Called (Ryan Ross)

Foxes

. I sighed dramatically as my friend bounced up and down on the couch.

"Please, please, please, Jas?! Just for an hour or two?!" Dustin gave me his famous puppy dog pout, making me finally break.

"Fine, Dustin. Two hours, okay?" He immediately jumped up and nodded at me.

"Thanks, Jaspar!" I sighed. He had been begging me all afternoon to come with him to this party that his friends were throwing to celebrate their new house and the husband, Will's, new job. I had refused at first. I don't like parties, I'm not a very social person. I'm autistic and, due to an abusive past, I have very severe anxiety. I have medication for it, but it's only to make me functional, not make me jump at the chance to socialize with a large group of people that I don't know very well. The people throwing it were nice enough. Will and I had been to high school together, and his wife, Kim, had always been pleasant. But high school was a long time ago. I'm twenty seven, not seventeen.

~~~

I heard Dustin yelling from the other room.

"Jazzy! It's almost time to go, are you ready?" I rolled my eyes, tying my left shoe before yelling back:

"Yes, Mother, I'm ready!" I looked at myself in my full length mirror one more time. My hair was a bit of a mess, so I ran my fingers through the short, black and blue hair. I had a fauxhawk, at one point, anyway. It had long past grown out, and was now simply a mess. Of course, the only part that refused to grow were my bangs. They were the blue part of my hair, but their color frequently changed. Just last week, it had been red. They fell across my forehead, covering part of my dark brown eyebrow. I studied my features in the mirror. I have sharp, gray eyes, a mouse-y type nose, upturned, yet small and round at the same time. Freckles scattered themselves across my pale nose and cheeks. I didn't go outside much, so I was fairly pale. I have my right ear pierced, up at the cartilage. It's been infected since I got it, but I've refused to take it out and let it heal. I know I should, but I haven't gotten around to it. Maybe I never will. It's not at the top of my priorities right now, as it doesn't hurt unless it gets pulled on. I was wearing simple, black jeans, my white converse, a black shirt with purposeful rips in it, revealing a white tank top.

I grabbed my jean jacket before I headed downstairs. My dad had gotten me the jacket a while ago. The back of the jacket was colored camouflage, and it was slightly ripped in the front. I threw it on and walked down the carpeted stairs calmly. Unlike Dustin, I didn't feel the need to stomp down the stairs so that the whole neighborhood can know that he got up for a glass of water.

Dustin and I have been best friends since we were in about sixth grade. Our moms had been best friends and until fifth grade, I couldn't even tolerate Dustin. He was too different. Or maybe he was too alike. At the time, I have practically no friends, my parents were fighting, and I had just gone through a traumatic experience that, perhaps, I'll explain later. It left me very scared. Of everything. Especially people. And I think Dustin knew that. He didn't try to get close to me, until I made the first move. I asked, very hesitantly, if he and his younger brothers would like to come over to my house and play the Wii with my sister, Polly, and my cousin, Ash. He readily agreed, and our moms were overjoyed that we had finally come to our senses and gotten over whatever bizarre hatred we had for one another. They came over, we had lots of fun, and, gradually, Dustin and I grew a lot closer. He very quickly learned that, however tough I acted, I was a very delicate individual. That the slightest tough could send me over the edge. He learned that if anyone was to initiate any sort of touching or intimacy, that it would have to be me. Not for selfish reasons, but for anxiety purposes. I don't like to be touched. It... freaks me out, to say the least. I'm an asexual, for those of you who were wondering about sex and intimacy. I just don't enjoy it. I've never been turned on, never had the desire. Something about being that close with someone doesn't feel right. Dustin understands that, and has always stood up for me, no matter how ridiculous my antics might seem. We've lived together since we graduated college. I've been on the road a lot, being a photographer, but I've been home a lot more, as the holidays are in a few weeks. Dustin works at home, working on computers and websites for people. He's a genius, truly. He may not seem like it, as he still tends to be a bit jumpy and excitable and tends to jumble his words together, but he truly is bright. I've always been called the smarter and quieter one, but I'm not sure if that's entirely true.