Home - 4. Part 4

The next morning I woke up to an empty bed again, so I got dressed and went downstairs. The three of them were busy working on the LEGO city and Lucky was playing with Barklay's tail.

"Good morning everyone," I said.

"Hail Hitler!" Troy yelled at me, with his right hand raised in the air, and then they all laughed.

"Oh my God, Troy, don't do that in front of the boys, that's really inappropriate," I said indignantly.

"But that's how Nazis like to be greeted," Troy replied, smirking.

"I'm not a Nazi Troy!"

"Well, you are a racist and you have blond hair and blue eyes. That sounds like a Nazi to me."

"Don't listen to him boys, I'm not a racist, he's just trying to mess with me."

"Here, I took the liberty of redesigning your clothes, so they would match with your ideology," Troy said and held up one of my T-shirts. It had a giant black swastika in the front. And then I noticed the big pile of clothes next to him. My eyes widened.

"Troy, please don't tell me you drew swastikas on all of my stuff!" I said incredulously and the three of them laughed really hard.

"No, on some I wrote 'I heart Hitler!' or 'Long live the master race!' And don't worry, I used Magic Marker, so it's permanent."

"I will kill you Troy!" I yelled angrily, which made them laugh even harder. I quickly walked over to the pile and looked through it. Thankfully there was nothing on the rest of my clothes. "You're such a jerk!" I said and sat down.

"Come here, I'll kiss it better," Troy replied and tried to pull me onto his lap, but I pushed him away.

"Don't touch me, I'm mad at you!"

"Hey, you're forcing me to go to that camp today, where we'll probably get tortured and killed, so this was nothing compared to that. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Fine, but you're still a jerk."

"Fair enough… Oh, I almost forgot, I made myself a T-shirt too. I'll wear it to the camp later."

"Now what?"

"You know those shirts that say 'I'm with Stupid', right?"

"If you wrote 'I'm with Nazi' on it you will sleep on the couch tonight!" I said warningly and he laughed.

"Damn, I should've thought of that earlier. But no, it's nothing like that," he replied and held up the shirt. It said 'I'm with Perfect.' I didn't want to, but I had to grin a little.

"Whatever, jerk," I said as indifferently as I could.

"I guess someone needs to get the grumpy tickled out of him."

"No, Troy, don't you dare!" He raised his hands and slowly came closer. "Troy!"

"It's too late now, I've already activated the tickle-machine and it's set on pants-pissing."

"Troy, I'm warning you!" That's when he charged at me and started to tickle me mercilessly. "Nooo! I forgive you! ...It's all forgiven, I swear!" I squealed and he stopped.

"Success! I think we'll solve every problem with the tickle-machine from now on," Troy said, laughing.

"You're such a," I started to say, but then Troy looked at me sharply and raised his hands again. "…nice man."

"And?" he asked warningly.

"And I love you?"

"That's right," he said, smiling mischievously, and gave me a kiss on the mouth. "Let's eat."

"Mark my words Troy, I will have the last laugh!"

"We'll see about that. Now come on."

We had breakfast and then we headed to the camp. Troy insisted on carrying me again and since I was still a little mad at him I didn't object.

An hour later we were almost there when suddenly the two guys we had met the day before came out of nowhere.

"Oh, it's just the gays," the older one said and they lowered their rifles.

"Hi, we'd like to meet the rest of your group, if that's ok," I said.

"Sure thing, I'll take you."

"Thanks."

"My name is Wyett by the way, and that's Mike."

"I'm Cody, that's Troy."

We shook hands with them and then Wyett signaled us to follow him, so we did. Mike stayed behind and soon disappeared in the thicket.

"Why are you carrying the little gay? Is he hurt?" Wyett asked.

"No, he broke his leg a while ago and it didn't heal right, so now he walks with a limp," Troy answered.

"And why didn't you bring the boys?"

"We wanna make sure it's safe first."

"You don't sodomize the little gay in front of them, do you?"

"No, when we get horny we usually go down to the basement, where your mom is chained up to a heater, and gang-bang the shit out of her for a couple of hours."

I was so horrified I didn't even know what to say.

"You want me to kick your ass gay boy?!" Wyett asked sharply.

"Yeah right. I punch you once and you're lying on the ground, shitting your adult diaper, old douchebag!"

"That's it! Climb down and look away little gay, because this will get ugly."

I quickly covered Troy's face with my hands.

"No, please don't hurt him mister, he was just kidding. Tell him Troy!" I said anxiously.

"Don't worry Cody, I'll make a nice necklace out of his dentures for you," Troy replied and let me down, but I immediately wrapped myself around him. "Cody please, I have to settle this."

"No! Let's just run away, ok?"

"Cody, look at me," he said, so I reluctantly let go and looked at him. "I can handle him. And I really fucking need this, alright? Just trust me."

"Ok, but you knock him out as fast as you can, you hear?"

"Sure, I promise," he said and gave me a kiss, then he handed me his knife. Wyett put down his weapons too and I stepped aside.

"Take your best shot gay boy," Wyett said.

"After you, old douchebag," Troy replied.

"If you insist," Wyett said, and punched Troy in the face. He stumbled back a few steps and then spat out some blood. My eyes widened in horror and started to water at the same time. Next Troy punched Wyett, who also stumbled backwards, but lost his balance, fell on the ground and then spat out some blood too. He grinned and got up and they both raised their fists. Wyett swung at Troy, but he blocked it, so Wyett tried again and right after he had dodged Wyett's swing Troy punched him in his side really hard. Wyett gasped and bent forward a little, so Troy slammed his fist into his face, which made Wyett fall down, but he immediately kicked Troy off his feet, got up and tried to kick him again. Troy grabbed Wyett's leg and threw him against a tree, then Troy got up and took another swing at Wyett, but he caught Troy's arm and twisted it around on his back. Troy smashed his head into Wyett's face and then elbowed him with enough force that he had to let go of his arm. Troy turned around and kicked him in the stomach, which made Wyett bent forward again, but this time he charged at Troy, grabbed him around the waist and tossed him over his shoulder. When Troy tried to get up Wyett kicked him in the ribs, but Troy quickly grabbed his other leg and made him fall over backwards. Thankfully they were both completely out of breath at that point and stayed on the ground.

"How about we call this a draw?" Wyett asked, exhausted.

"Works for me," Troy answered, with some relief in his voice, and they slowly got up.

But then the most baffling thing happened. They shook hands, smiling, and Wyett patted Troy on his shoulder.

"You pack quite the punch, gay boy. That first blow felt like I was getting kicked by a horse."

"You too. I mean Jesus. For a second there I thought you had hit me with a rock or something," Troy replied.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" I asked, totally flabbergasted.

"What do you mean?" Troy answered and looked at me with a surprised expression.

"You just beat each other senseless and now you're friends?" I asked incredulously.

"Yeah, we've settled it, like men, you know?"

"How did hurting each other settle anything? Shouldn't you hate him even more after that?"

"No, cause now I have a reason to respect him."

"That's insane!"

"No, it's actually a pretty healthy way to settle things."

"Please don't tell me you're planning to fight anyone else."

"I don't know, we'll see."

"Then we're going back, right now!"

"Come on Cody, what's the big deal?"

"Do you have any idea how horrible it was for me to watch you get hurt?! I would've cried, but I was too petrified! I never want to go through that again!" I said emotionally, slightly trembling. Troy quickly walked over to me and took me in his arms.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you. It won't happen again, I swear, alright?"

"Ok."

We parted and he kissed me tenderly.

"Stop gaying around you two and let's go," Wyett said impatiently.

"My back's a little sore. Would you mind walking?" Troy asked me.

"I can carry the little gay. He can't weight more than a hundred pounds."

"No thanks. You hurt Troy, so I don't like you," I replied and Wyett laughed.

"Suit yourself little gay," he said and started to walk, so we did too.

"Thanks for holding back by the way," Troy said to Wyett and my eyes widened.

"I was only following your lead," Wyett answered.

"How the heck did you two hold back?" I asked, frowning deeply.

"He could've broken my leg, but he didn't, so I didn't break his arm when I had the chance," Wyett replied. I just shook my head disapprovingly.

Soon we reached the camp, but this time Wyett led us further inside, so we could finally see how big it actually was. In the center there was a big square with lots of tables and benches, and a large fireplace, and around it there were seven small houses. It all looked very tidy and organized, but also pretty inviting and cosy, like a beach resort in a way. I saw two women hanging up laundry in front of their house. They both looked like they were in their early thirties. One had long blond hair and the other's was slightly shorter and brown.

"That's Erica and Isadore. And that over there is Isaac," Wyett said and pointed at a grey-haired and bearded old man, who was sitting on a porch smoking a cigar.

"How many people live here?" I asked.

"A couple, but most of them are working right now, like keeping watch, tending the fields or hunting… How about you stay for lunch, so you can meet everyone?"

"Oh, that's nice of you to offer, but we wouldn't want to impose like that."

"Don't be silly, we'd love to have you. We're always happy to see new faces and hear new stories, so I insist."

"Ok, fine, thanks."

"Can you tell us when this camp was formed and how?" Troy asked curiously.

"Sure thing… In the beginning it was just my daughter and me. At the time of the outbreak I was a police officer, so on the second day after the virus had spread across the US we packed our stuff and drove to my station, to get some guns. That's where we met Mike, who was there for the same reason. We weren't friends or anything, but I knew him well enough to trust him, so we asked him to join us. We took all the weapons and two armored trucks, one for our supplies and the other to sleep in. We needed more fuel that way, but it soon turned out to be a good idea, because about a week later we rescued the first of many survivors. Our group kept growing till we eventually decided to settle down somewhere. We found this place and started to build a life here. That was over seven months ago."

The way he said made it obvious that he felt very lucky and proud of what they had accomplished.

"And how does your group work? I mean, Michael said that Terrie is your leader, so does she make all the decisions and you enforce them?" Troy replied and, probably without even realizing it, looked at Wyett kind of sharply, like he was expecting him to lie.

"No, this is a democracy, we vote on everything. Terrie technically is our leader, but not in the sense that she's in charge, she just keeps order and represents the group."

"And no one has ever rebelled cause they wanted more supplies or cause they didn't like the rules?" Troy asked suspiciously.

"Yes, a bunch of guys joined our group a couple of months ago and we quickly realized that they were bad seeds. They had a lot of guns and they knew how to hunt, so they felt like they were entitled to more than the rest of us, and not just supplies, they wanted to make all the decisions and basically do whatever they pleased, without any accountability. Finally two of them tried to rape one of our women and I just lost it. I shot them in the head and then escorted the others away from the camp."

I could see the muscles in his face tense up while he talked and there was a lot of anger and hatred in his voice.

"I know the type, we came across a couple of bad seeds ourselves. Have you encountered more like them this past year or were they the only ones?"

"No, thankfully not. We're very fortunate that way."

"So now you all just get along, without any incidents?" Troy asked, less doubtfully than before for some reason.

"For the most part. We have plenty of supplies, so no one ever complains that they don't have enough. Occasionally someone has an issue with how we handle things, but we always get together right away and discuss it till we've found a solution. And this is just a lovely group of people and we all appreciate everything we have very much, so I don't think anyone would wanna jeopardize that."

"That's kind of remarkable," Troy said, amazed.

"I know. But what about you, do you get along with the boys?"

"I guess, but Michael hates me."

"Why, did you do something to him or Dylan?" Wyett asked, frowning.

"No, not really."

"Well," I said. "When we met them Troy wanted them to strip, so he could check them for bites, and now Michael thinks that he's a pervert,"

"You forced them to get naked?" Wyett asked sharply.

"No, I talked him out of it," I replied.

"Do you like seeing little boys naked?"

"No, Jesus," Troy answered. "I just wanted to be on the safe side. Michael had a fever, so he could've been bitten and if he had turned he definitely would've killed his brother and maybe us too. So checking them for bites was the responsible thing to do."

"Come with me," Wyett said, so we followed him to one of the houses. He knocked on the door and after a few seconds Beverly opened it.

"Hello Wyett," she said, smiling. "Cody, Troy, how nice to see you again."

"Hi ma'am," I answered and we all shook hands.

"What brings you here?" she asked.

"I'm worried that the big one might be a pedophile. Could you maybe talk to him and try to find out if that's the case or not?"

"What?! Are you fucking kidding?! I'm not a fucking pedophile! Jesus!" Troy said indignantly.

"I hope so, but I still have to insist that you talk to Beverly, because if she thinks you might be one I can't let you live with the boys any longer."

"And how the fuck is she gonna decide that? I mean, there's no such thing as a pedophile test, so, what, is she gonna flip a fucking coin or something?"

"No," Beverly said,"I can assure you I won't take this lightly. And you are right of course, there is no definitive way to test for pedophilia, but I'm a well-versed psychotherapist and by monitoring your heart-rate, pupil dilation, eye movement, microexpressions on your face and postural changes I can assess your emotional state and the truthfulness of what you're telling me pretty accurately, which enables me to detect possible abnormal tendencies. But don't worry, I will be very thorough and I won't assert anything that I'm not absolutely certain of."

"And what if I do show some fucking abnormal tendencies? How are you planning to stop me from living with the boys? Are you gonna shoot me?"

"Let's cross that bridge when we come to it, alright?"

"Fuck you!"

"Come on now, this isn't personal, I'm only trying to look out for the boys. Wouldn't you do the same thing if you were in my position?"

Troy thought for a second.

"I guess," he sighed.

"Good. We'll be waiting for you right here."

Troy shook his head and reluctantly went inside with Beverly.

"How do you know that I'm not a pedophile?" I asked Wyett.

"I don't, but I'm pretty sure you wouldn't molest the boys even if you were one."

"Why?" I asked, frowning.

"Because I don't think it's in your nature to hurt anyone."

"Yes it is, I'll hurt you really badly if you try to shoot Troy."

"How?"

"I don't know…"

"That's exactly my point," he said, smirking.

"For your information, I have killed before."

"You mean the hosts? They don't really count."

"Yes they do, they're alive, kind of."

"Alright, how many have you killed?"

"One," I said a little sheepishly.

Wyett laughed.

"Wow, that's impressive. Was it an accident by any chance?"

"No, I wanted it dead, because I thought it had killed Troy."

"Now be honest little gay, do you still feel guilty about it?"

"No," I lied, looked down, and unintentionally lowered my head.

"You're adorable," Wyett said, smiling.

"You won't think I'm so adorable when I… cut you… or something."

He laughed again.

"I can't wait, but let's be serious for a second, alright? It sounds to me like you're expecting Troy to be a pedophile. Why is that?"

"I don't, because he isn't one. I would bet my life on that."

"For what it's worth, I believe you. If Michael thought Troy might be a danger to Dylan he wouldn't let him anywhere near him and he probably would've asked me to get rid of him already."

"So why did you make him talk to Beverly?"

"Because it's better to be safe than sorry."

I didn't feel like talking to him after that, so we stayed quiet. Maybe twenty minutes later Beverly came out.

"So, what do you think?" Wyett asked.

"He's definitely not a pedophile."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, his reaction was violently negative, but I'm afraid the screening brought up a childhood trauma, because he became very emotional and unhinged. I managed to calm him down, but I need to talk to him for a little while longer."

"Oh my God, what have you done to Troy?! I want to see him, right now!" I said, alarmed.

"I suggested to bring you in, but he's still in a very vulnerable state and too embarrassed to let you see him like that. I can't stop you of course, but I have to implore you to honor his wishes. I assure you there is no need for concern, he is in very capable hands."

"Fine, but please tell him that I love him, ok?"

"I will," she said and went back inside.

"I'm sorry little gay, but you know, maybe this is a good thing," Wyett said.

"How is this a good thing?" I asked and glared at him.

"Those traumatic experiences were probably eating away at him for years, but now, with the help of Beverly, he can finally learn how to deal with them and start the healing process."

"I guess," I said quietly and looked down.

"He didn't tell you about it, did he?" I just shook my head. "Don't take it personally little gay, he was either trying to repress it or he wanted to protect you from his pain. Either way, you can't really blame him, right?"

"I know, I just hope he'll at least let me be there for him now."

"He will, eventually, but you have to give me him some time, he has to sort this out for himself first. If you push him he'll just build up walls around him, trust me. My daughter lost her mother and her boyfriend on the same day and she couldn't have taken it any harder. She was so devastated, it broke my heart and I desperately wanted to help her, but whenever I tried she would just scream at me to leave her alone. So finally I just let her be, even though it was tearing me up inside. But then, after almost a week, she suddenly sat down on my lap and clung to me. I wrapped my arms around her and cried like never before in my life."

A tear ran down my face and I quickly wiped it away. I felt slightly embarrassed, but then I noticed that Wyett had tears in his eyes too. He looked away and cleared his throat.

"Anyway," he continued. "I need to get back to my post, but I could ask someone to cover my shift if you want me to stay with you."

"No, that's ok, I'm fine."

"Alright, but I'll send over my daughter to keep you company. See you later little gay."

"Bye," I replied and he left, so I sat down on the front steps of the porch.

About five minutes later a young girl appeared. She was eighteen at the most, kind of small, and had a very feminine face and long, slightly wavy blond hair, almost like mine, but a little lighter. When she saw me she smiled and waved, so I waved back at her.

"You must be Cody," she said cheerfully.

"I am. And you're Wyett's daughter?"

"Yes, my name is Ashley," she answered and sat down beside me.

"Nice to meet you," I said.

"You too. My dad didn't tell me how cute you are," she replied and winked at me. I could feel myself blushing.

"Thanks… You know, I'm waiting here for my boyfriend, who I love dearly… Because I'm gay," I said nervously, which made her glare at me.

"You think I'm hitting on you? How dare you? I should tell my dad, he'll shoot you dead," she replied indignantly and my eyes widened.

"Oh no… I'm so incredibly sorry," I said and looked at her, horrified.

She burst out laughing.

"You should see your face. Priceless."

"You were just messing with me?" I asked, frowning.

"Of course. My dad told me that you're gay."

"That's very rude, you know?"

"I'll make it up to you, ok?"

"How?"

"By giving you a proper haircut. You look kind of hobo-ish if you ask me."

"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically.

"Don't mention it. Now let's go," she replied. Then she got up, took my hand and tugged on my arm.

"I have to stay here."

"He's in there with Beverly, isn't he?"

"Yes."

"It won't take long and we'll do it in the kitchen, so we'll notice if he comes out before we're done."

"I don't know."

"When your boyfriend sees you with your new haircut he'll immediately get a boner, I promise you. You want him to get a boner, don't you?"

I had to giggle.

"Fine," I said, got up too and let her drag me to her house.

The inside smelled nice and clean, which I wasn't used to anymore and it also looked very homey, with lots of photographs hanging on the walls and fresh flowers everywhere. Ashley led me to the kitchen and told me to sit down on a chair. She disappeared for a few minutes and came back with a toiletry bag and a big towel that she laid around my neck. Before I could protest she started to cut my hair.

"Hey, you don't even know how I want it," I said.

"I don't care, because you obviously have the worst taste. Just look at what you're wearing. We have to do something about that next."

"But it's the apocalypse, so why would it matter how I look?"

"I got news for you, the apocalypse is over, it has been for a while now. This the new age and it's up to us to shape it, so we have to be the best we can be."

"How is it over? There are still billions of monsters out there."

"You mean the hosts? Yeah, but not here and soon not anywhere in the state."

"We've been wondering about that. Where are they exactly?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you, sorry."

"Why not?"

"You could be a spy," she said and giggled.

"No, seriously, what's going on?"

"I seriously can't tell you, at least not yet."

"Fine."

"Just stay inside tomorrow, ok? Trust me."

"Why?"

"No more questions. I only told you that because we're BFFs now. Don't make me regret it."

"We're BFFs?" I asked, surprised.

"Yeah, you desperately need a girl in your life and lucky for you I'm willing to be that girl."

"Why do I need a girl in my life?"

"Every boy does, especially the gay ones, because all boys are crude, unruly and gross by nature and they just get worse over time if no one looks after them. And you've already been only among boys for too long, I can tell."

"What do you mean? How can you tell?"

"Well, aside from the way you look you're also kind of rude and defensive."

"I'm sorry, I think my boyfriend is rubbing off on me, but you've been kind of rude yourself, you know?"

"Maybe a little, but I'm a girl, so it's cute."

"I guess," I said, giggling.

We didn't talk for a few minutes and I just listened to the sounds the scissors were making. Before the apocalypse I got my hair cut every two weeks, because I loved how clean I felt afterwards and my barber was a really interesting man, who always told me inappropriate stories about his customers. Ashley wasn't as fast as him, but she definitely knew what she was doing and she had a very gentle touch, so it was a pretty enjoyable experience and she was great company too.

"Do you have a lot of BFFs?" I finally asked.

"No, you're the only one."

"You do have other friends though, don't you?"

"I guess, but everyone here is much older than me, so it's not really the same as having friends my own age, you know?"

"Yeah, that makes sense. My boyfriend is only four years older than me, which I'm grateful for, I just wish I had met him sooner and didn't have to be alone for almost a year."

"Aww, poor thing. I can't imagine being alone for that long, I think I would lose my mind. How did you manage to keep going?"

"Well, it was really hard, especially in the beginning. After a while I got used to having no one to talk to, but the one thing I never got used to was not being touched by another person. I missed that more and more every day and in the end I would've given anything to feel the warmth of someone else's body, even just for a second. The worst part was that I didn't know if I'd ever see another human being again, which was slowly crushing the little hope I clung to till eventually there was nothing left of it and I didn't care if I lived or died anymore."

"That's horrible, I'm so sorry. When did you finally meet your boyfriend?"

"A little over two weeks ago. He saved me, in more ways than one."

"And how long have you two been together?"

"A little over a week, but I love him so intensely that it feels like we've been together for years, you know?"

"Aww, how sweet. Is he your first?"

"Yeah and I'm his first too."

"Have you two been… intimate yet?"

"Yes, we have done a lot of stuff already, but we haven't gone all the way, because… I can't tell you, I'm sorry."

"You can tell me anything," she said matter-of-factly, which made me giggle.

"Not this, I would die of embarrassment."

"Well, we can't have that, so it's ok."

"Thanks," I said, giggling. "What about you, are you happy?"

"Not as happy as you I'm sure, but yes, I'm more than contented with my life."

"Do you get along with your dad?"

"Yes, we're pretty close actually and we have mandatory daily hugging-time," she said and giggled. "It wasn't always like that though. My parents went through a pretty ugly divorce when I was twelve and after that I only got to see my dad every other weekend, which just wasn't enough, so we slowly grew apart. But then the outbreak happened… My dad rescued me and for a while I was in a really bad place, because I had lost the two people I loved most in the world. He desperately wanted to console me, but I was so angry at… everything, and I just needed someone to blame, so I took it all out on him. I punished him by pushing him away, but I could see how much it hurt him that he wasn't able to help me and it made me feel even worse.
Eventually he stopped trying, which left me with no reason to scream at him anymore and I was finally forced to deal with my loss. I cried for days and I felt totally alone in the world, but then one evening I suddenly realized that I wasn't, so I went over to my dad, praying that he still loved me, sat down on his lap and clung to him. When he put his arms around me I was incredibly relieved and I cried so hard I thought I would burst. Things only got better from that point on."

"Your dad seems like a great guy."

"He's the best, period. But let's talk about something less emotional, ok? It's starting to get to me and I'm not wearing waterproof make-up."

"Sure. How about you tell me a little bit about your camp?"

"What do you want to know?"

"How many are you?"

"I'm not sure if I'm allowed to tell you."

"What's with all the secrecy? Do you have something to hide?"

"No, but we have a lot to protect. And what about you? Would you tell me important things, like where you live for example, before you'd be sure that you can trust me? I think not."

"Ok, you're right, I'm sorry."

"There you go."

"So, there's nothing shady going on here?"

"Like what?"

"Well, when we were caught yesterday Terrie threatened to torture and kill us, even though we hadn't done anything."

Ashley giggled.

"She was just trying to scare you."

"That's what she said, but what if she had thought we were dangerous for some reason, what would've happened to us then?"

"You would've been sent on your way with a warning, but if you had shown up again you would've been shot dead."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes Cody, we only kill if it's absolutely necessary, I promise you."

"Ok. So you're nice people?"

"Could I be any nicer? And I'm only the seventh nicest person in this place."

"I see."

"How tall are you?" she asked.

"Five-six, I think. Why?"

"I'm five-five, so my stuff should fit you."

"I'm not going to wear women's clothes Ashley."

"I'm pretty sure you already do. I mean, that shirt? Definitely a women's cut."

"Oh, I forgot about that," I said, slightly embarrassed. "But still, I'm not going to wear your stuff."

"How about this? If you really love your new haircut you'll let me clothe you too, ok?"

"Fine, but only if I really love it."

"Deal. Now don't move."

She turned on some kind of electric razor and started to trim the side of my head, which worried me a little. When she was finished, she brushed me off and then took a tube of styling gel out of her toiletry bag. After she had spread some on her hands she went to work on my remaining hair.

"All done. You look amazing, like two million bucks, at least. Come, I'll show you," she said excitedly, then she removed the towel and dragged me into the hallway, where there was a large mirror. When I saw my reflection I almost didn't recognize myself. My hair was very short at the sides and still long on top, but it was gelled back and looked like a wave in the front. It really was amazing.

"Tell me you don't love this and I will lose faith in everything," Ashley said cheerfully.

"No, I definitely do," I answered, smiling from ear to ear.

"Let's get you into some nice clothes then."

She took my hand again and led me upstairs to her bedroom. It wasn't as girly as I would've expected it to be. There was a lot of red and yellow everywhere and the walls were decorated with art prints and photos.

"Your room is really cool," I said, impressed.

"Thanks. Now strip to your underwear please."

"I'm not getting undressed in front of you!"

"What's the big deal?"

"I'm just not comfortable with that."

"Then I'll turn around and pinky-swear that I won't peek, ok?"

"Fine."

She looked through her closet and after a few minutes she handed me a soft turquoise pair of pants, a jacket in the same color, and a white t-shirt.

"Go ahead," she said and sat down on the bed with her back to me.

I quickly got undressed and then put her clothes on. They were a little tight, but felt really nice and when I saw myself in the mirror I had to smile.

"Ok, I'm ready," I said and Ashley turned around.

"Wow, you look stunning," she said, amazed. "Expect to be jumped by your boyfriend as soon as he sees you."

"What if he doesn't like all of this?" I asked insecurely.

"If he says one bad word I will kick his ass," she answered, which made me grin.

"I should go. He'll probably be done soon and he'll freak out if I'm not waiting for him."

Ashley frowned.

"He's not abusive or anything, is he?" she asked, concerned. "You can tell me. I'll have my dad shoot him dead and then you can move in here with us."

"No, of course not, he's very sweet. At least to me. But thank you for the offer… And the haircut and the clothes. I really appreciate it."

"Don't mention it, that's what BFFs are for."

"Is there anything I could do for you?"

"You could bring me some flowers next time you visit. I love flowers."

"Done."

"Come on, let's go outside. I can't wait to meet your boyfriend and to see how he reacts to your makeover."

"Ok."

She took my hand and we went back to Beverly's house.

"Oh, I totally forgot to ask, are there any gay people living here?" I said.

"Not officially, but everyone knows that Erica and Isadore are lovers, even though they vehemently deny it."

"Why? Because the people here are so homophobic?"

"Yes Cody, we hate the gays and guess what, that wasn't hair gel, it was poison. Your boyfriend is already dead and so will you be soon, you dirty homo," she said very seriously and my eyes widened.

"What?!" I asked, totally shocked, and Ashley burst out laughing.

"You're so gullible it's crazy," she said.

"Very funny. You're such a… Wait, what's a female jerk called?"

"A bitch?"

"Oh, no, you're definitely not a b-i-t-c-h, but you are very mean."

"You're so cute," she said, giggling, and hugged me.

"But wait, if you're not homophobic then why are they trying to keep it a secret?"

She let go of me.

"Our best guess is that in the beginning they figured being open about it might make their lives harder if they'd come across the wrong people, so they decided to deny it. And when they eventually realized how accepting this group was they probably felt too embarrassed and guilty to admit that they had been lying to everyone the whole time."

"I see."

Suddenly I heard Troy saying goodbye to Beverly inside the house.