A few weeks passed without a word from any of our friends. Then, out of the blue, Damien’s brother Derrik texted us and told us to go downtown. I hadn’t been there yet this year, but when Kerry and I got there it was only slightly different. A couple of different stores, but basically nothing had changed. I was so excited to see Derrik and Damien again. When I did the world seemed to freeze.


Derrik sat under a tree with Damien. They both looked so much handsomer than I remembered. Derrik saw us first and waved. His hair was black and shaggy under his hat. He was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and black Tripp shorts with chains. Damien wore a white shirt with the words “free hugs” in capital rainbow letters, and black skinny jeans. I knew he was trying to impress me. His hair was longish and covered his right eye. His hair was fire engine red. His hair was longish and covered his right eye. When he saw us he smiled and pulled his headphones out of his ears. I hadn’t even noticed them.


We walked over to them slowly. I was freaking out. My blue hair was short and covered my right eye like Damien’s. I wondered if he would like it. I wondered if he thought my outfit was stupid. I worried about every little detail about myself. Would he think I was beautiful?
“Hey Tay!” Derrik exclaimed and gave me a bear hug.
“Hey Derrik. How are you?” I replied reflexively.
“Great now!” He winked suggestively.


‘Not again’ I thought. I didn’t know why those boys loved messing with Kerry and I. Derrik and Kerry looked awkward together. Both of them knowing that only months ago they had had sex, and that now Derrik was trying to make a move on me. Awkward. Damien didn’t even seem to notice. He looked at me with secret expectations. What those expectations were… well I wasn’t sure. We started the long walk back to their house. Derrik walked behind me with Kerry. I heard her smack him and turned around.
“What?” I asked.
“He was checking you out.” Damien said without even turning around.


I turned back around and laughed. Damien looked kind of upset, but he knew his brother all too well. He would never touch me because he knew that I was Damien’s “property”. For once I didn’t mind being the center of this sort of attention. All of my life I had thought that guys like Derrik and Damien were just trash. Now I liked it. It made me feel like I was pretty and accepted.


When we walked through the door of their small house I felt like I was walking into a zoo. Not in a disgusting, stinky way, but in an over-crowded way. There were way too many people living in a small space. There were their parents, their little brother, their little sister, their “second dad and second mom”, and a couple of dogs. Damien led me down to the basement where he and Derrik shared a room. The giant family was out, and we were there all alone. I knew what he was thinking before he got to the bottom of the stairs.