful for, he supposed, but for a brief moment he caught sight of some else. Some one new.

  Standing a little taller, Evan was thankful for his summer growth spurt making him only a bit shorter than most of the others in his grade. A few people over, he noticed a girl he couldn't pce. She was about Samantha's height, with long, wavy, somewhat unkempt dark hair.

  Curious, Evan did his best to quietly slip closer to her through the crowd, his eyes momentarily drawn to what he could see of the girl's pale legs beneath her uniform skirt. Not the athletic type, the boy reasoned, but there was still some shape to them.

  Drawn from his distraction by the teacher suddenly addressing the first years, Evan did his best to pay attention, even though his gaze kept slipping askance, trying to see past the girl's hair to get a better look at her face.

  The instructions were simple enough, wait for their names to be called and come forward to take a folder containing their schedules and such. At first Evan didn't think much about it, too engrossed in his curiosity about the girl, her uniform not giving away too much, but the rise of her bottom certainly looked interesting.

  As names started being called, though, Evan stood a little taller, the boy smiling a little to himself, realising that he'd find out her name fairly soon at the very least. He'd also be able to get a better look at the new girl without it seeming weird as long as he didn't wind up doing something foolish like staring too much.

  Waiting patiently, Evan smiled and nodded to the handful of other students he was on friendly terms with from the year before. Most of them looked a bit nervous despite not being a year younger than they were meant to be for their grade, and Evan did his best to exchange a few quick, quiet words with them that he'd soon forget about.

  All the while, he kept half an eye on the raven haired girl, something about her drawing Evan's attention. Her newness, the boy supposed. Probably just puberty doing its thing, he added with a barely contained chuckle.

  When at st his name was called, Evan swallowed hard. He never much enjoyed being singled out and having to move to the front of a group, even though most of the others would barely notice him. It was only for a moment, the boy reminded himself, plus, he'd have an opportunity to get a better look at the new girl as he received his papers.

  Doing his best to act casual, Evan did his best to politely weave his way between the other students in front of him and come up to the front. Samantha's aunt offered him a small smile as he approached, immediately recognising him.

  “Good luck this year,” she said softly, Evan nodding as he received his folder, “If you need any help, get in touch, okay?”

  “Sure,” Evan replied nervously, fshing the woman a quick smile, the boy half-wondering how Samantha's younger cousins would fair once they started going to the same school as their mother.

  His musings were quickly brought to an end, though, as Evan turned around and caught sight of the new girl. His eyes falling upon her, the boy's heart suddenly thudded hard. She was terribly cute, her round little face surrounded by her dark, wavy locks, her rge gsses making her pale grey eyes seem rger and her adorable nose a bit smaller.

  Looking up at him, their eyes met and Evan felt a jolt go through him, the boy half-wanting to run as she stared back at him curiously for a moment. His heart racing, Evan had trouble making his feet work, the boy firmly panted in pce, unable to blink, almost not remembering to breath. Finally, though, the girl's pale cheeks flushed and she gnced back down at the book she was reading, freeing him from her gaze.

  Blushing hard, Evan found himself unable to keep from smiling as he found a spot near by, but not too close to the girl, though, while he pretended to look over his schedule.

  The other students around him slowly started to chatter amongst themselves as the st few names were called forward, but Evan hardly noticed, the boy finding his thoughts lingering on the new girl.

  Her name finally being called, both children jumped a bit, Evan's eyes going wide as the girl looked up. Maegan. Her name was Maegan, Evan realised as the girl made her way to the front. She seemed a bit nervous, which wasn't especially surprising given she was clearly an out of towner.

  The girl turning around a moment ter, Evan took a deep breath as their eyes met once again, Maegan staring shyly back at him for a moment as teacher waved everyone off, the other students starting to make their way into the school.

  The crowd pushing him forward, Evan found his feet again, the two staring at one another for a long moment as he came closer. “Uh, hey,” Evan managed as he walked up to Maegan, the girl standing on the step, making them about the same height, the boy frantically searching for words.

  Maegan gave Evan a shy smile, holding her book and envelope close against her chest as the crowds parted around the two. “Um, we should go inside,” Maegan said softly, Evan nodding, desperately wondering what Zack would do in such a situation.

  The interior of the school wasn't that much different from what Evan was used to, although it did ck the more colourful decorations so often put up by the younger grades. In a way, it felt more grown-up, or maybe just more institutional. Sterile even. Probably a mix of those, the boy supposed as he risked gnce at Maegan, the two following at the end of the procession.

  “I guess we're doing home-room together,” the girl commented without looking up, her grey eyes seldom lifting from the path she was following.

  “Well there aren't that many of us this year,” Evan replied with a shrug, “Small towns and all.”

  Maegan nodded, smiling a bit nervously. “Still feels a bit weird, though,” she confided softly as the two made their way into the cssroom, Evan secretly pleased that she chose a desk next to his, “Coming from the Capital to a pce like this. It's really... quiet.”

  “Depends who your friends are,” Evan chuckled, gncing about as the rowdier students took their time taking their seats, still lost in first day conversations, “Also, you're a lot less likely to not know people here.”

  “Newcomers stick out then?” Maegan inquired nervously, the girl shrinking down a bit as she noticed the occasional looks she got from those around her.

  Evan swallowed hard, pushing his words past the barrier of his nervousness. “Especially the pretty ones,” the boy managed to say without sounding too ridiculous, smiling a little in amusement as he saw the way it made the raven haired girl blush.

  Taking a deep breath, Maegan chuckled softly, gncing shyly askance at the boy. “You know, my parents warned me about guys like you,” she replied a little teasingly, causing Evan to let out a bit of a ugh.

  “If you think I'm bad, you should meet my friend Zack,” the boy said in a low tone as the teacher tried her best to call the css to order, Evan both a little sad that he'd have to wait to talk to Maegan further, but also gd that he had a little time to think of the right things to say...

  *****

  Checking their schedules as the two left their home room css, Evan couldn't help but grin as he found that he was going to be in several csses with Maegan that year. Almost like destiny, Evan mused half-wondering what Margo would have to say about it.

  Either way, Maegan turned out to be a pleasant distraction throughout their shared morning csses and as the two went to their lockers after the third, Evan pushed down his nervousness again. Waiting for a moment when they weren't surrounded by other students Evan did his best to take Zack's example, trying to act as casual as he could.

  “So, did you want to go to lunch together?” the boy inquired, Maegan's grey eyes going wide behind her gsses, the girl pursing her lips for a tense moment before smiling happily.

  “I'd really like that,” she replied a little shyly, shrinking down a bit and gncing away, “I've never had much of a chance to hang out with friends, after all.”

  Evan gave her a sympathetic look, about to say something when he noticed a familiar figure approaching the two. Taking a deep breath and trying to keep the nervousness from his smile, Evan stood a little taller as Jennifer stood at the entrance of the locker bay. The older girl grinning in amusement, fnked by a pair of other girls Evan was vaguely aware of being friends with her, the blond girl took a moment to take in what she saw before taking a deep breath.

  “Evan! We found you!” Jennifer ughed, the boy swallowing hard at the way the taller blond girl's bosom moved about, her uniform jacket hanging open, her dark purple tie hanging down between Jennifer's breasts, making it nearly impossible to not stare at them as threw her arms in the air melodramatically.

  Completely unaware of how awkward it made the boy feel, Jennifer grabbed Evan up in a hug, the boy finding he didn't quite mind the feeling of the teenager's firm, but supple bosom pressing against him. It did, however, feel a bit awkward with Maegan watching, though, and Evan did his best not to give the girl the wrong impression.

  “Oh, and you've already made a friend!” Jennifer continued, not waiting for the slightly stunned boy respond, the blond girl holding her hand out to Maegan, introducing herself.

  “Hi, I'm Jennifer,” she said with an wide smile, her friends looking on with bemused expressions, “Don't worry, we're practically reted.”

  Maegan giggled a bit, seeing how uncomfortable Evan was. “I guess there's sorta a resembnce,” the replied, the two girls behind Jennifer ughing as she grinned.

  “Um, well, it's more that she's engaged to my not-cousin,” Evan expined quickly, Jennifer nodding in agreement.

  “Not... Cousin?” Maegan inquired, looking confused.

  “It's s close family friend sorta thing,” Jennifer replied with a shrug, “He calls my future mother-in-w his 'aunt' because she basically is. And my fiance David, does the same with his mum, so 'not cousin' kinda works.”

  Maegan nodded thoughtfully before giving the blond teenager a startled look. “Wait, you're engaged?” the girl blurted out, looking a bit embarrassed at the outburst, her cheeks flushing hotly.

  “Hey, when you find a good thing, ya gotta lock it down!” the girl to Jennifer's left ughed, her long, curly blond locks bouncing distractingly.

  “David may be a bit awkward at times, but he's the captain of the boys' rugby team, ya know,” the girl with long auburn hair to Jennifer's right added.

  “You can bounce coins off his abs, you know,” the first girl added, causing Jennifer to blush, her eyes going wide as she inhaled sharply and turned to her friends.

  “Okay, that's enough of that!” she ughed nervously, returning her attention to Evan, “Anyway, speaking of David, don't tell him I said this, but he's had a chat with some of the older boys. He wanted make sure they didn't give you any trouble or anything, seeing as you're a year younger and all.”

  “Wow, uh, thanks,” Evan managed, honestly surprised by the gesture. Given how distant David could be at times, it was often hard to tell how he really felt about people.

  Jennifer nodded, gncing at Maegan before smiling mischievously at Evan. “Anyway, we should probably leave you two alone,” the blond girl teased, the boy feeling his stomach tighten, “Although it's nice to solve a family mystery.”

  “What-? Wait-! No!” Evan stammered, the three older girls ughing as Jennifer turned to go, the curly haired one giving the boy a rather sly look in the process, “It-! It's complicated!”

  As the three left, Evan blushed as he heard the curly haired one talking to Jennifer. “You said he was a genius, you never said he was so cute,” she ughed, “Think he'll help me with my chemistry homework..?”

  Evan sighed heavily and turned to Maegan. “Sorry about that,” he said awkwardly, the girl's smile bemused, “I was so focused on not being with my friends this year, that'd I'd sorta half-forgotten that there's already people I know going to this school.”

  “You're the only person going here that I know,” Maegan replied with a helpless shrug, the girl gncing downwards as their eyes met for a second, “so I can't really compin. I guess you're kinda luckier than me in that way.”

  Evan nodded, he couldn't really fault her logic. Maybe he had been too worried about moving on ahead of his best friends. It wasn't like he was entirely alone, after all.

  “Yeah, that's pretty true,” he agreed, turning back to close his locker, reminding himself not to stare, “I mean, there's a few people from my csses st year I talk to sometimes, but we're not super close. Oh, and there's a guy in grade twelve I sorta know because he's ah... friends with a friend of mine, and he works part time at this one shop I go to now and then.”

  “Zack?” Maegan inquired with a shy smile as the two made their way to the cafeteria, Evan giving a nervous grin, suddenly once more worried about scaring her off.

  “Um, Samantha, actually,” Evan admitted nervously, quickly adding, “She's the third person in our little trio. David's sister, actually. So, I guess, maybe you could call her my not-cousin too, but she'd probably say that was really weird. Anyway, the three of us are usually pretty much a package deal, but apparently I was too smart and they bumped me ahead a grade.”

  Maegan giggled at the expnation, smiling as she nodded, her arm brushing against his in a way that made Evan's heart race again. “I kinda had the same problem,” the girl admitted, frowning thoughtfully, “It's... always been kinda hard for me to hold on to friends, so I guess there wasn't much else to do other than study, so I got bumped up as well.”

  Evan gnced over at Maegan for a moment, his eyes casting over the rounded contours of her face, somehow finding the girl even more attractive knowing that she was the same age as him.

  “Um, wait,” he asked, the boy's brain taking a moment to process what she'd said through the distraction, “Why's it been hard to hold onto friends?” Do you move around a lot?”

  Maegan shook her head slowly, her expression becoming a little sad. “My parents,” she expined carefully as the two got in line to order, “They... they're a little over protective. They monitor my life pretty heavily, and it's been hard to really hang out with anyone after school. I'm kinda hoping that now that we're in a small town, they'll be less cautious, you know? Maybe let me off the leash a little?”

  Evan stared at Maegan for a moment. It was unfathomable to him to imagine parents who were that over protective. But then, Maegan had grown up in the big city, and she didn't have the benefit of ready-made friends she could grow up with, he supposed.

  “Well, unless your family pns on moving again, I can guarantee you at least three friends,” Evan chuckled, Maegan smily shyly and gncing away again.

  “Well, at school at least, I guess,” the girl muttered a little sadly, the two momentarily distracted by ordering what looked surprisingly like food.

  “Hey, don't underestimate my criminal genius,” Evan ughed with a grin as the two moved down the line, the sound of Maegan's ughter making him smile all the more.

  “Well, I can guarantee they won't like that I've been talking to a boy, that's for sure,” Maegan muttered, the two paying for their food and heading to a retively unoccupied table.

  Evan frowned. Her parents really were boring, he noted, possibly even more annoying than Sarah's. “Well...” the boy said thoughtfully, the gears turning in his mind, a sly smile crossing the boys lips, “What if you had a new friend that was a girl?”

  Maegan tilted her head curiously for a moment. “You mean your friend Samantha?” she inquired, Evan nodding approvingly.

  “Exactly,” he said, waving his fork for enthuses, “if your parents are that worried, they could even have a talk with Samantha's parents about it. Honestly, Aunt Lily could sell ice-cubes to penguins if she had to, so I'm pretty sure she could convince them to loosen their grip on your social life. At least a little.”

  Maegan nodded slowly, a touch of hope showing in her nervous smile. “Just as long as your friends doesn't mind,” she cautioned a bit nervously, “I wouldn't want to be a burden.”

  Evan shook his head in amusement. “There's no way that Zack and Samantha are not gonna like you,” he assured the girl, “Besides, we all promised Aunt Lily to stop being so insur and make new friends, after all.”

  The girl smiled, chuckling softly. “You're far to nice,” she replied, gncing up curiously as a tall young man came up the table and dropped his hands onto it, leaning over to Evan with a grin.

  “Hey, uh, Evan, right?” he inquired, the blond boy looking up at him and taking a moment to recall where he knew him from.

  “Y-yeah, you're Seth, right? From Gary's?” Evan asked, the young man nodding with a satisfied smile.

  “The same,” Seth admitted with a shrug, brushing back his long dark hair as he stole a quick gnce at Maegan, “Sorry to intrude, but Sam told me you were jumping ahead a year and it seemed like an opportunity to make you an offer.”

  “Will I get a discount on anything at the store?” the blond boy inquired teasingly.

  “Naw, nothing like that, sorry, not my thing,” the teenager ughed, shaking his head in amusement, “No, ah, me and a couple other guys from the tech crew are graduating next year, so we're looking to find some people to repce us once we're gone. I was wondering if you might be interested.”

  Evan tilted his head curiously and adjusted his gsses. “Um, you mean the guys who take care of the backstage stuff during assemblies and stuff?” he inquired, Seth giving a quick nod.

  “Also when the drama students put on pys,” Seth added slyly, Evan getting the feeling that the teenager was implying something he didn't want to say in front of Maegan, “We could use someone with some computer skills and the like, maybe next year you can get Zack in on it to. It'd probably look good on his resume.”

  “That's true,” Evan chuckled, gncing at Maegan, the girl giving him a helpless shrug.

  “Might make some new friends,” she said helpfully, Seth fshing her a grin.

  “Exactly! Besides, I kinda wanted to pay Sam back a bit more. I always kinda feel like I'm getting the better end of the deal with her,” the teenager admitted in a more serious tone, Evan blushing a bit at at the secret neither of them could say much more about.

  “So, ah, you going full time at Gary's after this then?” Evan inquired, quickly changing the subject before Maegan could ask any embarrassing or awkward questions.

  Seth shook his as he stood back up. “Naw, Gary only needs me part time, right now,” he expined, giving a nod to his friends at another table, “But my dad's delivery service needs some more help, so I'm gonna do that part time as well. It'll be nice to have some variety, ya know?'

  “Nothing wrong with variety,” Evan agreed softly, the boy feeling his cheeks flush, Seth clearing his throat as the two exchanged amused gnces.

  “Yeah, so anyway, get in touch if you're interested,” Seth said quickly, Evan nodding as the teenager smiled at Maegan and gave her a small nod, “Nice to almost meet you, by the way. See ya ter!”

  Maegan giggled softly, shaking her head in amusement. “And here I thought you didn't have friends at this school,” she said teasingly, Evan giving a helpless shrug.

  “Well, like I said, I barely know him,” he replied, poking at his food a bit, “Samantha knows him fairly well, though, I guess. He's ah, also helped her out with her V-Star channel and given her discounts at the store here and there.”

  “Sounds like a nice fellow,” Maegan mused, Evan swallowing hard, wondering how much he could actually get away with telling the girl without scaring her away.

  “Well, it's actually a bit more complicated, but he's an all right guy from what I can tell,” the boy managed, “Anyway, wanna take a walk around and do a bit exploring after we eat? We've got like an hour.”

  Maegan smiled brightly, sending a pleasant tingling through Evan's body, the boy unable to keep from smiling back. “I'd like that,” she replied, the two then setting about finishing up their lunches...

  *****

  “You know, this pce always seemed so huge and scary when I was younger,” Evan chuckled as he and Maegan made their through the school, occasionally getting curious gnces from the older students, “But now that I'm here, it's not actually that exciting.”

  Maegan nodded, pushing closer to him as a rge group came in from the back field, Evan finding himself tempted to put an arm around the girl to protect her. Zack would totally that it, he reminded himself. And Samantha would probably be disappointed if he didn't at least try.

  Swallowing hard, Evan did just that, slipping an arm slowly around Maegan, the boy bowing his head and finding it hard not smile as she leaned into him, the two moving aside, waiting for a break in the crowd so they could step outside.

  “I guess we should've eaten outdoors today,” Evan remarked, spotting David and the other members of his team in the crowd, along with several girls, “It is a fairly nice day out.”

  Maegan nodded, the girl letting out a bit of yelp as someone in the crowd tripped, dispcing several other people and shoving her at an odd angle. Evan reacted almost without thinking, his other arm coming up to catch her, the boy winding up pulling the girl firmly against himself.

  For a moment, the two children stared at one another, their eyes wide with weak, nervous smiles. Evan's heart pounding as Maegan found herself pressing against him harder as the crowd sorted itself out, the girl not moving once the problem was resolved. Instead, her arms slowly slid about Evan, her cheeks flushing a bit.

  Swallowing hard, Evan took in the sight of her, Maegan's long, wavy dark hair framing the porcein roundness of her face in a way that made him want to reach up and hold her cheeks. As much as he desperately wanted to know how soft the girl's skin was, though, the idea of letting her go was almost painful.

  Maegan's body wasn't like Samantha's, the girl was clearly not the athletic type. Softer, he supposed, but she still felt delightfully small in his arms, her clear grey eyes staring back up at him expectantly as Evan realised that if he wanted to, he could probably kiss her.

  It was a terribly tempting thought. He knew his friends certainly wouldn't hesitate. But Maegan wasn't just pretty, she was also shy and somewhat na?ve. Evan couldn't help but feeling like he might be taking advantage of her if he did. Besides, with so many witnesses, people would probably already be talking by the end of the day.

  “Um, s-sorry...” Maegan said softly, noticing Evan's hesitation, the boy quickly snapping of it.

  “No, no it's okay,” Evan whispered back, leaning closer and trying not to ugh as their gsses clinked together, the boy strengthening his resolve. Zack would kiss her, Evan reminded himself, Samantha probably would too. They'd probably hardly even think about it.

  Their noses touching, Maegan's cheeks flushed, making Evan's heart beat faster, the boy holding her closer. He was probably making a terrible mistake, but as Aunt Lily had said, make your mistakes when you're young. It'll give you plenty of time to make up for them.

  Doing his best to ignore the gnces from the thinning crowd, Evan took a deep breath, hearing a soft whimper from Maegan as her quivering body almost melted into him. Watching as her eyes slowly slid closed, Evan closed the gap, his lips pressing gently against the girl's, a surge of sensation flooding his senses as he finally kissed her.

  Neither child moved until after the crowd dispersed and the heavy doors closed with a dull metallic click, the two slowly opening their eyes, both finding it hard to kissing as they smiled.

  Pulling his lips back just a little, Evan stole another quick kiss, both children ughing nervously as they clung to one another for a little longer. “Sorry, I normally don't do stuff like that...” Evan panted softly, his heart racing.

  Maegan smiled and leaned her head against his shoulder. “No... no that was nice,” she replied wistfully, “not really what I was expecting from today, though.”

  Evan nodded, chuckling nervously, still a bit worried about the path he'd suddenly taken. Still, it wasn't like Samantha hadn't gotten up to her own fair share of shenanigans, so in a way, it was only fair.

  “I just um... Don't usually rush into things that people might regret ter,” Evan expined as best he could, “I mean, honestly, I'm usually the voice of reason in my group. Plus, um... our dynamic is a bit, err, complicated.”

  Maegan lifted her head, the girl's gsses slipping down her nose a little in a way that made Evan's heart flutter. “Now I'm curious,” she giggled, pushing up against him, almost daring the boy to kiss her again.

  Looking away, Evan swallowed hard, desperately looking for the right words. “Look, I'm just worried that if I say too much I'll scare you away,” he replied, the girl giving him a concerned look that made Evan want to hold her tighter, “Honestly, 'unconventional' doesn't even begin to describe what's going on in my peer group.”

  Maegan giggled softly, shaking her head in amusement. “Whatever you've got going on, has got to be better than having no friends at all,” the girl replied a little sadly, Evan turning to look into Maegan's eyes as she gnced downwards for a moment, looking a little embarrassed, “Or never getting kissed for that matter...”

  Evan swallowed hard, his emotions so mixed up he could barely make sense of them. “You've um, never done that before?” he inquired carefully, the girl shaking her head, a hint of bitterness sneaking into her expression for a moment.

  “Honestly, if my parents found out about this, they'd freak,” she muttered, resting her forehead against Evan's chest so he couldn't see her expression, “But... I um... I really wanna do that again.”

  Evan took a deep breath, taking a moment to sort out his words before simply bthering out something foolish. “I'd really like that too,” he admitted a little nervously, “But um, like I said. Things are weirdly complicated in my life, and I... I'm worried you might find it all a bit weird. Especially given your background.”

  Maegan slowly looked up at him, her expression becoming more curious as she studied the boy for a moment before pursing her lips thoughtfully. “Um... do you have a girlfriend?” she asked carefully, Evan blushing at the question, his heart sinking, worried that things had just taken a bad turn.

  “Well, yes... kind of... but...” Evan managed, gncing askance, afraid to look into the girl's eyes for a moment, the boy desperately afraid that she'd pull away and never speak to him again, “It's a bit more complicated than that. Infact, we sorta keep it on the down low right now because of, well, how things are with us.”

  Risking a gnce back at Maegan, Evan was surprised to find that Maegan didn't seem overly bothered. If anything, her grey eyes were wide with curiosity, the girl looking up at him thoughtfully, clearly trying to sort things out on her own before asking too many questions.

  “Would your parents not a approve?” she inquired, Evan letting out an involuntary ugh.

  “Naw, they'd be ecstatic!” the boy replied with a grin, “But... I'm still not convinced they'd be overly cool with the fact that I'm um...”

  Evan paused, dreadfully worried about what he was about to say. Knowing it was a major confession, all things considered. But still, he knew that if he wanted any kind of a chance with the girl, he'd have to be honest and up front about certain things.

  “Well, you see, it's not just me who's in a retionship with Samantha...” Evan admitted, the boy swallowing hard, his body shaking nervously as Maegan stared at him in amazement, “It's um, Zack too. We kinda well, share a girlfriend.”

  Maegan was silent for a moment, the girl just staring at him in a way that Evan found mildly unnerving, the boy convinced that she'd freak out and run away at any moment. Instead, though, Maegan's expression became rather amused, the girl suddenly ughing and shaking her head.

  “People do that?” she asked, seemingly finding the idea hirious as it became Evan's turn to stare at her in amazement.

  “Um, well, probably other people do too,” he specuted with a shrug, “But well, we kinda grew up together and it just sorta happened, ya know?”

  Maegan nodded, frowning thoughtfully as she took in the new information. “But um, would she be okay with... with you kissing me?” the girl inquired hesitantly, gncing up at Evan through her long dark bangs, the boy's heart racing again as he realised things just might turn out all right.

  “Honestly, I think she's kinda encourage it,” Evan admitted with an embarrassed chuckle, “She um, she's actually kinda crushing a little on another friend of ours. Can't really bme her I guess, I mean, Sarah is really cute...”

  Maegan stared at him again, her expression one of absolute amazement. “She's... she's crushing on a... a girl!?” Maegan excimed before letting out a bit of a cute yelp and ducking ducking down, the girl lowering her voice, gncing around as she blushed hard, finally meeting Evan's gaze once more, “Are you serious? Is she really?”

  Evan found it hard not to ugh, the boy grinning, finding Maegan's na?vety rather adorable and quite charming. “Um, yeah, I could tell you stories,” he chuckled, “Nothing'll probably come of it, though, cause Sarah's not really that way, and she's got a boyfriend and stuff. Still, if something eventually happens, I'd be totally cool with it.”

  Maegan nodded, staring at him with a mix of embarrassment and amazement, the girl's eyes wide with wonder. “So um... has she ever, like... kissed a girl?” Maegan inquired, Evan forcing back a ugh, a snicker still escaping his lips.

  “I'm just gonna say yes, and let her tell you that story,” he chuckled with a grin, once more amused by Maegan's expression.

  Nodding slowly, Maegan took a moment to take it all in before slipping her arms away, her hands sliding down to take Evan's hands. “So, can I meet your friends after school then?” she inquired hopefully, the boy beaming with joy, “It sounds like we might have a lot to talk about.”

  “I really hope you like them,” he replied a little nervously, “Even if they can be a bit over the top at times. Just ah, try not to take things too seriously and you should be okay.”

  Maegan gave a firm nod. “It'll be like an anthropological experiment,” she said with amusement, “Observations of actual friend groups by an outside source with little experience in the matter.”

  Evan couldn't help but smile, the boy gncing askance for a second as he tried not to ugh. “So... for science, then?” he inquired mirthfully.

  “Yes,” Maegan agreed with a wide, amused grin, “For science!”

  *****

  Evan found it hard to concentrate in css for the remainder of the day, his thoughts a bit too focused on Maegan, the girl opting to sit beside him for the first two csses, only to ben entirely absent for third. Evan supposed it was probably better that they didn't have all their csses in common. Maegan had become rather distracting, after all.

  Half-way through the st css, however, the teacher, who turned out to be Samantha's aunt, decided to call the css early. It was the fist day, after all, and there'd be plenty of time to focus on school work the rest of the year.

  The the rest of the css was grateful, and it was sort of obvious to Evan that his teacher was just trying to get off on the right foot with her students. He couldn't bme her, but it did mean he'd have to find something to do for half an hour while he waited for Maegan to be done and for his friends to meet him outside.

  Collecting this things, Evan headed to the library to kill a bit of time, chuckling to himself as he noted that it had nothing on Aunt Agnes' library. Not that he really expected to, but Evan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed by the single level, rather modern looking room it was housed in.

  Casually browsing the shelves in the mostly empty library, Evan soon found himself at the far end, some distance from the collection of tables near the entrance and the small handful of students who were hanging out there.

  The boy couldn't help but smiling to himself at how secluded the area was, with chairs in front of small private tables set up with sockets for ptops set against the far wall and tall shelves blocking much of the view from the rest of the library.

  “Nice little private get away,” Evan murmured to himself with amusement.

  “That's what I was thinking,” said a sly voice just behind him, making the boy jumping a bit before spinning about and finding himself face to face with the the long curly haired blond girl from before.

  “Oh, ah, hi,” Evan said quickly, surprised to see here there. Jennifer wasn't exactly the studious type, so he doubted her friends were either, “Sorry, I ah, didn't catch your name.”

  “Joyce,” the girl replied with a bemused smile, gncing over her shoulder before lowering her voice a bit, “And you're Evan, right?”

  The boy nodded, a mix of suspicion and amusement crossing his face. “Yeah, that's right,” he said quickly, remembering to keep his voice down in the library, “Um, were you looking for me or something?”

  Joyce let out a soft chuckle, the older girl gncing askance, looking a little embarrassed for a moment. “Well, yeah, kinda,” she admitted, quickly gncing around, “I actually wanted to talk to you about chemistry.”

  Evan shrugged. “I can pretty much recite the periodic table from memory,” he replied with a casual shrug, “What'd you need help with?”

  “Well, look, don't tell anyone, but I kinda need to pass it to for some college courses I wanted to take. And honestly, I was in a bit over my head st year with it, so I'm kind of retaking it this year,” Joyce expined, the humour in her voice vanishing, the teenager's expression becoming a little sullen at the admission, “It's a little embarrassing, honestly.”

  The boy nodded sympathetically. “Yeah, I gotta help my friends with maths sometimes, it's no big deal,” he said brightly with a shrug, Joyce's smile returning, the girl unexpectedly rushing forward and hugging him tightly.

  “Thanks you so much!” she whispered with a giggle, Evan feeling rather overwhelmed by the sudden affection, the girl suddenly pressing her lips close to his ear, “I'll even give you a little something in return if you want.”

  Evan blushed, the girl's words sounding entirely more provocative than he was sure she'd meant them to be. Taking a deep breath, the boy tried his best to ignore the way his body was reacting to the feeling of Joyce pressed against him, hoping she wouldn't notice just how much he found himself enjoying it.

  “So ah, is that girl from earlier more than just a friend?” Joyce inquired with a teasing giggle as she slowly pulled back, meeting Evan's gaze with a hint of slyness in her pale green eyes.

  Evan took a deep breath, trying to find the right words. “Well, um, it's still in the beginning stages of um, things,” he replied, swallowing hard as he noticed that Joyce's arms were still about him, the girl standing just close enough that her breasts pressed against his chest, “I'm not even totally sure how she'll get along with my friends yet.”

  “Is that a no?” the teenager inquired with a raised eyebrow, making the boy swallow hard again.

  “Uh, basically,” Evan replied with a nervous chuckle, gncing askance as he suddenly found himself worrying about what would happen if Maegan were to unexpectedly wander by, “But, honestly, that's a whole other really complicated kettle of fish I probably shouldn't bore you with.”

  Joyce nodded, her smile becoming a little bit nervous. “Well, like I said, I really super need to pass this course, and I'd be really super grateful if you helped me,” the blond girl expined, a bit of a purr entering her voice that sent a shiver down Evan's spine, “And if you helped me get an 'A' I'd be... extra super grateful, ya know?”

  Evan swallowed hard. “Um, you know I'm like, twelve, right?” he replied nervously, Joyce giggling at his response, the boy's eyes going wide as she felt the teenager's hand slide down his chest, quickly moving lower to the front of his trousers.

  Nibbling her bottom lip as Evan let out a soft gasp, Joyce leaned in again, her lips close to his ear, her hand giving the boy's hardness a teasing squeeze. “Don't tell anyone, but I kinda have a thing for that,” she confessed, Evan's eyes widening, wondering how he'd managed to wander into such a situation.

  “And here I thought I was gonna hate my first year of high-school,” Evan chuckled nervously.

  Joyce giggled, smiling at him, her fingers gently rubbing against the boy's hardness. “Oh, if you help me out, I'll make sure you love your first year here,” she promised, giving him a rather sly smug smile, “As long as you keep this all quiet, of course. This wouldn't be the sorta thing I'd want advertised.”

  Evan nodded, chuckling a little. “Oh, I'm quite familiar with this concept,” he assured her with a bit of a grin, the boy gncing askance remembering Samantha's retionship with Seth, “I ah, I think we can help each other out.”

  The blond girl nodded, smiling slyly, her fingers sliding down the zipper of the boy's trousers, Evan inhaling sharply, his eyes going wide. “Um, what are you...?” he stammered, Joyce giggling softly.

  “Just giving you some incentive,” she replied, gncing at the clock, “We still have five minutes until the bell rings. Let's make the most of it.” Evan nodded, swallowing hard as he felt the teenager's fingers wrap around his now hard shaft, the boy pursing his lips, trying not to make too much noise at the feeling of her pulling him free.

  Gncing down, Joyce giggled as she moved a bit to one side, her body pressing closer to him, the boy letting out a muffled sound as Evan realised how vulnerable he was in that moment.

  “Something wrong?” the girl inquired teasingly, her lips pressing against Evan's ear, giving it a little nibble, making him squirm, her hand sliding up and down his shaft.

  Evan let out a nervous ugh, thankful that no one else still seemed to be around. “Ah, just thinking about a friend of mine who'd love this sorta thing,” he replied, his eyes going wide as Joyce crouched down, the girl's skirt lifting past her knees, Evan's shaft twitching a bit at the sight of her thighs, “Ah, you sure about this?”

  Gncing at the ancient clock on the wall before meeting his gaze again, the girl rubbing her soft cheek against the side of Evan's shaft. “Four minutes,” she giggled teasingly, “you sure you wanna waste time with questions?”

  Evan took a deep breath, the boy shaking his head, his body trembling as he gave in to the growing desire he felt. Zack would be so envious, Evan mused, reaching out to gently run his fingers through the blond girl's hair, half-wondering if its curls were natural or not.

  His reverie was broken, however, as he felt Joyce's lips wrap around his shaft, Evan inhaling sharply, the boy grabbing her shoulders, his body shaking. Maegan had definitely gotten him more riled up that he suspected, Evan supposed with a bit of a chuckle, the boy gritting his teeth, trying to stay quiet.

  Looking down into Joyce's eyes, Evan did his best to push away other thoughts. There wasn't much time left, the bell would ring soon. Normally Evan wasn't fond of rushing things, but something about the deadline made all the more exciting. Although, if he was being honest, Joyce wasn't exactly cking in skill either, the teenager definitely knowing what she was doing.

  Panting softly, Evan looked up, his knees wobbling a bit, the euphoric feeling making him a bit light-headed. Their part of the library was fortunately still empty, but someone could still get bored and wander by. The idea made Evan smile, knowing how Samantha felt about such things.

  Gncing at the clock, there were only two minutes left. Closing his eyes, Evan did his best to focus on the sensations, moaning softly as he felt Joyce's hand gently cup his balls, her fingers caressing them teasingly. She was certainly eager, Evan supposed. That was definitely something he appreciated.

  Looking down into her pale green eyes again, the blond girl moaning hungrily, Evan's eyes crossed for a moment as he felt the tip of Joyce's tongue slide back and forth across the head of his shaft. Joyce's fingers gripping Evan's shaft tighter, her expression a mix of teasing and hungry, almost predatory, the girl sucked harder, letting out a whimpering moan that sent hard jolt of desire through the boy.

  Straining, Evan found it almost impossible to keep his voice from welling up in his throat as Joyce's head bobbed more quickly, the boy gncing at the clock. Less than a minute now. His body ached for release, but stubbornly held back. He really shouldn't have masturbated st night, he realised.

  Evan had been so nervous about the first day of school, he'd watched one of Samantha's videos in hopes of calming his nerves enough to actually sleep. He'd probably have already came if he hadn't, the boy knew, but just because it might take a little longer, didn't mean it wouldn't happen.

  Willing himself to let go, Evan held his breath, doing everything he could to just make it happen. Staring into the girl's eyes, he imaged Joyce's pretty face covered in his cum, the idea sparking an additional bit of excitement in his mind, but it wasn't enough.

  Closing his eyes, Evan thought of Maegan, imagining that the lips wrapped around his manhood were hers. She had such a small face, Evan wanted to cup it in his hands, feel the softness of her cheeks as she moved up and down his shaft, her long wavy hair brushing softly against the backs of his hand.

  Letting out a soft groan, Evan leaned his head back, his excitement rising, the pressure building inside of him. Noticing the way his shaft throbbed, Joyce moaned hungrily, Evan's body tensing, still focused on the image of Maegan in his mind, the boy letting out a long groan just as he heard the end of day electronic chime emit from the PA system.

  Exhaling loudly, Evan could feel Joyce's hand stroking him quickly, the head of his shaft still inside her mouth, the blond girl sucking hungrily. His expression strained, the boy suddenly felt a hard jolt deep within himself, his sperm shooting out into the blond girl's mouth, Joyce continuing to quickly stroke all of it out.

  Looking down, Evan gave her a weak smile, gd that she didn't immediately stop and mildly surprised to see her swallowing his sperm down like a pro, the girl's tongue teasing the head of his shaft, clearly wanting more.

  “Whoa...” was all the boy could manage, his hand brushing against the teenager's long, curly locks, Joyce smiling at him as she pulled back, the girl slowly licking her gooey lips.

  “You sure you're only twelve?” she giggled, rising to her feet, the girl obviously moving her tongue about before swallowing again, “Cause that was a pretty good showing for a boy your age.”

  Evan smiled weakly. “I ah, had some help this summer,” he replied cryptically, the boy hurriedly tucking himself away, “Anyway, thanks. Be sure to keep in touch about the ah, chemistry thing, okay?”

  Joyce grinned with amusement. “Remember, get me an A an I'll do whatever you want, okay?” she replied slyly, Evan's eyes going wide, the boy nodding as several possibilities came to mind. They can wait until ter, Evan reminded himself.

  “No worries!” the boy said brightly, gncing at the clock, “Anyway, I really need to run. I've got to meet up with a few people!”

  Joyce nodded, letting Evan head off first so no one would see them together. The boy didn't mind, though. He'd probably already given his cssmates enough to talk about with Maegan, and there was no sense making the gossip any worse.

  Hurrying down the hall, Evan headed back to his locker to meet up with Maegan, Evan both anxious and excited to introduce her to his friends, and to ter in the evening give them the whole story of his first day of high-school...