(This is a long-boi chapter! Took me a very long time but it's basically like three chapters long lmao. You're VERY welcome. Pls vote and comment. I'm exhausted and I worked hard to bring you this chapter)
[Leo's Point Of View]
"This guy is trying to start drama for no reason," Marvin said as he directed his eyes at the bowl of Doritos on the coffee table. "He keeps saying that you're saying things behind everyone's back, but we all know you say shit to people's faces without an ounce of fear."
"Gee, another guy lying about me, never saw that coming," I said, rolling my eyes.
A couple of friends and dorm-neighbors and I were all sitting in the lounge on a Friday night while everybody was out having a blast. Basically all the cool people stayed behind. The last two weeks were stressful and PACKED with work. I barely talked to anyone, including my own boyfriend, for those fifteen long days.
Most of my friends I had met because we went to the same classes and the others were just friends I made from the association of gayness. Those that I met from my classes had to endure the same education suffering I went through. Now that we were done with everything, we wanted to relax, and going to parties and clubs sounded unbearably exhausting. We needed to recharge our batteries by eating Doritos and gossiping.
"I've actually noticed that," Jamila said. She was the smartest girl in the entire building and I was actually surprised to even see her relaxing. She often complained about having to do too much because of her parent's expectations and society's expectations of black women in general.
"Noticed what?" Marvin said. "That every new gay guy we meet is immediately threatened by Leo's mere existence?"
"Why is that? I don't get it."
"At this point, I introduce Leo to new gay guys just to see what happens," he said, chuckling by himself on the sofa.
Jamila suddenly looked at me. "Is it because you're cute?"
"I don't know." I shrugged, clearly uninterested in this topic.
"I think once they see him, see his instagram followers, how many friends he has, where he lives and what his boyfriend looks like then they get heated because they want it."
"That's . . . descriptive," I said, blinking at him.
Marvin and I weren't super close, we talked a bunch because of how often we had to see each other. But he was straight and boring. And I didn't mean that in a way that suggested straight people were boring, no, it was just unfortunate that he was straight AND boring.
But he was kinda cute, so.
"Is that really how gay guys are?" Jamila said.
"I think that's just what he attracts," he said.
"And I think this conversation is stupid," I said.
"But you can't deny the facts," Marvin said, pointing fingers at me in a playful way.
"First of all," I started with a finger in the air, "people thinking I'm attractive is their own thing, everyone has an eye for different types of people. I may be the most gorgeous guy to my boyfriend, but some random stranger might think I'm the ugliest creature to have ever been hatched. SECONDLY, I gained a lot of instagram followers because of that one time I got a selfie with Lana Del Rey and everyone thought we were friends."
"So? A lot of people saw it and they saw how cute you were and followed you. Isn't that what instagram is about?" Marvin said.
"I think they just thirst followed, if I'm being honest," Jamila said.
"THIRDLY!" I shouted as they tried to interrupt me again. "I live here because my mom and her husband pay for it. I don't have to pay for it. If I had to pay for it, I'd be homeless. FOURTHLY? Is that a word? Anyway, I don't have a lot of friends, I just see a lot of people–I'm in college for God's sakes! AND LASTLY, my boyfriend is hot, I know."
Caitlin, Sonya, Richard and Maeve all snorted. They were just quietly listening to the conversation with their eyes glued to their phones.
"Hey, babe."
The voice was right next to my ear, so naturally I screamed like a girl and almost died on that comfy-as-hell leather armchair.
"Will, why?" I said as I looked over my shoulder to look at the person who had attempted to murder me.
"Why are you all here?" he said as he rested his arms behind me on the chair.
"It seems as if adulthood has caught up and our backs are either killing us or maybe just mind your own fucking business," Jamila told him as she squinted her eyes. I loved my mom.
"Why are you dressed like that?" I asked as I noticed he was wearing all black with a black hat. He usually wore the hat backwards, but this time he was going spicy and leaving it forward.
"You look like a serial killer about to grab his next victim," Marvin said.
"A sexy serial killer?" He smirked.
"Sure."
"You are too close to my face," I said as his chin rested on my shoulder. "Also don't call me babe or I will smack the shit out of you."
"Aw, you guys are so mean here." He pulled away but just when I thought he was going to respect my personal space, he jumped around the armchair and squeezed next to me. We were skinny enough that we could both fit, but the armchair was already larger than regular size so it didn't matter.
"Why are you here, Will?" Jamila asked.
"I was gonna walk to the store and bring back some snacks. Didn't think I'd run into you all."
"It's not like you leave your room anyway," she said.
"You sound sad about it. Are you saying we should hang out more?"
"No," she replied right away.
"No parties or anything today?" he said, this time turning to look at me.
I was trying to avoid looking at him because our faces would be dangerously close. He was one of those straight guys that was so comfortable and chill with his sexuality that he didn't care if he flirted with other guys. He was like . . . in love with me, but in a straight way. That would never make sense, but if you've been through it then you understood exactly what I meant. Like a crush, but because I was pretty to him, he'd probably try to fuck me at least one time just to see what it was like.
But still straight!
"We finished our exams yesterday, so we're just relaxing tonight," I replied, trying to look at my phone even though I had no messages or notifications.
Jamila hated Will for no particular reason, but I knew she had a crush on him. Even though he was annoying with his flirty ways, he was still a nice person and such a cutey. Jamila was more into tan Spanish guys but she couldn't ignore Will's charm no matter how pale he was. It wasn't his fault all he did was play video games in his room.
"Leo?" Jamila said while I was looking through my phone. I glanced up to see a disgusted expression on her face. "I know you can't see, but Will is making kissy faces at you."
For some reason I didn't even think, I just went and looked and she was right. He was straight up puckering his lips at me. I leaned away from him even though he wasn't leaning in. I would have freaked out if it it weren't for the fact that the kissy lips were accompanied by the weird face he was making.
"You know I'm not three years old and I'm not going to laugh at that, right?" I told him.
"Leooo!"
Someone was calling me and I couldn't really turn around with Will merging into my body.
"Yes?" I called out even though I couldn't see who it was. Seemed like everyone wanted to talk to me today.
"It's Joni," Jamila mouthed at me.
"Yes, Joni?"
"Will you please come to my birthday party tomorrow?" I heard her say behind me.
"You call me?" Will said at the sound of his name, but completely wrong usage of the word, buddy.
"Nobody is talking to you, William," Joni said.
"Wow, she said William," he said, sounding sad and offended.
"Uh, if I don't get depression I'll come," I said.
"Hey, if you need to talk to someone, you can always stop by my room," Will said as Joni went to the next person to talk about her birthday party that I was not going to.
I gave the arm he had over my shoulder a light tap. "Thanks, Will, but last time we hung out you tried to make out with me for fun."
"Okay, I was drunk and I apologized many times," he said.
"And I told you, I wouldn't mind making out with you for fun, but I have a boyfriend."
"Damn right you do," Derek said from my right side, the one without a Will.
I screamed louder this time and somehow ended up on Will's lap trembling like the black cat little Susie tried to drown in her bathtub because she wanted to see if mermaid cats were real.
Derek was standing right there by the armchair, grinning at me as my entire ass rubbed against Will's crotch. I was wearing some thin shorts and Will was wearing pajama pants – I could feel it.
"D–Derek? What? Oh my god my heart is about to explode." I breathed heavily and didn't even notice Will was holding me tightly until Derek looked at him weirdly.
"Sorry for scaring you," he said, giving me a cute apologetic face.
"Sorry for not telling you he was behind you," Jamila said nonchalantly while looking at her nails.
Derek helped me up and I was glad nothing grew under my butt–definitely straight. He gave me a kiss on the lips but I was too focused on my confusion: Why the hell was he here?
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" I said as I held back the tears. I hadn't seen my own boyfriend in over fifteen days. I didn't realize how much I had missed him until he was standing right in front of me.
"Wanted to surprise you." He grabbed my hands and held on to them like the cute boyfriend he was.
"Just a suggestion, but scaring me isn't the best way of surprising me," I muttered in a petty way.
"The surprise is outside."
"Outside?"
"Is it a car?" Jamila guessed.
"Is it Ellen Degeneres?" Marvin guessed.
"Is it my will to live? Because I need that back," Will the will-less guessed.
"No," Derek told them, his judgy brows appearing.
"Okay, let's see what this surprise is then," I said as I walked down the hall with Derek behind. There were a few people walking in and out of the building and all of the girls ogled Derek like he was a God. I wasn't mad.
"I missed you, by the way," Derek said as he caught up.
"I missed you too," I replied as I looked at the exit. My spider senses were tingling. "Can you hold my phone? I have no pockets."
"Sure?" I could tell he was now looking at my shorts.
As I pushed through the doors and walked outside to greet a night sky and peaceful air, a son of a bitch popped out of the bushes and roared. I jumped into the air and screamed for a whole ten seconds, falling on the ground and covering my ears.
Nicole exploded with laughter..
"YOU ARE SO UGLY FOR THAT!" I yelled at her as Derek helped me up. I almost slapped his hand away but he wasn't even laughing, so he was totally on my side.
"I love you, make out with me," she said as we hugged.
"Never," I said when I pulled back. She looked really pretty, like a princess, especially her hair.
"Is this my surprise?" I asked, pointing at Nicole.
"No."
"Keep walking," she said.
We talked for a minute until we reached the parking lot. And there it was, Nicole's "No-drama-real-love-only-but-sometimes-casual-sex-is-all-you-need" RV. Was this my surprise? Estoy confundida.
"What's this?" I asked as we approached the beast.
"Did you think our plans of traveling across the states is over just because of what happened?" Derek said.
"Actually, yes," I replied honestly(Now on itunes). "We took off time from work and school to be able to do it, now we have to wait until I'm done with school to try again."
"True, but the author didn't name it Road Trip for nothing."
"Can you guys tell me what is going on? I'm so confused. You can't just show up unannounced with the RV and kidnap me to go traveling again. I have the weekend off but I have classes again on Monday."
"Idiot." I heard right behind the door of the RV. It was Sasha.
"Oh, good one. You were going to scare me again, really?" I said as I crossed my arms, mad and annoyed at both of them. I was giving them some intense eye staring right about now.
"Go inside," Derek said, a smirk appearing across his stupidly perfect face. It wasn't going to fool me, I already knew Sasha was inside. It was kind of obvious since Nicole was here and she was all dolled up. We were probably going out somewhere, like a double date. It was a cute surprise, but nice try.
I opened the door and went to step inside, but Sasha was not behind the door, instead it was my cousin Kate. I screamed when she appeared and fell backwards, ass landing on hard concrete. I passed out for a whole five seconds from how frightened I was and how stressed my heart had become over the course of the last ten minutes. In those five seconds, I was pulled by my feet by ten hands and dragged inside. It was a scene right out of a horror film.
When I opened my eyes, I saw Kate, Sasha, Priscella, Dakota, Nathan, Nicole and Derek.
"What the fuck," I said.
"Hey! That's all you have to say to your cuz?" Kate said.
"Waah! What are you doing here?!"
"I'm the surprise!" she exclaimed as I picked up my embarrassed self.
Kate, the only cousin that I actually talked to but never saw because she lived in New York, was really in front of me. I wanted to burst out crying because I missed her so much and I couldn't even remember the last time I saw her. My family had been such a mess for so long now that I often felt alone when I pondered about the good times in Italy.
Kate hadn't really grown, she was always around the same height as me, but I was the one that grew the most. She had bangs now. BANGS. And her hair was shoulder length and a kind of reddish-brown. Her skin was glowing and beautiful and so white. Did New York not get any sun? I was always so used to her being tan but this was a complete different look than what I was used to. It was rocking my emotional stability.
I hugged her like my life depended on it. Everyone went silent as she wrapped her arms around me, emotions flowing through us. I wanted to cry so badly and think about our family, but with so many people around me I felt embarrassed. I shouldn't feel that way because they were all friends. They were . . . like a family to me.
"Stefan says hi, by the way," she said when we released each other.
Stefan actually wanted to move out here a few years ago and I was even willing to become roommates with him in a small apartment instead of the dorms. But there were issues back in Italy and him being the oldest meant he had a lot more responsibility. None of it was fair because he was dragged into useless drama and all the adults just loved taking their children down with them instead of letting them go and be people out in the world.
I refused to be taken down with anyone, so once the bullshit started happening, I distanced myself from my family and then it was just me and my mom. No one else mattered. No one but my mom and my boyfriend, who were the two people I cared about the most in this life.
It was a dark time, especially when Derek was doing the same to me at one point. It made me so angry and I lashed out, so our fights and arguments were never good. But now we were so much better.
Better than Beyonce and Jay Z.
"I am so confused," I said. "What is going on? Why are you all here?"
Nicole excused herself and took Sasha to the front of the RV. She got behind the wheel and Sasha sat next to her on the passenger seat. The others sat around while Derek and Kate pulled me to the bedroom in the back and closed the door.
I sat on the edge of the bed and Kate joined me while Derek stood in front of me. Now that I wasn't being scared every five seconds, I noticed he was also dressed up and looking cute as fuck. His eye hadn't healed completely but it didn't look bad, it was almost gone.
"Do you remember the family party I told you about?" Derek asked.
"The one about your mom and grandfather?"
"That's the one."
"What about it?"
"You know how they don't want me to bring you as my date even though a date is kind of required?" he said, raising his brows as if he was waiting for me to go off again like I did the first time he told me about it.
"Because they're homophobic bitches? Yeah, I know. You won't let me fight them and I'm kinda mad about it."
"Well . . ."
"That's why I'm here," Kate said.
"I told them I wasn't going to bring you," Derek said, smirking like he knew everything about the world. I wanted to suckerpunch that face and make it a double black eye.
"Okay, so you're taking my cousin, that's so wonderful honey," I muttered.
"No, you idiot."
I was shocked that came out of Derek and not Kate.
"He's not taking Leo, he's taking Alice," Kate said, also smirking. I thought she was my cousin not his.
"Alice? Who the fuck is Alice?"
"You don't remember who Alice Storm is?" she said.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" I screamed as it all came to me.
"Yup," Derek said, sitting his butt next to me.
"You're gonna be a woman," they both said together, wrapping their arms around me.
I stood up immediately, breaking free from their evil grasps.
"If I remember correctly, the party is tomorrow. Why am I now just hearing about this? Did no one bother asking me if I even want to be a part of it?"
"But you do, because I know you more than anyone," Derek said as if he were the professor of all things Leo.
"And it was my fault that you heard about it last minute," Kate said, looking at Derek apologetically. "He called me two weeks ago and told me his plan. At the time I couldn't tell him if I'd be able to come here to give you a makeover. He texted me so many times asking over and over if I'd be able to do it but I was so packed with work and school that I couldn't even respond, but I was definitely trying. I had to get your measurements without you knowing and that was hard. I then had to pick out the best clothes, jewelry and wigs. There was this dress that was perfect for the occasion and Derek's vision, but it was too difficult to find. So I gave up, until the designer wrote me back. I got the dress yesterday and flew in this morning."
"And I'm paying her a lot for this," Derek added.
"Yup! Money is my motivation!"
"What the hell are you guys making me wear?" I said as anxiety made my heart beat faster. This party was going to have like a hundred rich people and I was going in drag? I didn't even have a choice in what dress I was wearing? "This is criminal."
"Derek had the idea of keeping Alice Storm's aesthetic and go with the dark gothic theme. But we're dropping the storm part. Alice is married now. So tomorrow when you step inside that mansion, you'll be Alice Morrigan. Not only that, you won't be looking like no Hot Topic 2009 mess, you'll be a queen."
"A gothic queen?" I said.
She stood up and walked towards me, inspecting my skin and moving my head around. She made some weird noises while her eyes penetrated my own eyes.
"You have really beautiful skin. Your facial structure is very gentle and small, so you'll pass for a woman no problem. The gothic look can definitely work with darker skin tones of all types, not just pale, so when you're fully dressed and I've painted your skin, you're going to look like a beautiful gothic Latina Goddess."
"I am none of those things," I muttered.
"You may not be a beautiful Latina Goddess, but you'll be gothic, don't worry."
That one hurt.
"I've seen the dress, it looks expensive," Derek said.
"It's not actually expensive, but the designer makes it more expensive. Luckily I have the hookups."
"What kind of hair am I wearing?"
"Long and black, just the way I like it."
"Oh."
"I'm one of those things," Derek joked, but no one laughed.
"So the hair is gonna be parted in the middle and it's going to be straight and long. You will not touch it or move it over your shoulders. Leave it draped down your back like a beautiful cape."
I sat back down on the bed, feeling overwhelmed. His family didn't want me at the party, so what if they figured out it was me? Then again . . . they have never met me before. They had no idea what I looked like. But still . . . the fact that they were so openly homophobic, especially after what happened to Derek, it left a bad feeling in my stomach.
And I wasn't even going to bring up the fact that I'd be going the party resembling Derek's mom. I knew what she looked like. And I knew that everyone at the party was going to be white and blonde. Walking into that place dressed up like Morticia Addams was a timebomb waiting to happen.
But this was for Derek . . . He needed that letter. It was not right that they kept something that wasn't theirs to begin with. For him, I was going to march my ass straight into that mansion and sell it.
"Okay, so, I understand the surprise, but why the RV and why is everyone here?" I asked as Nicole drove over a speed bump without slowing down, throwing me into the air for a second.
"Oh, I invited everyone to dinner," Derek said. "Plus I wanted to come and get you and it was a long ride, so I asked Nicole if we could use her RV. Turns out it isn't even hers, she stole it from her grandpa."
"I'm just happy to be here," Kate said, getting emotional. She hugged me once again and I let her squeeze the air out of my lungs until she was pleased.
"I'm happy that you're here too," I told her. "I haven't seen you in forever."
"I know!" Her voice got high. "It sucks being poor and not being able to see your family. I haven't even been back to see my mom in two years."
"You know I'd help you if you ask me," I said.
"I'd never ask my own family for money."
"I would," Derek said stupidly in his stupid corner where stupid people talked.
"That's because you hate everyone in your family except your sister," I said.
He shrugged.
There was a knock on the door before it opened. What was the point in knocking if you were going to come inside anyway?
It was Nathan.
"Hey, Nate," I said.
"Heyo." He entered and closed the door behind him. "Just wanted to come say hi."
"I saw you this morning," I muttered.
"Wow. Fine, I guess I'll leave and jump out of the RV."
"No . . . Stop . . . Don't . . . Go . . ."
"Leo is vile," Kate said.
"You just found that out?" Nathan said as he joined us on the bed. It was a small room. We weren't exactly in a luxurious RV. It was a bed for two and the space was barely enough for the bed itself. The front of the RV was better and had two tables with seats, a couch, a kitchen and a bathroom.
"So how the heck did you get involved in all of this?" I asked Nathan.
"Oh, I was with Dakota when Derek came by his place and asked us if we wanted to join."
"It was nice finally meeting Leo's infamous roommate," Kate said.
"Infamous? I'm sweet as hell, what do you mean?"
It was a fairly long ride to the restaurant. Derek had booked a huge table at a fancy and expensive place. I'd never been there in my life and never would have if it weren't for the fact that his grandma was practically throwing money at him to make up for all the years she was M.I.A.
As if money fixed things. But it did create a lot of fun time.
Dinner ended up being one of the best memories I'd ever have. It was one I will store forever in my box of happy times. Hanging out with so many friends and family and just being free was something I really needed. I was forever grateful to Derek for setting it up. He was the best boyfriend and best friend anyone could ever have and I was blessed to be the one to call him mine.
~ Squishy is back from the war and prepared to take you to the next scene
I screamed so loud that I must have awakened a monster deep in the ocean's floors. I was currently on a bed, naked as hell, dick between my legs because I couldn't use my hands to cover up even though everyone's eyes were on me, while Kate and Derek ripped sheets of paper off my skin. Yes, I was being waxed alive.
"IF YOU DON'T BE GENTLE WITH ME I AM LEAVING AND NEVER COMING BACK!" I hissed through my teeth.
They weren't even being nice about it. They were laughing as my skin reddened and definitely bled. No, I wasn't being dramatic. There was blood somewhere, I was sure of it.
Why couldn't they be gentle and use the small ones? They were literally applying the gooey substance over large parts of my body and pressing long strips into it all while smiling.
"Oh, shut up," Kate said as she ripped another one. "You're not even hairy. Like, at all. But we need to get rid of any and all body hair that you have. You're lucky you're a homosexy and you keep your privates and your ass smooth as hell."
"Kate, you're my cousin, stop talking."
"Don't," Derek said as he watched Sasha open his mouth.
"No more sticky wax, please," I cried as Kate stirred the pot of hot wax with her tongue sticking out.
"Almost done, stop being a bitch."
"DEREK!"
"Stop being a bitch," he repeated.
"Allah, please save me!"
"You're not even muslim," Nathan said. "Or religious."
"I DON'T CARE! A GOD BETTER COME DOWN HERE AND SMITE ALL MY FRIENDS!"
"At least this doesn't make you hard," Sasha said, earning a couple of stares. "What? I would've been so hard if it was happening to me."
I was so glad my pee pee was hidden.
"It's okay, honey," Nicole said, patting his chest and resting her head on his shoulder. "You can be as hard as you want without anyone judging you."
"Thanks."
"Okay, everyone, show is over," Derek said, kicking everyone but Kate out of the bedroom. "Now you'll have to wait for the transformation."
"This is gonna take forever," Sasha complained as he walked away. "Nicole takes like five hours putting on one eyelash."
Derek closed the door and I finally breathed and uncrossed my legs. He helped me sit up and I felt dizzy after being tortured so hard. Kate was currently busy setting up her makeup and tools on top of Derek's dresser.
Tomorrow was the big day, but because we had no time to rehearse and see how everything looked, we only had tonight to do that. After dinner we went straight to Derek's apartment so everyone could be a witness. There was a lot I had to do in order to become a woman, but we started simple. While Kate did her work in peace, Derek and I quickly went into the bathroom. He cleaned my body with a wet towel while I shaved my face and made sure it was as smooth as my ass.
"Sit here," Kate said when we returned in my bathrobes. I took the seat in front of the dresser and stared at myself as she wasted no time and began to fix my eyebrows, saying she wanted everything to look as natural as possible with no drop of actual drag. We were going complete fish.
"Does your grandma know?" I asked.
"No."
"Hm."
"Why?"
"Thought you said you warmed up to her and she was actually not the homophobic one."
"Yeah, but I still don't trust that she won't say anything to her monster children."
"Are you talking about Derek being gay?" Kate asked.
"I'm asking if she knows that I'm coming to the party," I said.
An hour later passed and we weren't even finished. Almost, but not quite. My face was transforming and I was already unrecognizable, but once the hair was on my head, I was going to lose my mind.
The fact that we had to do this again tomorrow made me want to die.
Derek was useless so he eventually left us alone. The make up was almost finished, it needed a few more touches but Kate was also trying to fix the hair at the same time. The hair was extremely long and black and needed to be straightened a little more, so it sat on top of a doll's head on the dresser. Kate barely talked, she was too focused on this assignment. This was her dream job and it made me want to cry seeing her happy, doing what she loved, while also spending time with me and getting paid a tremendous amount on top of it all.
She was also the one that got Derek's suit. Originally, his grandma wanted to get it for him but he wanted to match with me. His suit was . . . oh my god. It was so fucking cool and dark and so sexy. It was all black, with black gloves and all of the murdery vibes, and instead of a regular stupid dress shirt underneath, he was wearing a different kind of long sleeved, high collar shirt, because my dress was also high collar and it covered most of my neck.
We were basically the apocalypse and all these white people in the party were not only going to be shook and intimidated, but scarred for life. They WILL fear us. The gays were coming bitches.
Kate finished the makeup and ran over to get the wig. Bitch . . . when she put that wig on me, I became wigless but with a wig on. Wig. Holy shit I was . . . scary hot.
"Wow," I whispered, looking at my reflection.
The makeup was dark, but not too heavy. My lips were dark red like blood and the eyeshadow was sharp and mysterious like a vampire queen waking up from her thousand year slumber. I was mostly impressed by the dark cheekbones. I was really about to slay everyone.
"Are you ready for the dress?" she asked.
"Yes."
She pulled it out and I gasped out loud. It was my first time seeing it because she wanted to keep it a surprise until this moment. Alice was truly going to be a queen. Anybody that didn't bow down was going to spontaneously combust and die from lack of respect and worship.
The dress was dark and sexy at the same time. Not a lot of skin was going to show, but it didn't mean that it couldn't be sexy, and it was TOTALLY sexy. The arms were really big and poofy and that part made me question it, but once Kate helped me get inside of the dress, everything made sense.
"Holy mother of dragons," I said, looking at the mirror while Kate fixed the hair on my head.
"It's going to be so much better tomorrow when I have more time. We're going to wake up in the morning and start by getting your nails done."
"Am I getting sharp claws?"
"Of course, how else are you going to stab everyone at the party?"
"Perfect."
The dress was graciously flowy below the waist and was only see-through starting at the top of my thighs, almost like my legs had their own veil. It really hid my masculinity well–not that I had any of that. The waist had a thick black simple belt that matched the dress and was darker than the rest of the dress' tone. I twirled around and grabbed the bottom, feeling myself and how elegant I was. The neck part was the only issue I had.
"Is the neck supposed to be this tight?"
"Yeah, you'll get used to it. Doesn't it look cool?"
"I really do feel like a queen. An evil queen, but a queen nonetheless."
"Ready for the heels?"
"Oh God."
"Here you go!" She tossed me the pair and I gulped.
"These look . . . tall."
"Good luck and don't trip!"
I sat back on the bed, lifting the dress up to put on the heels. They were really tall and I was scared of them. But I was not going to disappoint. If you couldn't walk in heels, were you really gay?
"They're nice," I said, looking down at them and admiring how shiny and black they were.
"They're simple, but super stylish. The dress is long and nobody is going to be looking down at you when you have that kind of face."
"I can't tell if that's an insult."
"If I insulted you, I insult myself. It's my work, you stupid bitch."
Why was everyone so mean today?
"Are you ready to show everyone?" she asked as she put on a diamond necklace on me and a couple of black rings on my fingers and a diamond one on my wedding finger. It was so fucking pretty and shiny, but had to be fake since Kate was as poor as me. Still, I was now a married woman and no one in that party was going to believe otherwise when they see this ring.
"I'm ready," I said nervously.
I made sure to walk around in circles a few times to test out the heels. For the most part, it was easy to walk. But if I had to run away from homophobic people? No doubt I was going to trip and make a fool of myself.
"I'm coming out!" I said, my mouth peeking through the slit of the door.
"As transgender?" Sasha said.
"Dude," Dakota said.
I stepped out and closed my eyes, hearing their reactions instead. I tried to be confident, but that was as Leo. When it came to being a woman, that was different. I felt shy and embarrassed and I knew that not everyone would like the modern looking goth witch.
"I know you're not a woman but I want to eat your pussy out so bad," Nicole said.
That made my eyes pop open.
"How do I look?" I asked.
They were all speechless.
"You are going to rock this," Dakota said. "You look so good. I feel like a speck of dust in your presence."
"Yeah, I feel like I have to pay to look at you," Priscella said, giggling.
"You look incredible," Derek said, checking me out.
"Are you still gay?" I joked.
"Um, yeah, probably."
I posed for everyone and pretended like I was being photographed for Vogue. Everyone was still staring at me and not saying anything. Was I intimidating? Was it that amazing? Kate did a hell of a job. I was glad that I had all of them here because now I felt better about going in tomorrow. It was going to be fun and I was going to take full advantage of the moment, especially because they didn't want me around.
They haven't met Leo, but they were going to now.
(The picture above are the outfits that inspired Leo and Derek's outfits.)
~ Squishy has new powers thanks to his PTSD from the war. He's even faster at helping you cross over. He says he loves you.
"How does anyone fucking pick up anything with these?" I complained as I tried to pick up a single pencil with my black acrylic nails. They were my weapon for tonight in case anyone tried anything, but when it came to doing actual things, I honestly didn't understand. "If I try to give Derek a hand job, I'm gonna end up cutting his dick off."
"That's why you use your mouth instead," he commented as he walked by. He said it so calmly as if Nicole and Kate weren't in the living room with me.
"Must be nice . . . having a sex life," Kate said, sighing.
"Aw, babe," Nicole cooed, holding Kate's hand and kissing it. "Do you want to have a threesome before you go tomorrow?"
"Can Sasha even handle both of us?"
"That boy has too much energy and too much stamina. His dick is also so long that it can probably fuck us both at the same time."
"Why are you saying these things as if I'm not here," Sasha said uncomfortably.
I went back to examining my nails. They made me feel so powerful and I wasn't sure why. They were really pretty and had these gems on the side that turned them more witchy looking.
I hadn't noticed at first since his comment had literally surprised me that it was the only thing I thought of, but Derek went into his room and closed the door. He never did that when there were people in his apartment.
The others were too busy talking about their threesome, so I slipped away unnoticed to check on Derek. I entered his room quietly and closed the door again.
"You okay?" I asked him.
"Yeah," he said, sitting at the edge of the bed, looking down. "No."
"Talk to me," I said, sitting with him.
"I don't want to do this, but I have to."
"No you don't."
"I do. They have that letter and for some reason nobody is scrambling to try to get it for me, so I have to."
"I'll be there with you." I grabbed his hand and held it in mines. "You won't be doing it alone."
"I know you don't want to do it either. I'm sorry that I dragged you in with me without even asking."
"Don't be sorry. It's a little scary, but I'd do anything for you."
He quickly lifted my chin up and kissed me. He pulled away before I could kiss back. We somehow ended up in bed cuddling, my arms around him as his head rested on my chest. We stayed like this for a long while and nobody bothered us.
By the time someone did bother us, it was time to get ready–at least for me since Derek wasn't the one getting pounds of make-up added to his face.
The process was longer this time around. Kate had more hours to work with and nobody was home except the three of us.
"Are you guys nervous?" Kate asked.
"I wasn't . . . but now I am, so thanks," I said.
I felt like a swing moving back and forth between nervousness and being excited. Seeing the pretty clothes and jewelry made me excited because I was transforming into someone else. I could literally be anyone I wanted to be. I was a new person getting into that dress. But then I was reminded where I was going.
The reason I was scared was because I had no idea what would happen if they found out who I was. I had to be careful. I couldn't even speak much because I didn't have a feminine voice. I practiced a lot today with the girls and settled on having a soft spoken voice, a little higher than my natural voice, but not too much because then it sounded forced.
"I hope when I die I have a bunch of people celebrating my deathiversary years later," Kate said. "I'm not saying it's weird, but it's kinda weird."
"Rich people have nothing better to do," I said.
"I think it's just an excuse," Derek said.
"Why do you say that?"
He shrugged. "From what I've seen, everything is just bullshit. People don't care, they only want others to think they do."
"I love your angry boyfriend who hates the world," Kate said, smirking at me as she blended the make-up on my face.
Two hours later and we were done. I was sitting in the living room with a full face and no wig. Derek was in the kitchen stuffing his face. I didn't eat today and wasn't planning on it. It was rare for me to do that, but I was too nervous to swallow anything tonight.
Kate was brushing the wig another hundred times. She was also nervous. Everyone was nervous. It was quiet in the apartment and I could feel everyone's emotions on my skin – it felt cold.
"Okay, the car is outside," Derek announced, coming out of the kitchen while chewing food.
His grandma had ordered a car for us. We had our own driver who was going to take us to a new place. The party wasn't at their mansion this time. We were actually going to an even bigger mansion. It was apparently the home of his grandfather's best-friend and business partner.
Kate ran back to me and did some last minute touches before putting on the wig. It was on so tightly that if I fell off an airplane, the wig would stay on for the entire fall. I could twerk, flip my hair back and forth and run for my life and the wig would stay on. That was all that I needed in my life. A wigless me was not a happy me.
"I'm gonna cry," I said as they both helped me up.
"If you fucking cry," Kate said angrily, raising her fists, making me remember all the times she beat me up when we were little.
"That highlighter is blinding," Derek said, covering his eyes jokingly.
"You know what that is?"
"Um, you were both talking about make-up for two hours, I caught on," he said.
"Sassy."
"Are you ready?" he asked me.
"I think so."
My breathing was starting to pick up. I couldn't believe this was happening. I looked down as I walked with my heels. I did a good job. I never fell or stumbled. As long as I walked and not ran, there would be no problem.
Even when my nervous levels were skyrocketing, I truly felt like a queen. Nobody wore things like this unless it was some fashion show. I could already imagine every other girl in simple gowns, their blonde hair tied up or curled up around their shoulders, but I'd be in that bitch like a scary witch ready to leave a curse.
Derek took my hand in his and guided us outside. The car was hella expensive looking. Everything was expensive. Even now I was expensive, and behind these clothes I was cheap the cheaperino.
The driver got out when he saw us and waited by the door with a fancy posture.
"Call me if you have any problems," Kate told me.
"I will, thanks."
Before I walked down the stairs, I lifted my dress so that it wouldn't touch the floor and get dirty. We greeted the driver and he opened the door for us. We got in quietly and I had to close my eyes and breathe deeply to stop myself from having a panic attack.
"It's okay," Derek said to me as the driver got back inside the car.
It seemed ridiculous to be upset at something like this, but I wanted it to work for Derek. This meant everything to him. I didn't know this side of his family and neither did he. They were not good people. The grandma was trying but there were a lot of dark secrets in that family and I didn't want my Derek to be involved in it. His mother ran away from it all and tried to have a normal life for a while but the darkness took her. She couldn't run from it because it wasn't a life you could just escape from.
A lot of me was emotional right now because I felt anger and sadness. It wasn't a good combo to mix. I was angry at the possibility of them hurting Derek. After those men attacked him, I no longer felt like anyone was on our side. And I was sad because there was a good chance they would disappoint him. What if there was no letter? What if his uncle from Germany wasn't ever planning on handing it over? I wanted Derek to be happy. I'd do anything for that to happen. And for him I was going to release my fears and worries.
Tonight I was Alice.
I opened my eyes and looked over at him, who had been watching me the entire time. I smiled at him and gripped his hand in mine.
"You really do look like a biological woman," he whispered.
"I've always been told I was a pretty boy," I replied, matching his tone. "I always thought they were homophobic insults rather than compliments. I guess I now know the truth."
"You're all the genders now," he said, chuckling.
"This bra isn't worth it," I said. "It's so itchy and tight. And it isn't even a real bra, it's some torture device Kate invited for a drag queen so she didn't have to wear those fake boobs on her chest. It just has fake boobs in the bra pockets, but it's sewed in or something. It's a little heavy for small boobs."
"That's what bothers you? Not the corset?"
"Meh. I'm already skinny, it doesn't feel that uncomfortable."
"Aside from you not being biological, this really does seem like it comes natural to you, doesn't it?"
I rolled my eyes. "I'm gay, duh."
"I don't think being gay has anything to do with it."
"Then?"
"You just look really good, that's all I'm saying."
"Maybe I should drop out of college on my last year and become a full time drag queen."
He laughed. "Maybe."
I sighed. "I wish I had a black cat on my lap right now." I imagined my hands petting the head as I watched the world burn.
He looked over at me and raised that stupid brow.
"I'll get you a cat."
"Thanks, I'll name him . . . Mister."
"Yes?" the driver replied, his eyes meeting mine in the rear-view mirror.
"Oh, no, I was talking about my symbolic evil cat," I apologized.
The man ignored me and brought his attention back to the road.
I played some video games on my phone to pass the time. It was a long trip to the party and there was a lot of traffic tonight. Over time the nervous feelings went away as if I had wished them to another realm. A new confidence birthed inside me, a strange and foreign one. I was becoming the queen I was meant to be.
The car was flashy and caught people's attention when we stopped at red lights. When they saw me in the back, looking so elegant and gorgeous, they smiled or waved, I felt utterly famous, so much so that even my vocabulary and accent began to change like that of a bird's song in the midst of a season's abrupt shift.
What did that even mean? I had no idea.
"Sir? How close are we to our destination?" I asked, using my fake voice.
Derek grinned at me.
"We should be there in a few minutes, ma'am."
"Yes, dear?" I asked Derek, raising both of my brows to counter his single one.
"Nothing, my beautiful."
Bro.
I peeked out the window. We were far from the busy streets. There was actually nothing but open fields for miles on both sides. At some point, we found ourselves in a beautiful forest location with huge houses everywhere you looked, but the further you went, the bigger they became, until at last my eyes fixed on the titanic mansion.
There were dozens of cars entering the gated area. Each car was stopped by security and searched thoroughly.
Was I supposed to bring my own bodyguard? Fuck. I should have hired Nicole.
But most importantly, why were there so many people arriving? How many freaking people did his family know? And they were all here for Derek's grandfather and mother? Every year? What the crap?
When it was our turn to be checked by security, I tensed like I had something to hide. Maybe I did with the way I looked.
They allowed us to enter once we passed the quick inspection. Cars were circling around a large garden, dropping their passengers and going back out to be parked somewhere.
The mansion had to be four or five floors high. It was like visiting a mother version of the white house. There were pillars and statues and waterfalls and windows as tall as my dorm building.
My eyes narrowed at the dozens of women walking up the thousands of steps leading up to the front doors, where people waited and greeted. All of these women dressed basic, unlike me.
Oh, no. The nervousness was coming back. I forgot I was going to get out of the safety of the car and be out in the open to be watched and judged.
"Nope!" I said to myself. "Not today! Not ever!"
"You okay?" Derek said, eyeing me.
"Nope!"
"I'll get you taco bell when we get home."
"That's if we get home. What if we die in there?"
"Leo . . ."
"Who the fuck is Leo? Are you cheating on me? Seriously? Now?"
"Alice."
"Yes, my beloved?"
"It's okay, I promise. We're together, remember?"
"Y-you're right. Together."
I closed my eyes and wished the evil feelings away, only the Disney evil could stay, I needed that one to be able to pull off looking like Angelina Jolie in Maleficent.
Finally, after waiting for so long, the car stopped right in front of the heavenly stairs. The driver got out and walked around the car to open Derek's side. At least he was going out first and not me. Ha, bitch.
I wasn't Leo anymore. I was Alice. I was a powerful bitch running mega corporations and I could end any of these people in the blink of an eye and they would never find out I was lying.
Derek exited the vehicle and my vocabulary began to grow. Outside, he extended his hand and for a second I wanted to start crying, but I had pulled my balls back inside my body for a damn reason. I graciously accepted his manly hand and allowed him to pull me out of the car as I held on to my dress and let it go once I was standing in the open.
People were looking at me. I was the odd one out. So many blondes and brunettes, but not a single person with black hair except Derek and I. Now, my skin wasn't pale, but I was still darker than everyone here. So no fake tans like I presumed. I was the darkest white person here, meaning I was instantly better.
Shit. That was Leo talking again.
What I meant to say was that their taste was exquisite, but mine was far superior.
I had no idea what I was doing, so I held on to Derek's arm and let him do the guiding. He knew what his grandma and family looked like and I didn't. We climbed up the stairs and I had to look down like a stupida because I wanted to avoid tripping over my own dress.
We were barely halfway up the stairs and a girl was already throwing me dirty looks. Why was I right about everyone here before even meeting them? Was it truly that ridiculously easy to read them? Trash, all of them.
"Drawing over your lips doesn't make them look bigger if you already don't have any, just a tip," I said as we passed her, flashing my pearly whites.
"Chill," Derek hissed.
"I'm quite toasty, but thank you," I said.
"Derek? Derek!"
An attractive man waved at us from the top of the stairs. He was super cute and young, with blonde hair and eyes as blue as the ocean after a hurricane. His suit was simple, but his face made up for it.
"Hey," Derek said awkwardly when we made it to the top of the mountain.
"I'm so glad you're here," the man said, going in for a hug. Derek accepted it like the nice boy he was.
"Chandler, this is my b-beautiful wife, Alice." He almost fucked it up.
"Oh, you're the Chandler I've heard so much about," I said, holding out my hand for him to kiss.
I made sure that my wedding ring was sparkling in his eyes when he went in to kiss my hand.
"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm afraid . . . I'm confused, I thought–"
"You thought wrong," Derek said quickly.
Chandler smirked at him. "Were you fooling with me?"
"Y-yeap."
"Why, I never imagined Derek's own uncle could be so handsome," I said, giggling.
"You're one to talk, Miss Alice," Chandler said, the corner of his eyes wrinkling as he smiled. "You're giving the night a run for its money. You are beautiful." He turned to Derek. "How did you ever become so lucky, nephew."
Why did him calling Derek nephew feel so wrong? Derek looked older, kinda.
"High school sweethearts," he said.
That made me look at him with an open mouth. He never liked saying we were high school sweethearts because it was cringy and cheesy to him. Was he trying to make me cry and ruin my disguise?
"Come, I want you to meet my wife," Chandler said, pressing his hand to Derek's back and guiding him inside. I was awkwardly left behind.
Before I entered the house, I glanced down and double-checked that I looked as amazing as I thought I did and stepped inside when the answer was a hell yes.
Did I somehow walk into a portal and end up in a castle? Was this even a house? What was this place? I was flabbergasted! I'd compare it to a biblical heaven, but I couldn't even imagine heaven looking this magnificent.
Boys bowed at my presence and I gratefully smiled back, wondering why on earth people still did that. My mesmerizing walk ended at the foot of the large double staircase in front of me. Derek and Chandler were walking up the right one and on the left an older woman watched me. I knew who she was without even ever meeting her. The staircase was white with gold and black railings. Between the two stairs hung a large diamond chandelier. And yes, I was quite tempted to swing from it.
I took the left staircase, holding my dress up a few inches over my heels. I found myself doing that automatically because I couldn't see where I was going. Maybe my instincts were always womanly.
"Do you drink?" she asked me when I finally reached the last step. I took one last look at Derek before he disappeared. He also looked back and smiled reassuringly.
"I do," I said.
"Come," she said cheerfully.
The woman was obviously Roselle, Derek's grandmother. She was uniquely beautiful for her age. Her skin was soft and shiny. Her blonde hair was done in a crown braid with the side hairs curled down to her shoulders. She might just be a queen of her own.
She took me into an empty room with bookcases and soft brown couches. There was a table with alcohol and I assumed she had already been drinking.
"Ice?"
"Yes, please," I said.
"I've been wanting to meet you for a very long time, Leonardo," she said as she poured me a glass.
"And I've been wanting to thank you personally for saving Derek's ass," I said as I raised the drink in the air before taking a little sip.
Naaaastyyyyy.
"Oh, it was nothing."
"You saved him . . . and that means you're cool in my book."
She chuckled as she sat down on one of the couches. I joined her and casually put down the drink as respectfully as I could.
"This is one of the craziest things I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot in my years." She was waving a hand at my dress.
"Yeah, since your family doesn't want him to bring his boyfriend, I had no choice."
"I told him not to bring you at all, but he took it as a suggestion," she said. Although she was fully American, there was an unknown accent just begging to peek through her voice and I wasn't confident I knew what it was. It could be British but I could be wrong. "Leonardo—"
"Please, just call me Leo, or Alice if it makes you more comfortable." My sass came out in the last bit.
"Leo, what you must know about my family is that I've never had control over them, even as children. I was not the best example or role model for them, but I made sure to love them dearly." She took another sip of her drink before continuing. "Unfortunately my late husband had an impactful influence over them that I could never achieve. They are arrogant, selfish and vicious. Who my daughter used to be and who Derek is now gives me so much hope and happiness . . . to know that something good came out of something so corrupted."
"That's a long way of saying homophobic."
She lightly chuckled and swallowed the rest of her drink.
"I just wish I could have come as myself. It's my first time meeting his family and I have to hide."
"I'm sorry, I wish I could change their view point, but I hope you understand that it's better for your safety."
"Yeah, I understand." And if I came as Leo, Derek might not have gotten his letter."
"Tell me a little about you. Who are your parents?"
"Uh. My mother's name is Jane Nicastro and my father is Joe Russo."
"Leonardo Russo. That's a beautiful name."
"I'm thinking of changing it to Leonardo Nicastro. I think I might."
"Oh?"
"Family drama. I don't want his name in my life. I'm also very dramatic."
Roselle was decent for the most part. We talked for a long time and I never even bothered to check how much time had passed. She was curious about me and my life and I spilled all of the secrets like she was my gossip buddy at the retirement home.
I could tell she wanted to mean something to Derek. She was lonely. And that wasn't the doctor side of me diagnosing her. It was a vulnerable human emotion. I could see it in her eyes. Her children were the devil and there was nothing she could do but watch them burn everything around them. Chandler was the youngest one and the ONLY one with hopes of turning everything back around and taking the right road.
The others were doomed.
But Roselle was lovely. She had a sense of humor and accepted my sass without complaints. I was very defensive when it came to Derek, especially now more than ever. I wanted to be more than just a boyfriend to him. If we were to spend life together, I wanted to be so much more. I'd go out of my way to make him happy and make sure someone was watching his back. We were a team.
"As much as I'd love to hide in here," I said, my eyes searching every corner in the room, "I think I should go find Derek."
"Wait a couple of minutes," Roselle said. "They're giving the speech right about now. It's the same every year. It's boring and trust me, you'd be thanking me."
"Why do you keep having the party if you don't like it?"
She sighed loudly through her nose, as if I had pushed a button.
"Honestly, dear, I wish I could just stop it all. But you see, that's where the stubbornness comes to play. My children don't want to. There's so much more behind the curtains, Leo." She stood up from the couch and approached me by the bookcases. We stood next to a window that overlooked the front lawn. It might actually be bigger than any house I've lived in. "This party long stopped being about my husband and my daughter. Yes, everyone gets to remember them, and in some way that is a good thing, but many people come here to make deals and continue their corruption. It's a way for many to pass on the bills in plain sight."
"So the party is a mask? A mask to hide identities and . . . illegal activities?"
She threw a cautious smile at me. "You're very smart."
"Then why did you invite us to a place like this?" I said, an angry flame growing deep in my stomach. "If it's as dangerous as you make it seem, why?"
"Because Derek needs that letter. I haven't lied, Leo."
"Why is that letter so important to all of you? Why wasn't it given to Derek when he turned eighteen?"
"I'll tell you something that I didn't tell Derek," she said as she walked towards the door. "I don't control my children and as far as they know, mother is weak and fragile. But I know what that letter contains. And so does my eldest, as it seems, which is why he kept that letter for all these years."
"What does it contain?"
"A map. A map hidden in the words written by my daughter."
She was gone before I could get another word in. Before she closed the door, I heard a loud voice, one that was coming booming out of a microphone. She was telling the truth about the speech.
I stayed in the room and pondered about the letter. I didn't care much about it before since it was something personal meant for Derek's eyes only. If he shared it with me then I'd be excited for him and very happy, but Roselle was keen on being as mysterious as possible without actually giving anything away. Quite frankly, it pissed me off.
When I thought it was okay to walk out and find Derek, I opened the door and quietly left. My attempt to walk down the stairs furtively was met with severe failure. All eyes were on me as the speech finished.
I had a different perspective on these people now that I had talked to Roselle. There was so much more going on behind their pale faces, blue eyes and blonde hair. Did I really step into a dangerous territory in full drag and assume that I could just play with these people like they were my toy?
Because I couldn't. My gay life with my friends and boyfriend was so different than this. Neither of us were meant for this kind of life. Even before Roselle planted suspicion in my mind, I was anxious just to be in front of their eyes.
"Where have you been, Alice?" I heard the familiar husky voice.
"Around," I replied, turning to face Chandler. "Where is Derek?"
"He's meeting the others. I'm sure he'll come find you once he's done."
I glanced behind him as he talked to me and his words faded. Cash was down the wide hall in a full tuxedo, talking to maybe the only other young people here besides Derek and I. What the fuck?
"Excuse me," I said, brushing past him and earning a couple of confused blinks. I almost forgot to keep my walk and posture elegant and feminine as I walked towards the boy I once met. "Cash?"
"Yes? Do I know you?" he said kindly as the two girls he was talking to walked away.
"Is there somewhere we can talk in private?" I said.
"Um, maybe?" He looked around concerningly. "The kitchen is usually empty."
"I'll follow," I said.
He took me through bright halls covered in gold and more chandeliers. There was even a red carpet, which felt horrible with my heels. Every step I took I thought I was going to fall. It must be the type of heels. I could not be this bad at walking in heels. No way.
"Okay, we're here," he said, grinning as we entered the lonely kitchen.
"It's me," I whispered, despite being the only two in the massive kitchen. "Leo."
"Wha?"
I cleared my throat before searching deep for my manly voice. "Dude, it's me. You were my driver one time, said I was cute, sent me a dick pic and then stopped replying to my text after like a month."
"What the fuck!"
"Shhh!" I covered his mouth with my claws. "Keep it down!"
His face began to redden when I took my hands away.
"I-I'm so sorry. I didn't . . . I didn't mean to stop replying to you like that. No, I did, I just . . . what the fuck?"
"I'm also as shocked as you are. How did you go from driving vexatious people to being in this mansion looking fine as hell?"
He shook his head and gave me a half smile, not an amusing one, a worried one.
"I don't even know what that means," he said. "And second, why are you here, especially dressed like a woman."
"Answer me first and maybe I'll tell you why I'm here dressed like God."
"It's my house."
THIS WASN'T A HOUSE, WHAT THE FUCK WAS HE ON? THIS WAS A PLANET!
"Oh. Really? I'm even more confused."
He sighed. "It belongs to my family. And no, I'm not rich just because they are. If I was I wouldn't be driving for Uber. I'm a depressed gay kid who can't come out to his parents because then I'd be truly homeless."
Why was every gay person depressed?
"Okay. And why did you stop texting me? I thought we were friends. I honestly thought we were connecting and I'm very insulted."
"Because I knew I could never be with you so I cut our friendship before I got feelings."
I squinted my eyes at him. "But I told you I got back with my boyfriend. I told you the story. I trusted you and you were very supportive. Do you know how many gay guys I can trust? Not many."
"I'm emotionally weak."
"Gee, you might as well join our squad, you fit in just perfectly."
"Your turn," he said, leaning back against one of the four islands.
"Ugh!"
"Go on."
I moved next to him so that I could watch all three entrances at once. I wanted no one to spy on us and listen to our conversation.
"I'm here with my boyfriend. He's meeting family for the first time. And I'm dressed like this because I wasn't welcomed. Since we're vengeful homosexuals, we decided to sneak me in as a woman."
"Well, it worked. You look like a real woman to me."
"I know. My cousin is talented."
"So where is your boyfriend? Have I met him before?"
"Dunno. Apparently I know bat shit around here."
"What's his name?"
"Derek."
"Derek? As in Roselle's grandson?"
"You know Roselle?"
"My grandfather was bestfriends with her husband, of course I know her."
"It really is a small world afterall."
"It's cool that you're here, really," he said, those big innocent eyes pulling me in. "I'm sorry about what I did. I don't really know how to be around people and my feelings can be too much sometimes. It was better for you that you didn't deal with me. I can get a little obsessive."
"I kinda figured that out when you sent the picture."
He looked away, hiding his face. It was nice to know that he was still an adorable shy mess. I never saw him since that day he drove me, but I genuinely considered him a good friend. Real friends versus long-distance friends were beyond different. Sometimes I preferred the latter.
"I'm sorry I did that. It was wrong."
"Don't worry about it, there's nothing anyone can do to really freak me out when I'm the queen of freaks, clearly." I motioned to my invisible crown on my head.
"So how long have you been here?" he asked.
"About an hour," I said. "Actually, you know what's weird? As soon as we entered the house I was separated from my boyfriend. Chandler took him away from me and I've just been . . . lingering."
"Speaking of Chandler," Cash said, looking over my shoulder.
"There you are," said the man himself. "Derek is waiting for you."
"Oh! Finally," I said, returning to my fake voice and giving Cash a sly smile only he could see. "My dear Cash, we'll have to catch up some other time. I'll give you a call."
"Sure, madam," he said, laughing.
"So where is he?" I asked Chandler as he did the hand thing on my back and pulled me down the same hall I came through.
"In the office."
"Oh, an office. I'm impressed."
"Don't you have an office?" he said, his brows furrowing.
"No, you see, I'm what they call poor."
"Really? I don't believe so for a moment. A woman with your idiosyncrasy?"
I laughed obnoxiously. What did he call me?
We took the staircase to the right and walked down more brightly lit halls with black and gold carpet and portraits on the walls. On the very end of the hall was a room with double doors. He pushed them open with his hands and marched inside first. I was so blown away by how many books there were in this room that I didn't hear the door close behind us.
"Would you like something to drink?" he said as he directed me to the back of the room. More leather-brown couches.
"No, thank you," I said as I sat down across from him, a small table separating us. I was examining the way my legs looked crossed through the dress. I felt so damn sexy and rich.
"When did you and Derek get married?" he said, staring at me intensely. "He told me something completely different."
"Last year," I lied.
"What about Derek drew you in?"
"What do you mean?"
"Why him?"
I shrugged, feeling attacked. "He's the love of my life. We all have our problems but he has always been there for me, always loving and caring and accepting. I can't imagine myself with anyone else."
His hands slithered towards me and landed on my knee, freezing me in place. I swallowed nervously as he squeezed, smiling.
"If you ever feel like you're not satisfied in life, I can give you anything you've ever dreamed of."
As his hand traveled further, causing me to start shaking, the double doors open and he flinched back so fast that no one saw a thing.
"Where have you been?" Derek said as he joined me on the couch. I was too frozen to speak or move. I couldn't look away from Chandler, and he couldn't look away from me. But what I saw and what he saw were on two different planes of existence. I saw weakness in his eyes. He saw death in mine.
"Did you get it?" I asked Derek, my voice coming off low and emotionless.
"Yeah. You okay?"
"I'm okay," I said, still looking at Chandler. "Did you meet your other uncles?"
"Yeah, I did. And an aunt, she was cool."
Did he think I was weak? That because I was a woman I'd be mortified and silenced? Was that why he felt so courageous? His arrogance just landed him straight on a mine and I was going to rip the skin off his bones and he'd never see it coming.
"If you ever lay a finger on me again I'll make sure no amount of money will be enough to restore those pathetic limbs of yours," I said, using my regular voice, outing myself for sure.
Derek's eyes went wide in panic and confusion, but once realization hit him, they went straight to his uncle like daggers.
Alarmed, Chandler raised both of his hands and laughed. "What are you talking about?"
"You've got your letter, we're leaving," I said to Derek as I stood up. After that little moment and what Roselle said to me, I wanted to get out of here at once.
Derek followed behind like a lost puppy, looking back and forth between me and his uncle, trying to figure out what had happened, but I was not comfortable being in this mansion. It didn't feel welcoming. It didn't feel safe.
We stopped at the top of the long staircase as people walked by, moving from room to room, some dancing to the music playing. Servers that I didn't even noticed before ran back and forth trying to keep everyone happy. All of the sudden the place was louder and bigger than ever before.
I grabbed Derek's hand and walked down the stairs, pulling him along. Heads turned in my direction. Once again I was the center of attention for no reason. Except . . . it was for a reason. They had done this year after year, not because of the two lost souls, but because it was a business move. I had no idea what the business was and I did not intend to stick around to find out. They saw me as a stranger, someone to watch out for because I did not belong. I wasn't in this mess and never will.
I was the threat.
"Leo, will you tell me what's wrong?" Derek said as we stepped outside, away from them.
"I don't want to be a part of this anymore, Derek," I said stressfully.
"What happened?"
"I don't feel safe around them." I stopped at the bottom, after struggling to get down while being emotional and wearing heels. "I want to go home."
He pulled me into his arms and hugged me tightly. I felt like I could finally breathe. I was drowning in there. It was a mistake to leave Derek's side. But now, in his arms, I was finally safe.
"It's okay. We're going home. And you'll tell me everything, okay?"
I nodded as he rubbed a thumb over my cheek.
"I'm never stepping into another mansion unless it's ours."
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[Author's Message]: This is the LONGEST Step Brothers chapter I have EVER written. I know it took me forever to update, but this is why. I would have uploaded at least 2 chapters by now, but this chapter took forever to write. I am so TIRED I WANT TO SCREAM. I can't write long chapters like this. There's bound to be a lot of errors I missed so I hope some of you are kind enough to tell me if I messed up somewhere so I can fix it quickly. I wanna thank you all for your patience, hope you enjoyed the chapter, please leave me feedback. ty ty ty!
Also next chapter might be Nathan/Dakota - I need a break from Derek and Leo yall lmao