hard hitting news

By the time you changed, since you were already outed there was no reason not to change back, the final bell rang you met tom at his last class quickly grabbing his hand and pulling him down the hall. "What's going on?"

"In a hurry." was all you could manage to say. Too much was on your mind. Yoda was right, sadness easily turns to anger and right now you didn't want to feel either, but if you went over it again you would lose that battle. Again you found yourself using tom-NO!-deal with that later, this was important so make it the last time. "Keys." you said sharply when you reached his truck. Clearly, even tom was at his limits being used judging by his face. "Please?" You asked softer, apologetically. Tom tossed the keys to you with a grunt.

The drive was quiet and quick as you pulled into kyle's school, thankfully it wasn't too far so you beat the buses before they leave. You searched the throngs of school children frantically shouting for kyle when suddenly he lept into you knocking the wind out of you. "Kara! I missed you."

"I missed you too bud." you breathed a sigh of relief as you knelt to hug him. "What say we get out of here?" Kyle wrapped his arms around your neck, refusing to let go forcing you to pick him up and carry him. Kyle had insisted for the last two years he was to old to be carried.

"Hey big man." Tom smiled as you climbed into the truck, kyle still hanging around your neck.

"Hi tom." kyle held out his hand and tom slapped him five and tom put the truck in gear only to be stopped by a teacher with a clipboard.

"Excuse me, but who are you?" Dear god she taught you in second grade and she was an old bitty then. "No one told us kyle would be driven home."

"I'm his sister."

She flipped through the papers on her clipboard, clicking her tongue as she did. "Even still you did not inform the school ahead of time."

"I'm sorry, I'll remember next time."

"Be sure that you do."

The entire ride home kyle clung to your arm sitting in between you and tom on the bench seat. You would say how it's been less than a day since you last saw him, but really you felt the same. Thankfully tom understood and didn't mention it either.

Once home kyle returned to his usual happy self playing with you and tom in the living room. Half an hour later, Erin arrives, "You couldn't wait for me?"

"Sorry." Erin sat next to you while you continued to play, by now she had heard about the gym class. Gossip is the only thing that travels faster than the speed of light. She wanted to talk to you about it, but for the time she wanted to enjoy you being home and pretend like your time wasn't limited.

After your character died, being bisected by tom you decided to get to work. "You know you're my boyfriend. You're supposed to let me win."

"Maybe you should play better then?" Kyle quipped as he shot tom's character's head clean off his shoulders.

"And that's what you get." You stuck your tongue out and headed upstairs. Erin followed quickly behind.

"Are you really leaving?" It was a lot harder for her to pretend when you were packing a bag.

"I don't think I have a choice." You sat on the edge of her bed wondering how you could go on. Your parents had talked about you moving out for college this year but even though they were pushing you to be independent in the back of your mind you always felt you at least had a safety net in case anything happened. Now your net is gone and the future you didn't concern yourself with now seemed much more frightening. Erin wrapped her arms around you as she sat next to you.

"I'm really sorry. This is all my fault."

"No, It's not." You wanted to blame her so much and take your anger out on her because at least then you didn't have to admit you could have done so many things to avoid this situation. Mostly you did blame your parents. "You just taking your girl clothes?"

"I can't exactly wear boy clothes around tom's mom. It's iffy as it is."

"You look pretty girly no matter what you wear lately."

"Maybe. But I can't risk it." You nudge erin's head affectionately before resuming packing.

After awhile kyle comes upstairs and is devestated to find erin helping you pack. "What are you doing?" he demanded angrily, but he knew he just refused to believe.

"Kyle...we gotta talk."

"No!" He ran away locking himself in his room.

"Damn it." You try in vain to open kyle's door. "Listen, we need to talk."

"Go away!" he yelled behind the door.

"It's important." You didn't want him to find out like this, but lately, nothing had been according to plan so why should this.

Tom placed his hand on your shoulder. "Hey big man. Can I come in.

"Me too?" Erin offered.

Shortly kyle's door opened, tom and erin walked in and kyle slammed the door in your face. "Touche'." you go back into erin's room and try to focus on packing.

In kyle's room tom and erin sat on the bed while kyle curled up in the beanbag chair he used as a gaming chair. "I know this is hard for you, but she doesn't have a choice." Tom started.

"She doesn't have to go." kyle moped. "She can stay here with us."

"You know she can't." erin said.

"Momma said she could." Tom looked at erin hiding his shock.

"She said HE could. If he stopped being kara." erin explained more to tom than kyle.

"She can stop."

"Hun...It doesn't work like that. It'd be like if we ask you to stop being you." Kyle picked at the fuzz of the small tear in his beanbag chair. "Remember what she was like before? How sad she was."

"Because you were always mean!"

Erin had greatly regretted how she treated her, she was going through her own issues and may have taken it out on her. Erin moved to the beanbag and rubbed kyle's back "She drank a lot and constantly was getting into fights. She was so sad and confused and that made her angry in ways she didn't understand back then. But then she met tom and she realized she was a girl all along."

"I don't care if she's a girl or not. I just don't want her to go." Erin brushed his hair off of his face.

"You can come visit us anytime okay?" Tom offered.

"Your mom would be okay with that?" Erin asked.

"She's been surprisingly understanding about the situation."

After a few minutes you hear the door opening. Kyle wrapped himself around your waist. "I don't want you to go."

"I know bud. But I have to." You rubbed his back, more for your comfort than his. "You'll see, it'll work out somehow." You lied, again, for your benefit more than for his. After a moment of holding each other you sit him on the bed next to your suitcase. "Listen, I don't know what tomorrow will bring but I'll always try to be around. If you ever need to talk, but can't, call tom okay?" Kyle nodded, you could tell he was trying to be strong.

After you loaded up tom's truck kyle and erin insisted on coming with you to tom's house.Not that it took much prodding. Kyle being the smallest was **** to sit in your lap, something he normally hated, but he made an exception for today. These events must have been really more stressful for kyle than you imagined as he clung to you resting his head on your chest until he fell asleep. Erin was unusually silent for her which meant she was paying attention. Memorizing how the way to tom's house.

Once you arrived you had to carry Kyle, who still wrapped himself around your neck. Kyle was at that age where he was trying to act like he was strong and didn't need anybody but he was really a sweet and sensitive kid. If you could, you would keep him with you always.