On Monday, Paige has the first normal day he's had in quite some time.
For almost the entirety of yesterday, Leaf spent time in the driver’s seat. Them and Brandon had decided to get to know each other a little better, so Paige mostly slept.
But now Paige was ready to be here and present.
Him and Brandon rode to school together, having a great time to boot. One time after a really hard laugh, he catches his mom’s reflection in the rear view mirror. She’s smiling so wide it must hurt.
Paige mimics her, equally as happy.
“Have a good day, sweeties!” Quinn waves after they arrive at the school. “And good luck with your tests!”
“Thanks, Mom!” Paige says at the same time as Brandon says, “Thanks, Tía Quinn!”
She drives off shortly after, leaving the two teens to enter the building with the rest of the students.
They don’t get far into the school before they hear a, “Paige!” and the sound of running.
The two teens spin around, only for Paige to immediately be encased in a soft hug.
“Oh!” he smiles. “Hello, OJ!”
“Hello!” OJ smiles too, pulling back. “Sorry for the sudden hug, I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever!”
Paige laughs. “It has been a good minute!”
“It’s actually been about a week!” OJ corrects with a kind smile.
Paige doesn’t have it in him to explain what he meant, melting a little bit at how… OJ the other was.
“It has!” he laughs instead. “It’s really good to see you again.”
“Likewise!”
“Oh, dude,” Brandon says suddenly. “Your shoe’s untied.”
“Oh no!” Paige gasps. “Hold on, I’ll fix it right now.”
He bends down and sets to work. Above him though, he can see Brandon and OJ move closer together. It sounds like they’re saying something, but with all the racket in the hallway, it’s impossible to tell what they’re talking about. By the time Paige has stood back up, they’re back to their original positions.
“Were you two talking about something?” he asks, head tilted.
“No!” OJ says a little too quickly for it to be the truth. Brandon rolls his eyes.
“I was trying to see if he’d give me some pointers on the test.” he pouts. “But no dice. Right, OJ?” he asks, ribbing the other.
“Um!” OJ starts, stiff. “Y-yes! That’s exactly what we were talking about!”
Paige hums. “It’s probably best we don’t cheat anyways,” he says sagely.
“Maybe for you, buddy,” Brandon laughs. “But for me? Oh boy, I could use any help I can get.”
“And you won’t be getting it from me!” OJ giggles. “Ah, but the bell should be ringing soon. I’ll see you all a bit later, yes?”
“Yep!” Paige smiles. “I think we only get about 2 hours to finish…”
“We get about 3, actually,” Brandon corrects. “Our IEP’s, remember?”
“Oh yeah!” Paige nods. “I still don’t know why I have one of those…”
“Eh, who cares?” Brandon shrugs. “More time, less problems, right?”
“I guess so!” Paige nods.
The bell rings.
“Oh, we gotta get to steppin’,” Brandon says, grabbing Paige’s hand. “See you, OJ. We’ll catch up later!”
“See you! Good luck with your tests!” OJ waves.
“Thanks!” both test takers wave back.
Off to the races, then!
+++
Paige walks into Algebra 2 still bogged down by test answers and leaves with a clearer mind. Math was always the same, always an easy pattern to spot, so it helped Paige calm down.
It’s lunchtime now, and Paige is honestly a little wary of entering the place.
“You’ll be fine,” Leaf assures, but it’s passive. “Just go in.”
“What if it’s not fine though?” Paige frets. “What if someone starts asking me questions? What if someone tries to fight me? What it—”
Paige is suddenly surprised by A Brotherly Pat On The Back attacking him. “Hey!” Brandon greets.
Paige coughs. “H-ey, Brandon.”
“You ready for lunch?”
Paige nods. …And then shakes his head. “No…” he mumbles. “I’m… I’m honestly kind of scared.”
“Psh!” Brandon laughs. “You’ve got nothing to worry about! Not when your mans is here for you!”
Paige laughs. “Yeah! You’re right!”
“Alright then!” Brandon grins. “Let’s go!” He pulls the both of them into the lunchroom, bursting through the doors with force.
Fortunately for the two of them, everyone else was too busy doing their own things to really notice or care.
“See?” Brandon says with a confident grin. “You’re fine!”
“I’m fine!” Paige repeats with a small laugh.
“Hell yeah! Now, let’s go get somethin’ to eat and chill with the Crew.”
“Yeah!”
The two do just that, lining up and collecting their lunches of tater tots and going to their table.
“H-ey,” Bro greets at the same time Sue says, “Hello you two.”
“Heyo!” Brandon smiles. “Good to see you here today, Sue.”
“Oh?” they hum, eyebrow raising. “And why are we so nice today?”
“Can’t a guy just be happy to see his friend?” Brandon pouts, sitting down along with Paige.
“I suppose,” Sue shrugs. “But I’m watching you, Aguja.”
Paige laughs as Brandon scoffs and rolls his eyes. Same old Sue!
“Here,” Brandon says, ignoring his food in favor of his backpack for a bit. He rummages around until—”Aha!”
“Aha?” Bro asks for the whole table.
Brandon lifts back up with a neatly folded piece of paper in his hands. It’s a nice pastel orange. “Mail’s here!” Brandon grins.
“Ohmygosh!” Paige gasps, proceeding to choke on his tater tot a bit.
Brandon laughs and pats him on the back. “Don’t go dying on me, man! I’d never hear the end of it if he found out I was the reason behind The Death of Paige Woods!” Brandon holds his hands out like he’s reciting the name of a movie or something. It would be endearing if Paige wasn’t still currently coughing up a storm.
After a bit more light pounding of his chest and a gulp of 1% milk, Paige is finally able to accept and read the note from his secret admirer.
The note reads:
“Hello again, Paige! As tests are over, I thought it would be a good time to start writing to you again. I hope my absence has made your heart grow fonder! ♥
Here’s your fun fact of the day: did you know that when you look into your partner’s eyes, your heartbeat and breathing will sync up? It's called interpersonal synchronization. It sounds like something I’d love to try out with you!
(P.S.
I wanted to write something a bit more poetic, but I was afraid it’d come off as phony. Do you like poetry? Should I break out my best for you next time? Please let me know! ♥)”
Paige’s face is red when he finally finishes the note. The handwriting is noticeably higher quality now, like upgrading from scraps of paper and pencils to special sheets of paper and pen did some Cinderella type magic to it.
In fact… it seemed a little familiar…
“Good one today, huh buddy?” Brandon ribs, popping a tot in his mouth. It makes Paige lose his train of thought.
“Are you still reading through my mail?” Paige deadpans.
“You betcha!” Brandon says with a snot nosed grin.
Paige groans. Bro laughs. Sue tries to hold back a snicker, but they’re doing a horrible job of it.
Yep, Paige smiles. Everything’s back to normal. Thank goodness.
+++
When Paige gets home, he does his nightly routine before sitting down at his desk and getting to work. He does all his homework first, making sure it’s out of the way, before sighing and thinking about what he was going to say to his secret admirer after so long.
He grabs a pretty pen he likes (it writes in a nice pink color!) and a light blue and white striped piece of paper before writing down:
“I don’t know much about poetry, but I do like it a lot! I feel like I don’t really have it in me to make it, but I like reading them like they’re little songs. :) So yes, please lay anything you’ve got out on the table! I’m excited to see what you can make for little old me, heehee!
(P.S.
Speaking of music, do you have a favorite genre? I really like pop! Michael Jackson is one of my favorite artists! It’s hard to beat The King, you know!)”
There. Hopefully that was a good start to this whole thing again.
Paige slips the note into his bookbag before climbing into bed and holding Teds tightly, falling into a deep sleep soon after.
+++
Paige is ready to accept the new note on Tuesday, waiting for Brandon to pull it out, when suddenly something smacks him hard upside the back of his head.
“OW!” Paige shouts, turning around.
Oh.
It’s PB and his gang.
PB was one of the more ruthless bullies at Ingenious High, oftentimes bothering people for just existing. The Bro Crew rarely crossed paths with PB, so to see him now, after having been hit by him, was quite the surprise.
“Um…” Paige mumbles, scared.
“Hey!” Bro shouts as Brandon rights himself. “Wh-what do you think y-you’re doing?”
“Oh, look at Mr. Stutter over here,” PB laughs. Bro closes in on himself. “Sorry, but I’m not here for you today.” He looks down at Paige. “Nah, I’m here for this pipsqueak.”
“...Pipsqueak…?” Paige squeaks.
“What’s the big idea, ya big palooka?” Brandon yells, standing up and pushing PB back. Brandon’s short, but stocky. The push has more force than he probably wanted, forcing the other to trip over his own laces and fall flat on his butt. His friends didn’t even try to help.
“Oof!” he groans. “Ugh! What the fuck!?”
Brandon steps closer, looming over PB. “You think it’s funny to hit people for, what exactly?”
“For—help me up, you idiots!” PB spreads his arms out and his two cronies pull him up. He quickly snatches his arms away and dusts himself off. Now he’s the one looming over Brandon, but he doesn’t even flinch.
“I’m waiting for an answer,” Brandon frowns, hands on his hips. “‘Cause let me tell you, I’m not exactly a fan of people hurting my best friend for no good reason.” He pushes one sleeve up and closes his fist. “At all.”
“Brandon, don’t!” Paige wails. “It’s okay, really!”
“No it’s not, Paige!” Brandon says, sounding extremely upset. “I’m not about to stand by and watch you get hurt by some jerkass with issues!”
“Jerkass?” PB laughs. “Do you know who I am?”
“No,” Brandon shrugs. “And I don’t care.”
“Well, you’re gonna in a second!” PB assures, getting into Brandon’s face. “I’m your number one nightmare, fucker. I’m gonna be the last thing you think about at night and the first thing you never want to see again in the morning. I’m—”
“Peewee!” a voice breaks in.
Everyone blinks. Then, they turn to look at PB, and then the source of the voice.
It’s Lucy Lulu.
“...Peewee?” one of the goons repeats, only to get hit in the face by PB.
“Shut the fuck up!” he demands, pointing at Lucy afterwards. “And who the hell do you think you’re supposed to be?”
“I’m Lucy!” Lucy grins. “Lulu! Lucy Lulu! And you’re Peewee! Peewee Butter Amber Jones!”
PB flushes immediately and covers his face.
Brandon meanwhile, is laughing up a fit. “P—Peewee?” He looks out of breath. “Butter Amber? God damn, did your parents hate you! Haha!”
“Ugh!” PB groans. “What the fuck ever! Shu! Lacie! Let’s get the hell out of here.”
“On it Boss!” Shu says as Lacie nods and says, “You got it, Boss!”
In a flash the group of meanies is gone, each of them grumbling something under their breaths.
Brandon sighs once they’re completely gone, pulling his sleeve back down and slumping a bit. “Ugh. Thanks, Lucy.”
“No problem! Dunno what I did, but I’m always happy to help!” She smiles and rocks back and forth on the heels of her rainboots.
“Is there a reason you’re here, Lucy?” Sue asks as Brandon takes his seat again. “Not that you’re not welcome, it’s just I don’t see you around this part of the cafeteria much.”
Lucy beams. “Yeah, actually! I’ve been tasked with finding out about the hottest gossip in this school in ages!”
“A-and h-ow are we su-supposed to help w-with that?” Bro asks, unimpressed. “W-e don’t really d-do gossip.”
“Oh, that’s easy!” Lucy laughs. “You are the drama!”
“What.” all four members of the Bro Crew ask in unison.
“Haha yep!” Lucy moves over to Paige and wraps her entire arm around his neck. “Our little Paigey, head of the school’s newspaper!” She then mock whispers to him, “Nice to see you’re back, by the way!”
“Wh-huh?” Paige blinks.
“Oh, you know!” Lucy giggles. “When you went all ‘we don’t talk much do we?’ on me?”
“What?” Paige asks, completely confused. “What does that have to do with me being head of the newspaper or whatever?”
“Oh, thaaaaat,” Lucy chuckles. “Yeah, you’re being interviewed! Right now! By me!”
“Interviewed?” Brandon asks. “Why?”
“Duh!” Lucy smiles. “‘Cause Paige fought the scariest kid in the whole school—and won!”
“I—I won?” Paige blinks, pointing to himself. “What do you mean, I won?”
“Psh, don’t act like you don’t remember that slick uppercut!” Lucy laughs. “It was so cool! So mimicable!”
“Bad Brandon’s uppercut…” Brandon mumbles next to Paige, sounding very upset.
“But, that’s not why I’m here,” Lucy says, shaking her head. “Nope! Nuh uh!” She stuffs a hand in one of her hair puffs and pulls out… a microphone?
“Now, Paige!” she says, focusing on him. All of a sudden, the lights feel like they spotlight on Paige specifically. “Tell me! Tell the whole school! You’re a weak kinda guy, no offense.”
“Um…” Paige mumbles, wriggling nervously. “N-none taken…?”
Lucy nods. “Right, right. But you kicked butt last week! So, how’d ya do it?” She pushes the microphone closer to Paige’s face. “How’d ya beat The Yin Yang Cutter?”
“Th-th-the…?” Paige stutters. “I—”
Sue slams their hands on the table, standing up. Everyone’s attention is turned to them, blessedly leaving Paige time to catch his breath.
“I think Paige is a bit too tired to answer questions today,” they say with a flat tone and a stony face. “But you know who would be a great candidate to interview?”
“Who?” Lucy smiles.
“Nick A. Lass,” Sue smiles back. “I’m sure you’ll find him over in his corner with Barret.” They point over to a darker section of the cafeteria.
“Will he have info on the fight?” Lucy asks, putting a finger to her lip. “‘Cause I’m only tryin’ to get stuff about that…”
“I’m almost certain he will,” Sue says, shoulder twitching a bit. “And he loves to be interviewed, so you’ll have all the cooperation you need.”
“Oh, okay! Thanks, Sue!” And with that, she skips off towards the others.
A collective sigh breaks out over the remaining students. “What the hell was that…” Brandon grumbles.
“I wish I knew…” Paige pouts.
“N-nice s-save back there,” Bro says, giving Sue a thumbs up.
“No problem,” Sue shrugs. “There’s no stopping Lucy Lulu once she starts, so the next best thing is to divert her.”
“Do you think Nick will be okay with it?” Paige asks.
“Oh, trust me,” Sue says, rolling their eyes. “He’ll love it.”
A whoop comes from the area Nick and Barret stay everyday, as if ready to prove Sue’s point immediately.
“See?” they grin. “He loves it.”
“Heh, good ol’ Sue,” Brandon chuckles, going into his bookbag again. “Y’know, in all that confusion, I never got to give you your note today, Paige.”
“Oh my gosh!” Paige gasps. “I nearly forgot myself!”
Brandon laughs as he hands it over, punctuating it with a Brotherly Pat On The Back. “Never change, Paige.”
Paige giggles himself, flipping over the note after it’s passed over to him.
The note reads:
“Oh! Yes, I’m quite fond of Mr. Jackson as well! Did you know it’s rumored that he worked on the Sonic 3 and Knuckles soundtrack? It’s a fun fact I love a lot!
But, as requested, here’s some poetry, just for you. ♥
Dearest Paige of Cups,
Your smile brightens the day
Your laughter makes the stars shine
And for many a time,
Everything about you has made my heart alight with love
There’s a gathering on the morrow,
With festivities and hijinks aplenty
Care to meet me during the biggest shindig of the city? ♥
(P.S.
In case that was too flowery… shall we meet at the Halloween party? You’ll know me when you see me, I’m sure.”
Paige gasps. “Oh my goodness… he’ll be at the Halloween party tomorrow!”
Bro and Sue’s eyes widen a bit as they both grin, happy for their friend. Meanwhile Brandon smirks.
“Heh. I knew telling him that adding the plaintext would make sure you got it.”
“Brandooooooon!” Paige pouts immediately, hitting him with weak fists. “Stop going through my maaaaaaiilll!”
The rest of the Bro Crew laugh at the antics. By the time the bell is close to ringing, everyone’s done with their food and are ready to go to their next classes.
“Oh, but I’m so, so excited!” Paige says for the umpteenth time since he got the note. “I just have to go! I do!”
“Well, make sure you pick out a good costume!” Brandon grins, giving a thumbs up. “You wouldn’t wanna be in an anime costume or something, would you?”
Sue chokes on their strawberry milk.
Brandon casts a sly grin over at them as they recover. “I resent that,” is all they say, patting their mouth with a napkin.
Bro and Brandon laugh hard, Paige refrains, but he’s having a hard time at trying to keep it that way. Instead, he tries to think about tomorrow. Oh, what should he wear? He hadn’t really done trick or treating in a while, preferring just to buy the candy and stay at home, so would he have to buy something? What would be best? What would show off his honest truth?
“Your bear onesie,” Leaf offers.
“Huh?” Paige thinks. “Those are pajamas, though!”
“I know,” Leaf replies, rolling his eyes. “You’ll be needing them, considering you won’t be going to the party.”
Paige’s face falls.
The bell rings.
The Bro Crew say their goodbyes for now.
Paige is rooted in place, disbelief filling him.
“What do you mean, I can’t go?” he asks, starting to move with the remains of the crowd. “I’m finally about to meet the one who wrote all these wonderful notes!” He feels desperation fill him. “I have to go!”
“I’m not fighting you on this, Paige,” Leaf says, sounding firm. “You’re in no shape to go to a party that’ll probably have spiked food and drinks and drunk kids everywhere.”
“I’m in perfect shape!” Paige frowns. Which class was he going to again?
“Paige,” Leaf stresses. “We are not going to an unsupervised party.”
“And why not?” Paige bites back. “We’ll be 17 in a couple months! We’re practically grown ups!”
“You don’t actually believe that,” Leaf says, rolling his eyes. “You just wanna see your little loverboy.”
“I—” Paige starts.
“Would be lying if you said otherwise,” Leaf finishes for him.
Paige is silent. He somehow finds his way to his Social Studies class, only processing that he’s there as he’s sitting down. “When did I…”
“You’re welcome,” Leaf huffs. “Paige, do you know what would happen if you went to that party and there was alcohol there?”
“Not drink it?” he answers honestly. “I don’t want to drink alcohol.”
Leaf sighs. “Look, school is really not the place to talk about this,” he says. “If you really wanna know, I’ll tell you later.”
“What?” Paige frowns. “No! If it’s that serious, tell me now!”
Leaf doesn’t reply.
Paige grips his pencil tightly. Ugh! he groans to himself. What the heck!!
Paige sits on his bed dejectedly, curled up with Teds, recounting the end of the day prior.
“It’s later,” Paige had said to Leaf once they were home. “What’s so important it had to wait until we got home?”
“Don’t be so pouty,” Leaf had scoffed. “Are you sure you wanna know? I don’t think it’s the lame excuse you think it is.”
“Just tell me. It can’t be any worse than you teasing me with not knowing.”
“Fine.” Leaf looked away, eyes downcast. “Mack… drank a lot.”
Paige had frowned. “Okay…?” he said pensively. “What’s that got to do with anything? I don’t even remember that. So, it’s not like seeing someone drinking is gonna set me off or anything.”
“But it might set me off, Paige!” Leaf wailed. “Think about it. I haven’t been here in what feels like ages. If you’ve been around drinkers just fine, that’s great for you! But the last time I smelled alcohol it was next to our head on the wall!”
In the present, Paige curls up tighter.
“I don’t know what I’ll do if I get all wacked out in a place full of strangers and loud music and…” Leaf was starting to hyperventilate, causing Paige to do the same. “I don’t like not knowing what I’m capable of, Paige! What if I do something more than hide? We were small and helpless when we were young, but now I have the power to fight back!” Leaf was holding himself now. “What if I do something that’s dangerous? I already fought someone, what’s stopping me from doing it again!?”
+++
“Hey,” Leaf thinks. “Stop thinking about that. It’s over.”
“I just feel like a jerk…” Paige frowns sadly. “I didn’t mean to get you all worked up…”
“It’s over,” Leaf stresses. “Just let it be over.”
Paige hums and looks downwards, still thinking about it anyways.
In the past, Leaf still wasn’t done with his rant. “And then there’s you!” he had continued. “You’ve got people on your ass who want to fight you! Because of me!” He took a deep breath, clearly fighting back tears. “I’m supposed to be here to help you! But I can’t do that if I’m freaking the fuck out and you’re being forced into a fight and you’re probably drunk because there’s no way every drink at that place isn’t going to be spiked, and—”
“Leaf!” Paige had yelled, worry in his eyes.
“What?” Leaf had grumbled, still holding back tears.
“I-I’m sorry…” Paige had apologized. “I didn’t think about it like that at all…”
“No,” Leaf had huffed sadly, “You didn’t.”
“We… we don’t have to go,” Paige had sighed. “I wanted to meet my admirer really bad, but not if it’s gonna make you feel so awful.” He had glanced at his hands, turning them around slowly. “Besides, you’re probably right. I don’t know how to fight and I wouldn’t ask you to do it for me again, especially if you’re already panicking so bad.”
Leaf had loosened his hold on himself a bit. “...Really?”
“Really,” Paige assured. “I’ll just… I’ll tell the Crew and stay home, I guess.”
“...Thanks,” Leaf said quietly.
“Of course, Lee,” Paige waved off. “Don’t mention it.”
“...Lee?” Leaf had asked. “Is—is that supposed to be me?”
“Do you not like it?” Paige had asked. “I don’t have to—”
“Do what you want,” Leaf huffed.
Paige had smiled a bit then, letting the subject drop.
+++
“Are you really okay with Lee?” Paige asks in the present.
“I thought I told you to let it be over,” Leaf groans. “But like I said, do what you want.”
Paige smiles a bit, only to frown again as he looks down in his hands. In one is Teds, in the other his phone. The thing is lit up to his messages, where he had informed everyone he wouldn’t be able to go. He hadn’t said much more than Sorry, I don’t feel well, which wasn’t technically a lie? He hoped Sue wouldn’t read it as one, at least. They really hated liars.
“Ugh…” Paige sighs. “I wish we could’ve gone…”
“Sorry,” Leaf mumbles. “I just…”
“No, I get it,” Paige assures, but he’s still a bit sad. “It’s not worth all the bad stuff. Besides,” the boy perks up a bit. “I’m sure if I tell him sorry that we couldn’t make it, he’ll understand. He seems like the kind of person, you know?”
“I guess so.”
Paige sighs dreamily. “Oh, but it would’ve been so cool to meet him…” he mumbles with hands clasped together. “I wonder if I’ll get another chance to see him so soon…”
Leaf chuckles. “Who knows? Maybe he’ll end up coming to you.”
“Haha!” Paige laughs. “Wouldn’t that be great!”
Suddenly, there’s a knock on Paige’s door.
“Mom?” he asks loudly. “You can come in!”
There’s a moment of silence before the door creaks open. It’s not his mom that greets him though. It’s…
“Sonic the Hedgehog!?” Paige gasps.
Sonic (!?) laughs as he moves in, several others following him. These guys don’t have their faces covered by a blue hood, so Paige is immediately able to recognize them.
“Brandon!” he smiles wide. “And Bro! And Sue!”
Brandon is dressed as an angel, Bro as Mario, and Sue… Sue looks like they’re just wearing an outfit they’d normally wear and glasses?
“Trick or treat!” they all shout in unison, everyone sticking their bags out. A closer look shows they’re actually convenience store bags, and they’re filled with snacks!
“Aw, guys!” Paige smiles. “Did you bring these for me before going to the party?”
Brandon laughs. “Dude, this is the party now!”
“Huh?” Paige asks, tilting his head.
“It w-was all—it was all S-Sonic’s idea,” Bro explains, chuckling. “You sh-ould probably take y-our hood off now, b-by the way.”
“Oh!” Sonic (?) gasps. “Yes, I suppose the initial shock is over now, isn’t it?”
Paige furrows his brows. That sounded like…
Sonic pulls his hood back to reveal none other than…
“Oh! OJ!” Paige laughs. “I should’ve known it was you!”
OJ laughs a bit awkwardly. “I’m surprised you didn’t know me when you saw me! Haha!”
“I guess that’s fair,” Paige laughs. “I don’t think I know a bigger Sonic fan than you!”
OJ smiles shyly, looking away. Had Paige said something weird?
Before he can ask, Brandon flops down next to him on his bed. “I got the candy!” he beams. “I even got a whole lotta white kitkats!”
“Woah!” Paige gasps, immediately diving into the bag. It’s true, while there’s other candies spread out in the pile, the majority of it is white kitkats. “My favorites!”
Bro pulls over the chair from Paige’s desk and sits. “I got p-popcorn and st-stuff.”
Sue sits on the floor, back against the bed frame. “I got chips,” they say with a small smile, presenting the bag to Paige up on his bed. There’s a wide assortment of big and small bags of all types of chips inside.
OJ looks around, looking a bit panicked, before also taking a seat on the floor, back against the dresser Paige’s TV was on top of. “And I acquired drinks!” He holds up two bags of 2 liters. They each have 3 whole bottles in them…!?
“OJ!?” Paige gasps right before he takes a bite of his kitkat. “Aren’t those heavy!?”
“Oh?” OJ blinks. “No, they’re not so heavy.”
“You must be really strong…” Paige says, absolutely not swooning a bit.
OJ laughs. “I carry groceries for my moms a lot,” he explains. “I guess I just naturally got used to holding heavy stuff?”
“Aw, what?” Brandon pouts, tapping at his phone. “I do that all the time too! Why don't I get super strength?”
“You’re too busy running inside to get any stronger, silly!” Paige ribs. “You’re pretty fast, though.”
“Oh, did you also do Track and Field at some point, Brandon?” OJ asks, sitting criss-cross applesauce and holding his ankles.
“Track and—My man, are you telling me you run run?”
“Oh, not anymore.” OJ thinks, putting a finger to his chin. “I did that and dance a while ago, when I was 12 and 5 respectively.”
“Y-ou did d-dance at 5?” Bro blinks.
“Oh, not for long. I won that one dance award and put up my competitive tap shoes.” OJ smiles. “It was fun! I still tap every so often, but just for me.”
“That’s really cool, actually,” Sue grins. “I didn’t know that about you.”
“It’s not something I mention very often, to be fair!” OJ laughs. “But looks like you’ve something new to add to that big filing system worth of a brain you have, hm?”
“I do,” Sue nods.
“Filing cabinet?” Brandon asks, confused.
“Sue is rather smart, if you haven’t noticed.”
“Really?” Brandon smirks looking down at them. “I never noticed on account of them using that big brain of theirs to make fun of me.”
“9.23.2020,” Sue says without missing a beat.
“SEE?” Brandon wails, causing the others to laugh. Even Sue chuckles a bit. “You’re all the worst,” he groans. He turns back to his phone, tapping at it more. “But whatever, let’s get this party started!”
Music suddenly blasts from his phone, starting with Kesha’s Your Love Is My Drug.
Bro smiles. “H-e loves this song.”
“I do!” Brandon smiles, jumping up. “C’mon, Bart. Dance with me!”
Bro laughs and stands, replacing the chair at Paige’s desk so they have more space. They dance together awkwardly, but it’s clear they’re having fun.
“Heehee!” Paige laughs. “I’m glad you’re already having fun! Here, I’ll go pop the popcorn and get bowls and cups for everyone!”
Sue stands up. “I’ll help.”
“Oh, should I help too?” OJ asks, getting up as well.
“You can unbag everything if you don’t mind,” Sue says quickly. “Me and Paige should be able to handle everything else.”
“Ah, alright!” OJ nods. “I’ll get started on that, then.”
Paige grabs a box of popcorn and follows Sue out of his room and downstairs to the kitchen.
After a bit of quiet humming from Paige, Sue breaks the speaking silence. “Paige,” they say.
“Hm?” Paige turns to them, putting down some of the bowls he got. “What’s up?”
“Be honest with me.”
“I always try to be!”
Sue bites their lip before continuing. “Why didn’t you actually go to the party?”
“Huh?” Paige blinks. “I… wasn’t feeling well.”
“Your eye, Paige.”
Shoot! “Um…” Paige laughs nervously. “I…”
“WHAT DO WE DO?” Paige thinks urgently. “I can’t lie to Sue! They’ll know!”
“I… don’t know Sue very well,” Leaf admits. “What’ll happen if we lie?”
“They’ll get really mad at me…” Paige frowns. “And then they’ll probably just keep asking until we fess up, anyways.”
“Mm…” Leaf groans. “Here, let me deal with this. Maybe I can do it.”
“Okay…” Paige mumbles, giving up the control just enough to let Leaf in. “But don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!”
Leaf rolls his eyes before slipping into reality.
Sue is staring at him.
“Um,” he blinks.
“You left me for a second there,” Sue informs. “Were you trying to think of a way to lie without lying?” They frown. “Paige…”
“I wasn’t,” Leaf assures. It’s not a lie, Leaf wasn’t thinking of a way to lie to them. “I’m… I just zoned out. Just like I always do.”
“Hm,” is all that Sue says. They cross their hands behind their back. “Alright then. Care to tell me the truth?” Their expression turns sad. “You were so excited to meet your secret admirer. You looked even more excited then you did when you first started getting the notes, even.” Their gaze turns steely again. “So tell me, what actually happened?”
“Like I said, I wasn’t feeling well.”
“Then how come you’re feeling fine now?” Sue presses.
“I… got better?”
“...Your red eye just twitched.” Sue frowns. “Paige, you never twitch your red eye when you lie. It’s always your blue eye.” They bend over and stare at him so scrutinizingly it almost hurts. “...What’s the reason for that?”
“I’m going to die,” Leaf thinks direly. “Help.”
“I don’t know what to do either…” Paige thinks back.
“Fuck…” Leaf whispers aloud under his breath.
Sue blinks and backs away. “Paige,” they say flatly. “You just swore. You don’t swear.”
“I—I meant f-freak! God—Gosh darn it!” Leaf swings his arm in a hook like motion in front of himself. “Just a slip of the tongue! Silly me!” He puts both of his hands on top of his head and pushes out his tongue, a hopeful smile on his face.
Sue stares silently.
“We bombed,” Paige despairs.
“Okay yeah. We bombed.”
“Should we just tell them? They’ll probably put two and two together eventually at this point.”
“Ugh. Fine.”
“Okay,” Leaf breathes aloud, dropping his hands. “If I tell you this, you can’t tell anyone else.”
“Noted,” Sue nods.
“And you can’t freak out.”
“I never freak out.”
“Okay then. Here goes.” Leaf takes a deep breath before saying plainly, “I… am not Paige.”
“Evidently,” Sue nods, getting closer. “But if you’re not Paige, who are you? And what have you done with my friend?”
“Calm down!” Leaf begs, pulling his hands up to shield himself. “I-I’m Leaf. And I haven’t done anything to Paige. He’s right here, look.” He looks upwards. “Paige, say something!”
“Um—!” Paige jolts, having suddenly been pushed back into the front. “S-something!”
Sue blinks. “Paige?”
“I-I um…” Paige says awkwardly, looking off to the side. “I-I don’t wanna lie to you.”
“Then don’t,” Sue says plainly. “What’s happening right now?”
Paige sighs, giving up the ghost. “I… think I’ve got some explaining to do.”