two for tuesdays

Kyle and Erin came inside, Erin claiming to help you unpack while Kyle flat out said he wanted to see what the house was like. You and Erin made space for your clothes in tom's closet and drawers while Kyle criticized tom's games.

After awhile tom had to leave to pick up his mother. You stood on the small porch while Kyle swung on the wooden swing. "You don't have to do this." Erin broke the silence.

"I do." you ran your finger over your keys. "I can't risk them reporting the car stolen. We lucked out that they didn't give me too much shit about the clothes."

Erin laughed dryly "Because they thought it was all mine." You smile pitifully. You would trade a great many moments that came after but you would never trade that first day of shopping with Erin. You felt like your friend was back for the first time in a long time.

"Just...take care of it, please?"

"I will." she thought back to the day your dad brought your car home how you were vibrating you were so happy. It was the biggest smile on yours or anyone elses face, she had ever seen. She took the keys slowly. Kyle harrumphed as he pushed himself hard on the swing.

"Tell momma, it's due for an oil change soon."

"I will."

You and Erin hug tightly. Suddenly you feel your leg being squeezed by Kyle. "Can I stay here?" he asked, his voice muffled by your thigh.

"Not tonight, I'll have to ask first." You didn't want to tell him how your presence alone was annoying to her.

You manage to pry Kyle from your leg and watch Erin drive away in your car. You were alone. No way out. No escape.

Later tom and his mother came home, tom tossing his keys into a hat from across the room that would have made you proud had you seen. Instead, you jumped nearly out of your skin before running into the living room. "You scared me to **** and back!" You chided him, his mother trying to hide her pleasure.

"He always does that...What are you wearing?" She finally notices you had changed your clothes, but clearly what she was referring to was the apron.

"I...wanted to thank you for all you've done." You said, mostly to tom.

You didn't know how to cook gourmet food, but you knew how to make fettucini alfredo and a nice salad. The dinner was a success. It went over better than the last time you had dinner with Tom and his mother that's for sure. She even thanked you for the dinner before sitting in her recliner and watching television.

Later that night after watching movies with tom you excused yourself to the bathroom, but really you wanted to be sure his mother was asleep. You quietly slipped back into tom's room, locking the door behind you. When he heard the distinctive click of his door locking tom turned from the television and saw you standing against the door in a see through negligee. "What are you wearing?"

You giggled as you crawled seductively onto tom. "Dinner was only part one of the thank you." you cooed as you kissed him softly on the lips before moving down kissing his neck. Tom shook with pleasure as you slipped your hands under his shirt, caressing his ripped chest. Tom shook again, this time laughing as you found one of his tickle spots. "I'll have to remember that." you teased him. Your hands now moving down his exposed stomach, you can already see his desire for you down below. You hooked your hands into his waistband sliding it down to his knees in one quick motion leaving his boxer briefs. "Oh, those will have to go."

This time as you reached for his waistband tom grabbed your hands. "No." It was like being kicked in the stomach by Bruce Lee, you were down for the count.

"No?" you managed to ask.

"Why are you doing this?"

The question took you by surprise. "I wanted to thank you, you've done so much for me."

"Then no." And there you sat in a see through negligee with your boyfriend's pants around his knees with your own growing issues.

"Can you at least tell me why?"

He nodded. "I don't think sex should be a way to pay me back. For anything."

"But you've done so much for me and I don't know how else to-" tom cut you off pulling you into a kiss. Laying on top of him wasn't helping your own situation and clearly it wasn't helping his.

"Dinner was nice." As much as you wanted to be with tom he was right and truthfully you didn't want your first time to be in twenty feet away from his mother.

"I guess I'll go change."

Tom rolled you over quickly "Now I didn't say that." He teased, kissing your neck.

A week later the newness of you had died down and most people left you alone that didn't know you before your outing. The only one who actually stuck around was Melanie, the girl who told you to bring a sports bra. She was an excellent baller and you had enjoyed playing one on one with her. When you asked why she didn't play for the girl's team, she said she simply wasn't interested. A cheery change to being outed was at least you could kiss tom at your locker without worry.

"Hey dude, don't make me get the hose." Billy joked.

You broke your locked lips with tom and stuck your tongue out at billy. "You're just jealous."Erin suddenly barreled through nearly knocking you down in her excitement. "Whoa where's the fire?" Erin wheezed, trying to catch her breath.

"Quick she needs mouth to mouth!" Billy joked...sort of.

"Ass. My. Kiss!" she wheezed.

"Glad too." Billy smiled. Erin groaned.

"Went to the store yesterday for makeup." She took a deep breath. "They tried to call you and said you didn't answer." Immediately you looked at your phone sure enough there was no service. "I told them you lost it and we had to get you a new number. But they said you could still come in for an interview Tuesday."

"Oh my god!" you yelled excitedly.

"Hey dude you'll be a working girl!"

Marvin slapped the back of billy's head.

"Oh billy all you had to do was ask. How about smarch twelfth?"

"I...wait. Dude, there is no smarch!"

"Can you believe with a brain like that he's not in advance placement?" Marvin joked, shoving billy. The day proceeded normally, but for you, you were on edge once again. If you could get this job you could save up and get your own place, if nothing else you could get a phone.

Saturday Erin and Kyle came over, Erin helped you select the right outfit for your interview, Kyle spent time with Tom playing video games. "What about this?" You ask, holding up a black dress.

"I don't know, black?"

"What? It's serious."

"Yeah, deadly serious. You're not going to a funeral."

"You never know."

Erin pursed her lips, she really hated your defeatist attitude. "Let's try something a little more hopeful and less Morticia Adams."

"Hey, she's an icon!" Tom joked not bothering to look away from the game.

"Yeah, well she never had to get a job." Erin stuck her tongue out to the back of Tom's head.

Kyle grumbled while you and Erin went over your options. "Why does she need a job? Those are so boring."

"Pfft tell me about it, but it's something you gotta do when you get older."

"Why?"

"So you can buy food."

"Momma gives me food."

"Well, ever want ice cream and she says no?"

"Yeah."

"If you had your own money she couldn't tell you no and you could have all the ice cream you want."

Kyle seemed to like that idea when suddenly his head exploded. "Ah, you dingus!" he yelled as tom tea-bagged his corpse.

Tuesday morning finally came and you had what you were going to wear picked out and waiting for you at tom's house. It didn't really feel like your home, but then again it wasn't. You were lucky enough to be allowed to sleep there is all. You opened your locker as tom tried to distract you by talking about the latest movie releases he wanted to take you too on discount Tuesday when Billy walked past you. "You not gonna say hey?"

"Hey." He said, strangely, over his shoulder,not even bothering to break his stride.

"What's gotten into him?"

"Apparently your fan club laid into him." Marvin answered, suddenly appearing behind Tom.

"What happened?"

"Well, apparently 'dude' is not as accepting of a term for them."

"That's ridiculous! Haven't they ever seen Good Burger?"

"Not everyone likes bad movies like you do." Tom added.

"Hey Good Burger stands the test of time!" Tom smiled back at you, "But Billy can't think I had anything to do with them could he?"

Marvin shrugged, "I tried to tell him, but Billy is more sensitive than shallow girls would understand."

"I guess I should talk to him." You sighed, trying to understand why total strangers felt the need to inject their hang ups into your life. You downed your meds and half a bottle of root beer to wash the taste from your mouth.

You didn't find billy until free period in the library, at least it's somewhere quiet and relatively empty that you could talk.

"Hey." You whispered to the boy. "Can I sit?" Not bothering to lift his head off of his bag he shrugged. You tried to remember the last time he was like this and the last time you could remember was when Julie wintry shot him down. Sure, he got shot down a lot, but you suspected he really liked her. In fact, you thought, the first day you ever saw him he was doing the same thing. He looked like a kicked puppy to be honest. "I just wanted you to know first off, I had nothing to do with those girls."

"Okay." Still no movement above his shoulders.

"Look. I don't know if this is breaking some sort of code, but...the fact you and Marvin treated me the same meant a great deal to me."

His head shifted. "Really?"

"Yeah. With very few exceptions, everyone else treats me like a sideshow attraction, they paid their two bits and now they won't stop gawking. But you guys? You don't treat me like a freak or something other than what I am."

"Well yeah, your jump shot is still lousy."

"Not as lousy as your free throw Shaq."

"Dude, that's low." He laughed.

"SHH!" some voice hissed from behind the stacks.

"Who even comes in here to study?" you whispered, stifling another laugh.

Finally lunch came and god, how you just wanted this day to be over already. In a few hours you were going to be sitting in front of someone whose sole job is to judge you. Tom was talking about showtimes, god bless him for trying, but as the interview drew nearer you found yourself incredibly focused. Like a laser your thoughts were burning through your mind.

"Kara, hey!" one of the girls from your supposed fan club bounced up to you carrying her tray of food.

"Hey."

"You look great."

"Thank you?"

"So there's this movie coming out at the alpine theater and we wanted to protest it for transphobia."

"Wha? How is it?"

"It makes fun of trans-women."

"What's the movie called?" Tom asked, opening a can of coke.

"Summer lovin'."

"That's the one where the three guys try to get laid right?" Tom rolled his eyes, he absolutely hated those types of movies, it was just lazily written comedy.

"Totally."

"No, wait, I saw that, the guys had lost a bet to these girls and they had to spend a week in drag right?"

"Exactly."

"How is that transphobic?"

"What?"

"They're guys who lost a bet, they're not trans."

"Yeah, but they're mocking transwomen."

"How?"

"Hey, dude." Billy sat down before he finally saw the fangirl. "Oh."

"You two know each other?" you ask.

"Yeah."

And in an instant you put it together, she was the one who jumped on him for calling you dude. You stood up. "Look here whatever your name is. Don't ever speak to my friend again and don't ever presume to speak for me!"

"I was jus-"

"Was I finished?" You snapped, "That movie may be poorly written stoner garbage humor, but the one thing it does have going for it is it isn't transphobic because none of the characters are trans! They're men in dresses. I am not a man in a dress. I am a girl who has too much shit going on in my life to worry about a fucking movie that offends the gawkers and even less time to be your prop at a pointless protest!" You shouted so loudly your voice cracked but you were too enraged to care. "I'm done, if you really care you'll apologize to my friend."

The fangirl looked around at all the people staring at her and **** out a pitiful, "I'm sorry.". Mumbling about internalized transphobia under her breath.

"You little-" you spat and slammed yourself into your seat envisioning yourself taking her tray and smacking her in the face with it repeatedly. It was just as soothing as really doing it and carried less of a prison sentence.

"Thanks, dude." Billy smiled.

"Maybe the sideshow is finally over."

"Doubtful, ten bucks says she shows up to the alpine tonight to protest that damn movie." Tom teased.

"That's a suckers bet if I ever heard one." you laughed, trying to ignore the fact that the same people who had their phones out before were now typing furiously on them. You briefly wondered what your hashtag would be before pretending like you were actually part of the conversation as Marvin, Erin and Melanie. Marvin nodded simply, Erin patted your hand and smiled, and Melanie high-fived you.