Secrets 2: Looking Through Different Eyes - 3. Chapter 3 S2

Chapter 03 – Immediate Concerns

Classes started on Monday and the professors began at full tilt, so there was a considerable amount of reading we had to do before the next class met. Some of the professors assigned additional work as well, so we were very busy and had a lot to do. Despite the hectic pace, we managed to remember to purchase the tickets we’d need for Saturday’s football game, and I’m certain Gramps and Pops would have been very disappointed if we hadn’t done that.

We were mildly surprised to find both of them waiting for us when we arrived at the house on Friday, and after we said hello, we asked them how their trip went.

“It was great and we survived entirely on the fish caught and animals we killed,” Gramps responded. “We always enjoy these trips and living off the land, just as the early settlers had to do.”

“Yeah, but you’ve got an advantage they didn’t have,” I countered.

“That’s true, but we didn’t resort to using that particular skill for our survival purposes, although we took advantage of being able to do it at night. We only transitioned into animals that weren’t currently in season, hunting wise that is, so no one would shoot us. There was still a chance that someone might try to get a trophy, even if it meant doing it illegally, so we stayed well away from everyone else.”

“That’s good, and it reminds me of something I wanted to talk to you about,” Devin told them. “We were accosted by the woman that lives next door and she thought we had broken into your house. I still don’t think she believed me when I told her we were your grandsons and you had given us permission to live here, so she’s going to check with you before you leave again.”

“She also said something strange,” I added. “She said she had been keeping an eye on this place for quite a while and intended to find out what’s going on over here.”

“Don’t worry about her. She’s just a nosy old biddy and nearly as much of a pain in the ass as her grandfather was,” Pops responded. “She sometimes sees more than she should, because she can look over the stone fence from her bedroom window and enjoys peering into our yard. That’s why we planted the blue spruce on that side to keep her from seeing into the house. It’s probably what’s frustrating her, because we often catch her looking out her bedroom window when we’re in the backyard.”

“So what do you think she meant by her comment?” Devin pressed.

“She’s basically just an old busybody who most likely thought she could trick you into saying something you shouldn’t when she made that statement, so just be careful when you’re around her. I’m certain she’d be thrilled if we no longer lived here.”

“She might come over to speak with you guys this weekend just to make sure we were telling her the truth.”

“That’s fine and we’ll be sure to set her straight.”

“I hope so, because we don’t need her snooping around while we’re staying here.”

“Just be careful about when and where you transition and you should be fine. Are you boys planning on going to the pep rally and bonfire tonight?”

“Nah, we’ve decided to spend the time here with both of you, since you’ll be leaving on Sunday.”

“And we’ll be leaving early that morning, so I’m glad we’ll be able to spend a little more time with you before we go. Now, let’s get ready to go out for supper.”

It wasn’t a big surprise when they took us to Dominick’s again, which apparently is their favorite restaurant when they stay here. When we returned to the house afterward, we talked a little about the upcoming football game, although we had no idea about what to expect. We merely said that we hoped our team would win and that they’d have a great season.

When we finally went to bed, Devin said he’d let me choose who I wanted to be tonight, since I’d let him transition into Rory Fitzpatrick after we had the run-in with the bitch next door.

“Ok, I’ll do this for you, but I want you to give me a couple of names to choose from, because I want to make certain it’s someone you’ll enjoy making love to.”

He thought about it for a while before he responded, and his answer surprised me. “I wouldn’t mind if you transitioned into Elliot Page from X-Men, because he’s shorter than me and just a half inch over five feet (154 cm) tall. Or you can transition into a young Frankie Muniz who’s only ‘5’ 5” (165 cm) tall, or a young Jonathan Taylor Thomas, because he’s only 5’ 6” (168 cm). They’re all good looking and shorter than I am, so it means I’ll be taller than someone else for a change.”

“Ok, I can do that, but which of the three would you prefer to make love with?”

“Transition into a young JTT then. I thought he was really hot when I saw the re-runs of Home Improvement before, so I think that would be hot.”

“Ok, then JTT it is, but maybe you should talk to your dad and see if he’ll let you increase your height to 5’ 9” (175 cm) or 5‘ 10” (178 cm), and then you’ll be the same height as him, Gramps, and Pops. You’ll only be an inch (2.5 cm) shorter than me, so it will probably make you feel better about yourself and less conspicuous about your height as well.”

“Yeah, that‘s a really good idea and I’ll do it when I go home for the holidays. He might let me grow and inch over Christmas break and a couple more inches (5 cm) over Spring Break or the summer.”

“Yeah, that would be great.”

Now that he’d agreed to check this out with his dad to see if it would be all right if he grew a few more inches, I transitioned into Jonathan Taylor Thomas to fulfill his fantasy. I kind of got a kick at how he would look down at me and smirk, even though he was only an inch taller, but I could tell it made him feel incredible that he wasn’t the shortest one in the relationship this time.

He was very tender this time, although he was also energetic and even slightly aggressive in his love making, and it was evident that he was enjoying himself immensely.

When we were done, we went through our nightly ritual, and when we got back into bed, he made a comment before he cuddled with me.

“Thanks for doing that. I really appreciate it.”

“As much as when you transitioned into someone over six feet (183 cm) tall when you make love to me?”

“Yeah, I think I may have enjoyed this a little more.”

We both slept very soundly that night, and shortly after we woke up Devin’s grandfathers took us out for breakfast. When we finished eating, we returned to the house, and as we were getting out of the SUV Devin made a comment.

“Before you guys leave, could you call your friend about us using his hunting camp?”

“I’m glad you brought that up, because I’m afraid we might have forgotten to do it before we went home. We’ll do it right now so we don’t forget.”

They then went into the office to make the phone call, because they were going to put the phone on speaker so they could both hear. They were in there for quite a while, so we figured they were just catching up with each other since they hadn’t seen each other for a few years, and when the call finally ended, they came out to fill us in.

“Our friend says he doesn’t have a problem with you two using the hunting camp. He says he hasn’t been there for a couple of years, since his health hasn’t been very good, and he’ll appreciate having you go there and keeping an eye on the place for him. He’s even going to mail you a key for the cabin so you can use that too, and he says there are a bunch of extra posted signs inside the cabin, in case you notice that some of them are missing.”

“Yeah, we’d be happy to take care of that for him, since he’s letting us use the place,” Devin stated. “Uh, and just in case somebody stops us and asks what we’re doing there, we should probably know the guy’s name.”

“Yes, I suppose that would be a wise precaution. His name is Frank Hubbard and we told him your names as well. His return address will most likely be on the package he’s mailing the key in, and he said he’ll send it in one of those small padded envelopes so no one will realize there’s a key inside.”

“When are you going to show us where this place is?”

“We’ll do that after the football game and before we go to eat supper.”

“Ok, that works for us.”

“Do you boys want us to drive to the game or do you think we should walk?”

“It would probably be best if we walked there, because the traffic will probably be pretty bad with everyone coming to and leaving from the game.”

“That’s a good point, so we’ll walk there. We don’t have a problem doing this, but it means we’ll have to leave even earlier now.”

“It’s not a problem,” we agreed.

Now that this had been agreed to, we all went to our rooms to get ready so we could head over to Canvas Stadium for the game, since we wanted to get the best seats available. Devin and I put on our CSU sweatshirts and hats, because we didn’t want there to be any doubt about which team we were cheering for, and then we went downstairs to meet up with Gramps and Pops.

I think we were both a little surprised to see both of them wearing CSU sweatshirts and hats as well, although the items they had on were slightly older than the ones we were wearing. I guess it makes sense, though, if they’d been going to CSU football games in the past, it’s just that Devin and I weren’t expecting it.

“Do you have the tickets?” Gramps asked.

“Yes, Mac made sure I grabbed the envelope before we came down.”

After Devin gave each of us our ticket, we started out for the student entrance to the stadium. Devin and I handed our student tickets to the ticket-taker, while Gramps and Pops gave him their ‘guest’ tickets. As soon as we were all inside the stadium, Gramps and Pops wanted to walk around so they could check out the stadium first, and when they were satisfied we went to take our seats.

Our seats gave us a great view of the field and the score went back and forth as the lead changed several time during the first half. CSU was a touchdown behind at halftime, but we hoped they’d do better in the second half.

During halftime, several of the guys we knew came over to speak with us, so we introduced them to Gramps and Pops and explained who they were. They were all very polite and said they were glad to meet them, and none of them made a comment about how old they were.

During the second half, the lead continued to go back and forth and we were all thrilled when CSU ended up winning the game on a last minute field goal. We were all cheering loudly as we relished the win; at least until someone sitting near us explained the facts of life to us. He said the team we’d just squeaked out a victory over had only done slightly better than CSU the previous season, which wasn’t very good. The only positive news was that next week’s away game was against Colorado, and they’d done much worse than CSU last year, so we stood a good chance of beating them as well.

We were all laughing and joking around as we made our way back to the house, and when we were nearly there, I spotted her first. The neighbor lady was heading directly toward us and I figured she must have been waiting and watching for us to get back. It appeared as if she was now planning on taking advantage of her opportunity to pounce.

“Trouble dead ahead,” I said in a low voice, and this caused everyone else to suddenly look in that direction.

She walked up to Gramps and began speaking. “We’ve never been formally introduced before, but I’m Louella Haskins and I live next door. I’m familiar with your names, because I’m the City Clerk and I’ve seen your names on tax and property records over the years, and I’ve also seen both of you from a distance.”

“Then allow us to introduce ourselves. I’m Jacob McCaskill,” Gramps said.

“And I’m Isaac McCaskill,” Pops followed.

“I’m pleased to meet both of you in person, but the reason I wanted to speak with you was about these two young men. When I saw them coming out of your house the other day, I thought they might have broken in, but they said they were your grandsons and I wanted to make sure they were telling me the truth about you letting them stay in your house.”

“Yes, they’re my grandsons and they have my permission to live here while they are going to Colorado State University. We felt it would be better to let them use the house while they’re going to college, rather than leaving it sit empty most of the time. You don’t have to worry, though, because they’re very studious and not the partying type,”

“That’s good to hear, because I’ve grown accustomed to living in a quiet neighborhood, and I also thought it was my duty to inform you about this, considering my position and the fact that we’re neighbors.”

“Thank you for making sure they hadn’t been vandals who’d broken into our house and they’ll be here for the next three years.”

“Wonderful,” she said, and from the tone in her voice I believe she was disappointed that we were going to be her neighbors for that long.

After she said that, she merely turned around and headed back to her place, leaving us to stare at her backside as she toddled away.

“That was more than a little strange,” I whispered.

“And I wonder how long she’s been lurking in the shadows waiting for us to show up.” Devin followed.

“She probably heard us go out for breakfast this morning and then return to the house,” Pops stated, “so I’m surprised we didn’t see her as we were leaving for the game.”

“She was probably around somewhere,” Gramps commented, “but I imagine when she saw we were all wearing Colorado State colors, she must have figured out that we were heading to the game. It allowed her to go back inside her house temporarily, and once she knew the game was over, she most likely came outside and waited for us to return.”

“She definitely knew you were going to the football game with us, because I told her that when she confronted us,” Devin announced. “She still gives me the creeps, though.”

“Just be polite and avoid any conflicts with her,” Pops offered. “I have a feeling she’s the type of person that could become your worst nightmare, if you’re not careful.”

“Ok, we won’t give her grief or any reasons to spy on us more than she’s already planning to do,” Devin agreed. “I just hope we don’t run into her very often.”

“Yes, I was thinking the same thing,” Gramps concurred, “but hop in my SUV and we’ll show you how to get to the hunting camp.”

“Just pay attention to where we’re going,” Pops warned us, “but I’d also like to talk a little more about our neighbor. I hope that takes care of your problem with her, but please let me know if you have difficulty with her in the future.”

“Don’t worry, we will,” Devin responded.

“Well, at least now we know her name,” Pops told Gramps, and then he looked at us. “We’ve always just referred to her as ‘the nosy neighbor’ or ‘the old biddy that lives next door’,” he explained.

“We had our own names for her,” Devin admitted, “but we won’t need them now, unless she comes over in a bitchy mood again.”

“I just wish I knew what she meant when she said she’d been watching this place and intended to find out what’s going on at the house,” I stated.

“I might know what’s bothering her. Jacob and I often transitioned into dogs and ran around the backyard at various times and we’d see her watching us out the window, so maybe that’s what she was referring to.”

“Maybe,” Devin conceded, “but I’d still like to know what she meant for sure.”

“Ok, we’re here, so let’s get out and we’ll show you around before it gets dark,” Gramps stated.

They then pointed out the hunting cabin and we walked around the property so we’d know where we were allowed to go. Along the way, they also pointed out where posted signs were missing so we could replace them later to protect ourselves while we were there. Once we finished checking out the area, we got in the SUV and headed back to the house. During the ride back, Gramps and Pops pointed out a few more things to us.

“If you come here to run around, rather than doing it in the backyard,” Gramps stated, “then it might reduce how much she has to complain about.”

“And if you decide to run around in the backyard as dogs once in a while,” Pops added, “try to do it before she gets home from work.”

“What time do you think that will be?”

“I suspect she works until 5:00, and with the traffic she probably wouldn’t get here until 5:20 or 5:30.”

“Ok, we’ll try to do that then.”

“And I suggest that if you decide to run around in the backyard that you transition into dogs that look like street mutts, instead of the usual dogs you’d transition into. That way you can always claim they must have just gotten into the back yard somehow, like digging their way under the hedges or by squeezing their way through the wrought iron fence in front of the house.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea,” we agreed.

“We’ll go directly to the restaurant, if that’s ok with both of you, because it’s already later than we normally eat supper,” Gramps informed us. “In fact, I’m a little surprised that you aren’t complaining about starving.”

“I guess we were thinking more about the neighbor than our stomachs,” I replied.

It was a steakhouse we hadn’t been to before and the restaurant had a rustic décor that made it appear as if it might have been part of the Old West. The food was really good too, and once we’d all silenced our hunger pangs, we headed back to the house for the rest of the night.

When we arrived back at the house, we went inside and I dragged Devin up to our room so we could chat in private.

“Now I understand why your grandfathers were giving you so many warnings about being careful,” I began. “It’s nosy people like her that can cause major problems for us.”

“Yeah, you’re right, but I don’t think there’s anyone as bad as her on campus.”

“I think the guys in the next room could have caused us some major problems, especially if they’d suspected what you could do or if they found out that you’d been involved in the Bigfoot stunt.”

“Yeah, that probably wasn’t too smart, but I felt I had to bring them down a peg or two and make them look like fools in front of their friends. It kinda felt good at the time.”

“Yeah, but can you imagine what they would have done to you if they realized why you did it or that you were involved? They might not have understood how you pulled it off, but even if they thought you’d merely put on a Bigfoot suit or had someone else do it for you, then things could have gotten pretty nasty.”

“Yeah, I never thought about that at the time, so stop me if I try doing anything like that again.”

“I’ll try, but sometimes you don’t tell me what you’re planning before you do it.”

“Ok, then I’ll try not to do stupid shit like that any more.”

When we finished our conversation, we went downstairs to see what Gramps and Pops were up to. They were having their own chat in the living room, and I believe it concerned their neighbor, because they stopped talking when we walked in on them.

“There’s even more of an incentive for you to heed our warning, now that you’ve met the neighbor,” Gramps said. “We had a feeling she might become a problem, because we’d often see her staring out of her bedroom window at our yard.”

“You mean she saw you looking up at her?”

“Not quite. We saw her after we’d transitioned into dogs and went outside for a run.”

“Maybe that’s why she confronted us,” I interjected. “If she figured out you were shapeshifters, then she might have thought you’d merely changed into us when we first met her.”

“I don’t believe that’s what she suspects, but you both have to be careful just the same.”

“Yeah, we will be.”

“What time are you leaving tomorrow?” I asked.

“We thought we’d take you out to breakfast first and then we’ll leave after that,” Pops answered.

“When will we see you again?”

“You’ll see me before you go home for Christmas,” Gramps replied, “because I plan on coming back here so I can play Santa for you.”

“And Devin will see both of us at Thanksgiving and Christmas,” Pops added, “and then you’ll both see us over your spring break, if you still want to go fishing with us. We won’t be doing any hunting at that time, though, because nothing will be in season then.”

“Yeah, that’s ok and it still sounds like fun.”

As soon as those issues had been cleared up, Devin and I headed up to our room. As soon as the door closed behind us, Devin looked at me and smiled.

“What if I transition into a younger Jim Parsons tonight, since he’s actually gay?”

“It sounds good to me, but I need to ask you a question first. I got to thinking about something when I was telling Gramps and Pops that the neighbor lady might have thought they’d transitioned into us. If she’d seen them when they were running around as dogs, then that could have definitely made her suspicious too.”

“Yeah, I guess it would have. So are we going to do this or not?”

“Yep, so go ahead and transition into a younger Jim Parsons then.”

As Devin was transitioning, I began to wonder how many different guys Devin was planning on transitioning into when we were making love. Since Jim Parsons is 6’ 1” (185 cm), I feel it’s safe to assume that no matter how many there are, they’ll all be over 6 feet tall.

When we finished taking turns making love to each other, we went through our nightly ritual before heading back to our room. We then got back into bed and I slept quite soundly as I cuddled with a young Jim Parsons.

In the morning, Devin and I were awakened when Pops knocked on our bedroom door.

“If you two want to have breakfast with us before we leave, then you’ll have to get up now, because we’ve got a long drive ahead of us.”

“Yeah, ok,” I mumbled. “If you had told us last night what time you wanted us to get up, then I would have set the alarm on my phone.”

“Sorry about that, but by the time we thought about it, it sounded as if you boys were already having sex.”

That comment caused me to blush, but Devin had a comeback for him.

“Then I’m glad you didn’t interrupt us, because it was awesome.”

“Damn, you guys love embarrassing me, don’t you?” I commented after I thought Pops had walked away.

“You’ve got to get over it if you’re going to be part of this family.”

“Fuck, I hope your mom and dad aren’t going to do this to me as well.”

“I don’t know, but they might,” Devin replied, and then he laughed.

We hurried to get dressed and then raced down to join Gramps and Pops. I didn’t want to make them wait any longer, because I didn’t want one or both of them to start making more comments about us having sex.

They took us to a small café and it had an interesting breakfast menu that contained both traditional and non-traditional options. The place also offered a nice selection of cinnamon rolls, including some with almonds, which we were all eager to take advantage of.

After having a delicious and filling meal, we returned to the house, but Gramps and Pops only got out of the SUV long enough to give Devin and me a hug as they said goodbye. We thanked them for everything they’d done for us while they were here and we were both sad to see them go, but we knew they’d been away from their wives for far too long this summer. Besides, Devin and I would be busy with our coursework and wouldn’t have very much time to spend with them.