Date: Sat, 8 Jun 2019 19:58:05 +0000 (UTC)
From: Tidus Steinbeck <neveranywhere86@yahoo.com>
Subject: Stories of an Old Boy: Matty's Turn-Chapter 5

Stories of an Old Boy: Matty's Turn
Written by: NeverAnywhere (neveranywhere86@yahoo.com)


Disclaimer:  This story mentions sexual acts between minors.  You have been
warned.

This story is also a fan-written sequel of "Stories of an Old Boy," written
by XPud (you can reach out to him at: phillipbontemps@gmail.com) and will contain characters from that story as well as direct
references to the story.  If you haven't read it yet, do yourself a favor
and give it a read.  You won't regret it.


Thanks to XPud for help with formatting, editing, and suggestions.


Remember to support Nifty so that stories like this and more can continue
to have a home.



Chapter 5


	I wake up pretty early the next morning.  I actually have a dream
that gets me to wake up an hour earlier than I normally would.  Well, it's
more like a memory from my last life.  Phillip talked about having dreams
that were like that, but I guess that happens when you've lived as long as
he has.
	Usually my dreams are the typical weird or embarrassing stuff, but
this one was like I was watching myself relive a memory.  It was the time
that Phillip basically snapped and nearly killed Rod.  It's a very long
story, but he did it after Rod...bullied me pretty bad.  I don't like to
think about it.  Not just because of what Rod and Diego did (though it was
pretty fucked up).  That was the first time I ever got a glimpse of what
all the memories of those lives did to Phillip.  But I guess my brain
needed to push that memory back at me.  Ugh...sometimes, I hate my brain.
	I could see myself--like I was floating around that dumpster or
something--watching Phillip try to choke the life out of Rod.  I could see
me, pants soaked in urine, shocked and hysterical.  I tried to beg Phillip
to stop, but his eyes were...cold.  So different from the Phillip I had
known until then.
	I shake my head to try and push back the memory.  Why the hell did
it even come back right now?  Phillip more than changed his ways after
that.  Hell, he even helped Rod turn over a new leaf.  I think...seeing all
that--what Phillip could become--somehow made it easier to forgive Rod.
Well, in that life, anyway.  He's still an asshole here, but at least I
know he can be a better person.  I think the mystery of Phillip put that
bit of bullying into perspective or something. I'm not even sure I
understand what I'm saying.  Argh!  It's too early for this trip down
memory lane.
	I head over to my closet and start to take out my keyboard.  It's
been a little while since I set up my piano stuff.  I've gotten a little
better at it this life, weirdly.  Just like some of the memories from
school and stuff stick around, I guess the memories of piano playing stayed
there.  It just took a little practice this life to get my muscle memory
back to where it was.  From there, I just worked to get better.  I lost
some practice time when I had cancer, but I think I can still manage some
stuff.  There's this one piece I spent a lot of time learning that I'm sure
I can still mostly play.
	I start playing "Claire de Lune," which is really pretty, if you've
never heard it.  I play the opening strain, walking slowly down the
keyboard, then back up to repeat, building more on top of the melody of the
piece.  The chords get more dramatic and build into a trill up the keyboard
before holding on the high note in the sequence, then going into the more
challenging section. Some of the chording is tough, but I find myself
getting lost in the playing of it.  Even the parts that arpeggiate don't
trip me up too much.  Okay, maybe once or twice, but for the most part my
brain is focused on the swirling, dancing feeling that the music gives.
It's almost like the music is painting a picture or playing a scene from a
movie as I play--people dancing on water.  From the more busy moments to
the more spare and lonely parts.  From when it shifts to a more minor feel
before resolving back to the note it starts on.
	Like I said, I'm a little out of practice--and I had to redo a few
sections to get it exactly right--but I get through the piece.  I let out a
small sigh as I finish.  Something about that song always relaxes me.  I
play it two more times, then fiddle around with some other songs I know.
	Eventually, I hear the alarm on my phone go off.  I played all the
way through to my usual wake up time.  I stop the alarm, then start to get
up.  I pause for a second, though.  I sit back down and start playing a bit
of a song that I wrote...for Phillip, actually.  I play the first few
measures and stop.  It feels almost like a distant memory.  I know this
isn't, like, a parallel dimension or whatever, but it's like someone else
wrote that song...for someone else.  Argh!  Stop, Matty. Things are a
little different, sure.  But it's not like you're that different, right?
Phillip will get back those memories and be himself, too, but even so, he's
still Phillip.  I wish I didn't have to keep reminding myself of that. I
rub my eyes and shake the thought out. Like I said, I hate my brain
sometimes.
	Anyway, I get dressed, brush my teeth and head to the kitchen to
have breakfast with mom.
	She's just finishing putting stuff on the table.  Today, it's a
veggie scramble (scrambled eggs with some veggies and avocados and stuff),
bacon, and cinnamon raisin toast.  Sometimes I feel like my mom thinks that
a big breakfast will keep me from getting cancer again or something.
Still, I'm pretty hungry, so...can't be too careful, right?
	I dash to the table, sit down and start to load up my plate.
	Mom smiles as I put back the bowl of veggie scramble.
	"Well, good morning to you too, son," she says.
	I look up and smile, "Good morning," I say.  Then I grab some bacon
and put it on my plate.
	"Use the tongs next time," Mom says with a smirk.
	I smile and giggle a bit, "Sorry."
	She pours me some OJ next to my tall glass of water.  Then she sits
down and starts to put food on her plate.  She asks me the usual mom stuff:
did you sleep well? Did you finish your homework? Blah blah.  Eventually,
she gets around to different topics.
	"It was nice to see Phillip again yesterday," she says.
	I swallow a bite of my bacon and look at her as she takes a sip
from her coffee.
	"Yeah, it was," I say with a smile.
	She smiles, holding her coffee mug and says, "What did you two do
yesterday?"
	I shrug, "Not much," I say, "Played some Black Ops and talked."
	I shovel another few more bites of food into my mouth, drinking
some more OJ after I swallow.
	"You must really like spending time with Phillip," she says.
	I raise my eyebrow and look up at her.  Her face doesn't make an
expression that I really know.
	"Uh...yeah," I say after a moment, "I mean, he is my friend."
	She puts her coffee mug down with a smile, "That's good," she says.
"I'm glad you're making new friends at school."
	I smile and move to take a bite of my toast.  I reach up for the OJ
again and look at her. She's just kinda staring at me.
	I freeze, my hand on the juice.
	"What?" I ask.  I have no idea what she's staring at me for.
	"Did you have something that you wanted to tell me?" She asks with
a smile, eyebrows arching just the littlest bit.
	Oh crap!  Am I in trouble for something?  Did she, like, figure out
my powers or something?  Argh!  Okay.  Relax.  How on earth could she
figure that out?  I mean, I know moms know everything or whatever, but
there's no way she could've figured that out without me telling her.
	I pull back slowly at the glass of juice and lean back to take a
sip.
	"Like what?" I ask, taking a sip from the glass.
	"Well," she says, "like how much you like having Phillip over?"
	I raise my eyebrow again, "Yeah.  He's my friend.  I already said
that."
	She nods head her a bit, "Yes, you did," she said, "but is there
more to it than that?"
	Wait.  Is she...?
	"What do you mean?" I ask slowly.
	"Well," she draws out, "You've had a lot of friends over before and
I can see how much differently you act with Phillip.  How you look at
him..."
	No way!  Did she already figure that out?  I fight the urge to
laugh.  This talk went a lot differently last time.
	A smile pulls at my lips, "Well," I start.  I guess I should give
her something here.  "I guess I like Phillip differently than some of my
friends."
	Mom smiles, "Like how?"
	I blush and roll my eyes (I wish I could say it was an act), "God,
mom..."
	"Alright, alright.  We can talk more about that later, if you
want."
	I look down at my plate, and fiddle with some of the food.  Then a
thought occurs to me.
	I look back up, "So...did you know?" I ask.  I had this talk in my
last life, I guess.  But this talk is, like, way earlier than last time.
	She just keeps smiling, "Sweetie," she says, putting her hand on
mine.  "I'm your mother.  I know what it looks and feels like when you like
someone like you do Phillip.  It wasn't too hard to figure out that you had
a crush on him."
	I smile back as she caresses my hand.
	"What do I always say?" she asks.
	"People like what they like?" I offer.
	"Exactly," she says, still smiling.  "If being with a boy like
Phillip is what makes you happy, then that's enough for me.  Does he feel
the same way?"
	Man, that's a loaded question.  My brain flashes through the past
few days.  It even goes as far back as our last life.
	Finally, I blush a bit and say, "I think so."
	She gives my hand a pat before going back to her food.
	"Well, just give him a little time," she says. "If he doesn't think
you're as incredible as I do, then he's just missing out," she finishes
with a silly smile.
	I roll my eyes again, going back to my breakfast.  I stop mid-bite,
thinking of something as I do.  Something I wanted to say last time that I
could probably say just as truthfully now.
	"I wasn't really sure," I start, but pause.  Mom looks at me
questioningly.  I take a breath and continue.
	"I wasn't really sure how to talk to you about it," I say
slowly. "How I feel about Phillip....and guys, I guess.  Especially after
Daddy," I trail off.  Mom looks at me concerned.  I smile, though I can
feel my eye start to mist a bit.
	"I guess I just didn't know how to talk about it," I finally get
out.  God, that took some doing.  Can I not have an emotional breakdown
before I finish breakfast, please?
	Mom doesn't say anything, but gets up from her seat and moves to
kneel next to me as she gives me a hug.  I hug back.
	She moves back, hands on my shoulders.
	"You know how much I love you, right?"
	I smile, "More than the sun, the moon, and ice cream put together."
	She nods.
	"I don't ever want you to feel like that will change because of how
you feel or who you like.  I will always be here for you, okay?"
	I just nod and smile again, "Yes, ma'am."
	We hug again and go back to our breakfast.  It's a bit more
light-hearted, since we got the heavy stuff out of the way.  We even have a
few laughs.  Eventually, though, I've got to go to school.
	As I walk through the halls to my first class, I see Phillip at his
locker.
	I smile and call out, "Phillip."
	He turns in my direction and smiles when he sees me.
	"Hey, Matty.  What's up?" He asks.
	"I just wanted to make sure you were gonna start talking to me at
school," I say with a smirk.
	Phillip blushes and rolls his eyes.
	"Not if you make fun of me," he says.  He chuckles a bit, giving me
a small smile.
	"Okay, okay.  I'm sorry," I apologize.
	"It's cool," he says, with a small laugh.  He closes his locker and
we both walk off down the hall.  It so happens that his first class is on
the way to mine.
	It's a pretty quiet walk, actually.  I wanted to talk to him, but
why can't I seem to find something to talk about?  Argh! Come on, Matty.
Say something!  I give him a quick look out of the corner of my eye.  He
looks a little unsure of what to say too, just staring ahead--doing
anything to avoid eye contact.  Man, this is totally awkward.  Say
something, dummy!
	"You want to eat lunch?" I blurt out.
	He snaps out of his trance and gives me a kinda confused look.
	"What?" He says.
	I take a breath, "I was wondering if you wanted to eat lunch...with
me...well, me and my friends."  Why is this so hard?  It's Phillip, Matty.
Just calm down.  He knows more about you than anyone else, so don't freak
out.
	Phillip stares at me, mouth gaping a bit.
	He blinks a couple of times, "Uh...yeah!" He says a bit too loud.
He blushes a bit and swallows.  "I mean, yeah," he says a bit more
normally, "I'd like that."
	"Phillip!" I hear someone call out over the crowd of students in
the hallway.  Phillip and I both look over to where the voice came from and
it's Phillip's friend--the one I haven't met yet.
	He waves Phillip over, looking a little like he's in a hurry.
	Phillip holds up a finger, "Just a sec!" He calls back.
	"Who's that?" I ask. It's really starting to bug me that I don't
recognize him.
	Phillip shrugs a little, "Friend of mine. We have the first few
classes together."
	I nod, "Cool. Glad you have another friend here, after all."
	Another shrug, "We only just started hanging out at school. We've
never really had classes together before," he looks over to his friend,
then back to me as he starts to walk off. "Look, I gotta go, but I'll see
you at gym and lunch," he smiles, "okay?"
	I smile back, "Yup. See you then."
	He's still smiling and looking at me as he walks over to his
friend.  He turns around as he walks up to him.  They start talking, but
they're not exactly close enough for me to hear in the halls.  His friend
seems to be telling a story or something, though, because he's doing all
the talking and making all these silly faces.  As they walk off, I can hear
Phillip laugh.  Probably louder than I've ever gotten him to laugh.
	Hang on.  Am I getting jealous?  Get a grip, Matty!  It's just a
friend that Phillip has a couple of classes with.  Phillip didn't even seem
to hint that there was anything more to it than that, and he's really bad
at hiding that this time.  Phillip was obviously just in a good mood today,
that's all.  Still don't know his friend's name, though.  I forgot to ask
Phillip.  Oh well, I can always find out later.
	Choir is pretty normal.  We haven't really gotten to some of the
more serious pieces yet.  Honestly, the teacher's been spending most of the
first week or so just getting everybody used to their section and vocal
warm-ups.  But Chris is still acting like an asshole.  It's worse now that
the teacher has finalized seating arrangement on the risers, because he's
right behind me.  Just like last time.  Ugh.  I really don't want to put up
with this asshole for the rest of the year.
	On the bright side, at least he doesn't have half the ammunition he
had last time.  Plus, I'm feeling just a bit more brave this time.
	See, we're basically grouped in our sections from high-voiced boy
to low-voiced boy (it's a mixed choir, but the teacher doesn't really group
by parts; it's weird).  Anyway, we're going through some warm-up pieces.
We basically have to sing as high in the scale as we can to stretch out our
voice.  Some of the guys with deeper voices drop out, though (probably too
embarrassed about wrecking their manliness or something stupid).
	Anyway, the teacher finishes with the boys section and starts
talking to the girls about their warm-ups.
	Suddenly, I hear Chris kinda lean over and say, "Maybe you should
warm up with the girls, since you sing like one." He says it in a whisper,
but it's loud enough for his section to hear.  The other deep-voice guys
just snicker a bit.  I take a look at the guys in my section.  Most of them
are kinda nervous or ashamed about it; Vik and Kasha just kinda shoot him a
look without saying anything.  I'm so tired of this asshole.
	"Yeah?  Well at least I can hit all the notes," I snap back.
	This gets all the boys in my section giggling. Chris looks pretty
pissed, but I can't help but smile.
	"Is there a problem, boys?" I hear the teacher ask.
	I look up and her eyebrows are up:
	I just keep smiling, "No, ma'am," I say, "Chris was just
complimenting my singing."
	I hear a stifled giggle and look over to the twins.  Vik is really
just trying hard not to smile even though his face looks like it's about to
crack.  Kasha, though, has his mouth covered and I can hear his muffled
giggles, eyes squeezed shut.  The other boy's in my section are doing the
same.  I turn just a bit to take a glance at Chris and I can't be sure, but
he looks pretty pissed.  Good.
	The teacher raises an eyebrow, "Well, you two can share compliments
all you want, but don't disrupt your classmates to do so.  Are we clear?"
She asks.
	I give a shy smile, "Yes, ma'am.  It won't happen again."
	For the most part, Choir goes like normal after that. We finish our
exercises and start doing a little sight-reading and working on our pieces
we're planning for the year. The singing behind me is pretty quiet. When I
take a quick glance behind me, I see that Chris is staring daggers at me,
and sort of mumble-singing or whatever. I guess I hit a nerve or
something. Good. I'm not gonna let him be an asshole this time around and I
know the way to deal with that: pick at his singing ability. It's mean, but
it's the only thing that I know works.
	But actually, in the middle of one of the songs I feel a hand cup
my butt and give it a squeeze.
	I yelp a bit and turn around to see Chris pull back with this evil
smirk on his face.  Of course, my yelp sort of throws the class into a
laughing fit and the teacher sends me out of the classroom.  Rewind time!
	I close my eyes and think back to the moment before Chris grabs my
butt, but I'm ready for him this time.
	I feel him cup my butt and give it a squeeze, but I don't yelp.  I
just turn my head slightly, still singing and manage to work up this look
that's like, `Seriously?  That's your best move?'
	He looks a little shocked by my reaction and quickly pulls his hand
away.  Then he makes a pissed-off face, but I just wiggle my eyebrows and
give him a smile and turn around, without even missing a note.  That should
shut him up for a while.
	Eventually, Choir ends and we all make our way to our next class.
Except, when I'm on my way there, I get this feeling like I'm being
watched, so I turn around.  It's Chris.  He's following me and giving me
the same angry look he had in class.
	Without trying to panic, I take a quick look around.  Thankfully,
there are a few teachers on the halls, so he's probably not going to try
anything.  I just turn and give him another smirk and wiggle my eyebrows a
bit.  Hey, even if that pisses him off a bit, I can always rewind, right?
	It suddenly occurs to me that I need to go to the bathroom. I guess
that water at breakfast is working through me a bit slower than normal,
since I usually have to go during first period. I duck into a nearby
bathroom and head straight to a urinal. The bathroom is empty, so I can use
whichever one I want. I rush to the nearest one on the other side of the
wall next to the sink and start to pee.
	Just as I'm starting to realize how good it feels, I hear the door
open to the hallway noises outside. I wait a second, but I don't see anyone
come around to use the other urinals or whatever. Huh. I wonder if I I
imagined that. As I finish up, I zip up and turn around.  Suddenly, there's
Chris, still looking pissed as ever.
	Chris slowly edges toward me, until he's right in front of me.  I
swallow a little, but stand my ground.
	"Are you trying to make me look stupid or something?" He gets out
in a sort of angry whisper.
	"W-What do you mean?" I ask.
	He quickly shoves me backward before pinning me up against the
urinal.  I'm starting to freak out a bit, and I'm sure he can see that.
	"Nobody makes fun of me, especially not some sawed-off little girly
runt like you," he spits out.
	Man, I'm so glad I just finished peeing.  Get a grip, Matty.  You
know you can handle Chris.  You know how to press his buttons, so just go
for it.
	"Y-you're just a jerk," I say with a small shake in my voice, "And
you pick on me because you wish you could sing like I do."  I say the
words, but they don't sound convincing.
	Chris just smirks. I'm sure even he isn't convinced either.
	"What, and be some girly boy like you?  Plus, you sound like a
total baby all the time."
	"Don't call me a baby!" I say, raising my voice a bit, but still
sounding shaky.
	Next thing I know, Chris punches me right across the face.  I
didn't even see it coming.  Probably because I let him get to me.
	I feel tears start to well up as the spot where he punched me
stings in pain.  Dammit, Matty.  Now's not the time.
	"Wuzza matter?" Chris teases.  "You gonna cry now?"
	He punches me again, this time it's a strong punch to the stomach
that knocks the wind out me.  I groan as I sink to my knees.
	"See?  Just like I thought," Chris sneers, "You can't even take a
punch."  He punches me in the face again and I slump over completely.  I
try to cover up, but Chris stays on top of me, hitting me wherever he can
get in a punch.  Each punch harder than the last one; some hitting me in
the head, some on the arms, some on the ribs, and finally my face once my
arms can't cover up anymore.
	No.  I won't let it happen like this.
	I rewind to the moment I turn around and let Chris grab me.  I know
I can handle this and shut him down.  I can do this.  I can't beat him up,
but I can stop him.  The next few times I try, though, I'm still
unconvincing.  He knows it and I know it.  Each time he gets a punch in and
I have to rewind, trying to get used to the fact that I can't feel the
punches anymore, even though they did happen--dozens of punches, over and
over again.
	Dammit.
	What's the point in having these stupid powers if I can't keep a
bully from beating me up?  I can't let something like this happen again.
	Suddenly, I feel the fear finally melt away.  Something about
getting the crap beat out of me over and over again should have me
terrified.  I mean, I guess I'm still scared of the punch, but something
changes. I rewind again, right back to the moment where he grabs me and as
I do, I remember every bully from before.  The time Diego and Rod tied me
up and left me in a puddle of my own pee.  The time Chris and his friends
jumped me and Phillip.  Every time that Daddy...
	In my last life, these people had control over me because I was
weak.  Now, I'm not.  I might not have someone like Phillip protecting me,
but that's okay.  I have the control now.  Control and experience with
bullies.  There's nothing they can do to me that I can't fix.
	"Nobody makes fun of me, especially not some sawed-off little girly
runt like you," he spits out.
	"What's the matter?" I ask with a calm smile, "Can't take it when
somebody won't take your crap?"
	He grunts, but says nothing.
	"Or are you really jealous that you wish you could sing like me?"
	"Shut up!" he growls.
	I just raise my eyebrow and level off at him.  I don't raise my
voice.  I feel calm and in control as I keep talking to him quietly and
calmly.
	"If you think that all it's going to take for you to feel superior
is pick on someone you think is weaker than you," I say, "then you're
wrong.  I've had to deal with guys like you my whole life...some of them
much bigger than you, so it's going to take more than you making fun of me
and squeezing my butt to make me fall for your crap."
	He just stands there, like he's frozen.  His face looks like he
wasn't expecting that, but still angry.
	"So," I say, breaking his concentration, "Are you going to let me
go? Or are you just going to beat me up so you can feel better about
yourself for five minutes before you pick on the next guy who makes you
jealous?"
	He looks at me and hesitates for second.  Then he starts to pull
back his free hand to make like he's going to punch me.  I remember I can
rewind at any time, but I doubt I'll get a better chance at putting Chris
in his place.
	Suddenly, we hear the door open and a couple of guys walk in.
Chris panics and takes a swing, maybe to try and prove he's in control.
This time I'm ready for him.
	I manage to move myself just enough out of the way of the punch
that his hand misses and hits the metal, top part of the urinal. Chris
shouts in pain and lets go of me so he can nurse his hand.  He's in enough
pain that I can just back away from him slowly, still keeping my eyes on
him in case he tries to jump me.  His knuckles look pretty dark red.  I'd
be surprised if he didn't break something.
	There's some small part of me that feels bad for him.
	"Whoa," I hear from behind me.
	I turn around and I see Edgar and Beto standing there, mouths
hanging open.
	"Oh, uh...hi," I say.  After a quick pause, I say, "How long have
you been there?"
	Edgar speaks up, still looking surprised, "Just long enough to see
you dodge and see Chris fuck up his hand."
	Beto just stares at me, surprised but also...nah, just surprised.
	I hear Chris grunting and cursing behind me.  As I look at him,
he's blushing a bit and looks probably more pissed than I've ever seen
him. But he takes a quick look at Edgar and Beto standing behind me and
decides to just walk away.
	"Some other time, runt," he says, turning to me as he passes Edgar
and Beto.
	"Don't count on it," I say with a smile.  Chris just turns and
leaves without saying anything else.
	This leaves me with just Edgar and Beto. There's a moment of
silence between us as they just kinda stare at me.
	"So," I draw out, "Did you guys just come in to use the bathroom
or," I point to the urinals.
	Edgar shakes out of his staring, "Uh, I actually saw Chris kinda
following you.  He bumped into me and looked pissed.  Well, more than
usual.  Anyway, when I saw that he was following you and you both went into
the bathroom, I found Beto in a hurry and came to help you."
	Beto nods.
	"Really?" I ask, a little perplexed.  "Wait, why?"
	Edgar says, "Well, I know he was pissed after you kinda called him
out in choir--which was pretty funny, by the way--so we thought you'd need
help in case he tried to beat you up, but I guess that didn't happen."
	"Yeah," Beto says, still looking shocked by everything.
	I give a small nod, "Right, but you could've got your ass beaten
trying to help me."
	Edgar and Beto give me a confused look, then look at each other.
	Beto turns to me and says, "Are you serious?"
	I raise an eyebrow and ask, "What do you mean?"
	Edgar replies, "Did you seriously start standing up to bullies and
expect you'd be on your own?  I mean, we show up to help you and you
basically just told us we should've left you alone."
	It hits me then.  I've been trying to make friends with Phillip and
Michael, feeling sorry for them that they felt so alone and without help.
I've been pitying them so much that I didn't even realize that I was acting
the same way.  I may have the powers and I may be in control, but, deep
down, I still feel like that scared little kid who's so sure that he's on
his own.  That scared kid waiting for help, but trying my best to push it
away when it shows up.
	I look down, "Sorry, I...I guess I've been on my own for so long
that I...forget that..."
	Edgar interrupts me as he comes over and puts a hand on my
shoulder.  I look up at him.
	"I know how you feel, man," he says.  "But you should start
trusting some people a bit or it's really going to suck later."
	I smile a bit, "Thanks.  I know you're right."
	"Y'know," he starts, "Chris has always been a jerk, but you're
so...I dunno, confident when you deal with him.  Like, nothing he does
bothers you."
	"Really?" I ask.
	"Yeah," Edgar says, nodding.  "The bullies here really suck, but
most people are too scared to do anything about it.  Not you, though."
	Beto nods and adds in, "Yeah.  First you stand up to Rod and Diego,
now Chris.  It's...well, really impressive.  You've even got some moves to
back up that swagger, yo."
	I just shake my head, "I just got lucky, is all."
	Beto shakes his head in disbelief, "Whatever, man.  Still really
impressive."
	I blush as my eyes dart around.  I'm really not used to this kind
of attention.
	"What I was trying to say is," Edgar continues, "I can see you're
confident...but that doesn't mean you have to deal with this stuff by
yourself, right?"
	Beto shrugs, "I guess that's why we decided to help you.  You help
people and I--I mean, we look up to you for that."
	I look at Beto. Did he say, `I?'  Edgar gives him a confused look,
moving his eyes up and down like he's trying to figure out his friend.
Beto blushes a bit, looking around nervously. Am I missing something?
	I snap out of it and say, "So, does this mean you're going to stop
hanging with Rod and Diego?"
	Beto rolls his eyes a bit and blushes, "I'm working on that, but
yeah.  You made a lot of sense the other day.  Me and Edgar've been talking
about it, obviously...but, dude, you're like a magnet for bullies or
something."
	I shrug and sigh, "It sure feels that way."
	There's a long pause before the warning bell rings.  I start to
walk to the door.
	"Look," I say, "I'm glad you two came along when you did, so
thanks, but...be careful, alright?"
	They look at me, confused.
	"What do you mean?" Beto asks
	I just give him a tired smile, "I just don't want you guys to get
hurt, that's all.  I could use more friends like you."
	Then I head out the door and on to my next class, just making it in
before the bell rings.
	The next few classes are pretty boring, but I guess it's hard to
really outdo a fight in the bathroom.  Not that I'm happy or excited about
it, but it does feel good to get back at Chris for being a dick all the
time.  Still, I'm not trying to make a habit out of it.
	Classes go along slowly until it's finally time to go to gym class.
	I walk through like normal and see everybody where they usually
are, including Rod and Diego in their usual corner of the locker room.
Actually, I do realize that Beto's kinda off by himself as he changes out.
Rod and Diego don't look like they're mad or anything, so maybe nothing's
really happened yet.  Beto looks over at me and gives me a small nod.  I
raise my eyebrow and point back and forth between him and the bullies.  He
gives a hand wave, sorta like he's telling me not to worry about it.  I
just give a small nod and keep walking.
	Phillip's just got his clothes out and is starting to change in the
same place where we first met (this life, anyway).  He's pulling off his
shirt as I walk up in the spot next to him.
	"Hey," I say, giving him a smile.
	He finishes pulling the shirt off and looks around for sec before
seeing me.
	"Hey," he says with a small smile and blush.  Ugh, why does he have
to be so good looking?
	We finish changing together, mostly just chatting about games or
random school stuff.  I notice a few times that he stares at me while I'm
changing.  I don't think anyone else would notice, since his back is turned
to the guys, but I do and his eyes are, like, glued to my butt.  I mean,
I'm wearing underwear, obviously, but yeah. He always did say he liked my
butt.
	I clear my throat a bit, making him snap out of it as he looks me
in the eyes.
	I just smirk and say, "You okay down there?"
	He blushes and looks around, maybe to see that no one else noticed.
	Then he looks at me, a little panicked, and says, "I-I, I'm sorry,
I was just." He licks his lips a bit, nervous.
	Oh, jeez, I didn't mean to embarrass him.  It's easy to forget the
little ways he's different.  I need to think of a quick save for him, kinda
like he used to for me.  I pull up my gym shorts, "You looked *really*
focused on something.  Are your classes going okay?" I ask, raising my
eyebrows a bit to hope he catches on.
	He gives me a weird look, before he catches on, "Oh, uh...yeah.
Just some math stuff from last night that was bugging me."
	I sit down and lace up my shoes.  "Well, try not to worry too
much," I say, then pause and follow up with a grin, "You were looking like
your brain was broken or something."
	He gives me a confused look, but then his face changes to this sort
of `You got me' look.
	Then it hits me what I just said.
	"Oh my god! I'm so sorry," I say quietly.
	He looks at me confused again.
	"What I said about your brain," I say, feeling awful.  For real,
Matty.  Phillip's got epilepsy and you just make fun of his brain.  Real
nice.
	He just shakes his head and smiles, "Don't worry about it.
Honestly, I didn't even notice."
	"Are you sure?" I ask, still whispering.
	He just chuckles a bit, "Yes," then he pauses.  He finishes
dressing out, then stands up to leave, looking at me.
	"But, thanks," he says, walking out of the locker.  I finish tying
my shoes and follow after him.
	The class today is a running day for the first bit of class.  Ugh.
Laps are the worst in this heat, I swear. I already walk to school in this
heat and I still have to run in it during class?  Whatever.  There's a
pretty steady breeze going while we run, so I guess it's not that bad.
	As we're jogging, Phillip (yes, we're running together, so shut up)
says, "So, I was wondering...can we hang out again today?  Y'know, at your
place?"
	I look over at him with a small smile and a raised eyebrow, "Oh?
What did you have in mind?  Some more Black Ops...or something else?"
	I can't tell if he's blushing because his face is probably more
flushed because of the running and stuff, but he says, "Well, I would
really like to do more of....the game we played last time.  I mean, if you
wanted to."
	I just give a small giggle and say, "Sure.  Sounds like fun."
	Phillip smiles and we finish our laps.
	After that, it's our normal free time for the rest of the period,
and we head to the gym.
	On the way in, I look over at Phillip and say, "Hey, do you want to
play with the guys and me today?  It might help you get to know them a bit
before lunch."
	Phillip just shakes his head, "No, thanks.  I'm not really in a
four square mood."
	"You sure?" I ask.
	"Yeah, thanks though," he says. I look at him kinda uncertain, then
he looks at me and says, "I mean, I want to meet them, but that's your
thing and I'm...just not sure it's mine is all."
	"You're allowed to come over and have fun, y'know.  I want you to
play with us," I say with a small smile.
	He smiles back, "I know," he replies, "Just...maybe once I get to
know the guys better, okay?"
	I pause for a second, then smile and shrug, "If you say so.  You
know where we'll be if you change your mind."
	"I do," he pauses, then says quietly, "Thanks."
	"Sure," I say.
	Phillip breaks off to use the restroom and I make my way over to
the guys. But I don't make it that far before Beto stops me.
	"Hey," he says, kinda giving a quick look around.
	"Hey," I say with a nod. He's kinda off behind some of the
bleachers in the gym, so I make my way over to him.  "What's up?" I ask, "
Are things okay?  I saw you weren't hanging around Rod and Diego."
	"Yeah," he says with a sigh, "I'm still trying to figure out
exactly what to say there. But I'm keeping the hell away for now."
	I nod. "That's a good start, at least."
	There's a long pause between us. He looks at me like he's expecting
me to say something.
	"Did you," I start, then pause, "need something else?"
	He rubs one of his forearms as I see him take a nervous swallow,
looking away a bit. "Well, I was hoping you'd help me figure out how to say
it or whatever."
	What?! Me?
	"Why me?" I ask, trying not to show my confusion.
	Beto shrugs, "I dunno...you just always seem so sure of yourself. I
figured you'd know how to tell someone off like that."
	I just shrug and give him an embarrassed smile.
	"Sorry, man.  I don't really have any ideas," I say.
	He nods, "Okay, no prob," he says with sigh, looking down.
	"But," I start, getting him to look back up at me, "I promise I'll
think about it."
	He smiles, "Cool, thanks."
	I smile back, "Sure.  I'm just not that great when it comes to
saying the right thing..."
	Beto gives me a puzzled look, "But you always seem to know how to
deal with guys like them," he says.
	"I," I say slowly, "I've had a lot of practice with bullies.  It's
easier for me to know how to react than to give people advice on how to
deal with it."
	Beto stares at me blankly.
	I giggle nervously, "Sorry, I'm sure that made more sense in my
head."
	Beto shakes his head, "Nah, I get you."
	"Anyway," I say, "Are you sure you just can't, like, stop hanging
around them and they'll get the message?" Even as I ask, though, I know
that's a stretch.  Those two aren't much for letting people off easy.
	Beto shakes his head, "Nah. They're gonna get in my face about it
either way. I figure it's best if I do it first, y'know?"
	I nod, "Yeah...I think I get ya. That takes some guts, man."
	He blushes, "Well, you know, I'm just following your lead."
	Okay, I know I talked to him about all this to try and convince him
to be a nice guy, but...is it weird to say I wasn't expecting the reaction
I'm getting from just one talk? It seems like he's...nah.
	Still I should try and say something.
	"Well," I say, "If you feel it's something you absolutely have to
do now, then I'm sure you'll figure something out.  I mean, that's already
more courage than Rod and Diego have in their entire bodies."  I pause,
thinking over what I just said, "Or whatever that saying is," I say with a
giggle.
	Beto smiles a bit and chuckles.
	I nod, "Anyway," I say, "You had a chance to change and you took
it. I think that makes you better than assholes like them."
	He chuckles a bit, "Yeah, I guess so. Man, you just really," he
pauses, looking for the words, I guess.
	I smile a bit and raise an eyebrow, "What?"
	He shrugs and looks around a bit, before looking back at me.
	"Nah, it's nothin'," he says, "Just...thanks...for all the help, I
mean."
	Something about the look in his eyes.  Like there's something else
on his mind.  He's probably just trying to figure out what to say still.
	I smile and say, "No problem.  I'm glad I could help a friend."
	He gives me a small smile before quickly looking around.
	"I, uh, gotta go," he says, "Don't want Rod or Diego flipping out
yet."
	"Right.  See ya."
	After that, we both split up and I head over to the guys, waiting
to play our usual game of four square.  I look around the gym for a second
or two. Beto's off with some other friends of his playing basketball.  Rod
and Diego are playing a game with a different group of kids.  I also see
Michael throwing the frisbee around with a few kids.  Then, I see Phillip,
walking around the gym like he normally does.
	I look at him and smile.  He smiles back, but keeps walking.
	The game is pretty fun.  Not too different from our normal games.
The twins get super competitive with each and Kyle gets a few crazy returns
in because of how tall he is.  Okay, so he's not *that* tall, but he's
still taller than us, so it helps him out.  We're having a lot of fun for a
bit, when I look around and see Phillip kinda walking over--he's coming up
on my side, so I can kinda see him out of the corner of my eye.  Actually,
he's been walking over slowly for a few minutes.  Y'know, trying to make it
look like he just happens to be heading over in this direction.  I mean, I
only notice because I know him and I've been watching him.  I'd catch him
trying to act all casual or whatever...he's not quite the actor he used to
be, I guess.
	I think about waving him over, but I figure that might scare him
off if I pounce on him, so I just let him come over while we keep playing.
	Finally, he gets close enough to feel a bit more comfortable.  I
can see how his walk changes and everything.  So, I figure now's a good
enough time as any to actually say something. I do a bit of a turn, then
try my best act like I just noticed Phillip.
	"Oh! Hey, Phillip," I say with a smile.
	The game stops as the guys look over at Phillip, who just gives a
nod, trying to be cool.
	"Hey," he says, taking a long pause, "Uh." Another pause.
	C'mon, Phillip. Just say it.
	"D-do you guys mind if I join you?" He asks looking at Kyle and the
twins before looking at me.
	I give the guys a quick look and say, "What do you think?"
	Everyone just sort of gives a small shrug, then they nod at each
other.
	Kasha speaks up first, "Is okay with me."
	Vik replies, "Sure.  It might make things a little more
interesting."
	Kyle nods, "Yeah, I think adding in someone else would help keep
the game fresh."
	I look to back to Phillip, beaming.  "Cool," I say, "I guess that
settles it, then."
	Phillip smiles and says, "Thanks."
	There's not really a lot of time for introductions, since the twins
start laying out the rules of the game to him. Well, the rules according to
how we play it, anyway. We basically just rotate counterclockwise in the
circle whenever somebody is out. Other than that, it's four square: hit the
ball around the the big square to the four smaller squares; no hit-backs;
it has to bounce in the square to count; and no body shots.  That last one,
we figured, was for the best.
	Phillip actually sits out a round to sort of check out how we
usually play it, until Vik gets eliminated.  Then, we all move up, except
for Kyle in the king's square.  And, actually, Phillip doesn't do too bad.
I mean, I'm not trying my hardest to eliminate him, but Kasha sure is.
There's a handful of low and fast ones from Kasha, but they bounce just
enough for Phillip to get a solid hand on it and knock them to either me or
Kyle.  I don't really keep track of winners or who gets in the king's
square, but things get competitive enough so that everyone has fun.  Even
Phillip looks like he had fun, mostly watching how silly and intense the
twins can get.
	After playing for a while, the coach blows the whistle and we all
file back into the locker room.  We all file back into the locker room and
change out.
	I look at Phillip with a smile.
	He looks at me with a sort of nervous smile, "What?"
	"Glad you decided to play with us," I say.
	Phillip looks at me with a smile before looking down as he laces up
his shoes, "W-well, you know...it looked like fun, I guess."
	We both get up and start heading to the door.
	"And you look like you had fun, too," I say with a smirk as we walk
out of the locker room
	Phillip rolls his eyes.  "Yeah, yeah," he says, "just stop making a
big deal out of it, okay?" He asks quietly, looking at me a little
embarrassed.
	I hold up my hands, "Okay, okay," I say, "but, just so you know, I
had fun, too."
	Phillip raises his eyebrow and smirks, "Do you usually play games
you don't have fun with?"
	I pause, thinking about what I just said.  Then I just roll my
eyes, "Ugh, god! You know what I mean," I say, sticking my tongue
out. Actually, this is the first time I've seen Phillip this comfortable
around me in public. Like, he's almost joking with me like he used to. See
Matty? He's still a little like the old Phillip in there.
	Phillip just laughs a little as we walk to the cafeteria.
	It's mostly a quiet walk, but we exchange looks every once in a
while and he's got this smile on his face.  It sort of reminds me of how he
used to look at me when we were together.  This makes me blush a bit, which
makes him blush--okay, so maybe we're just both blushing, but whatever.  We
both turn away, trying to keep it cool until we get to the lunchroom.  We
do talk a little bit, but it's mostly just stuff about homework and other
classes.  It probably sounds really awkward, but I don't really care
because I've missed this so much.  I could talk to him about how bread
molds and I wouldn't be any happier.  That's weird, Matty.  Ugh! Whatever!
Don't care.
	We arrive in the lunchroom and go through the line together.
Phillip sort of quietly picks out his food, mumbling just loud enough for
the lunch lady to hear him.  He gives a small smile and a thank you and I
try not to melt as I pick out my food for lunch and pay for it.
	We both head over to the table where I usually sit for lunch.  Kyle
and the twins are already there eating their lunch when Phillip and I both
head over to the table.
	I look over to Phillip.  He looks a little nervous as he looks at
the guys.
	"Hey," I say to get his attention.  I stop walking for a moment.
	He turns and stops. "Yeah?" he replies.  He doesn't sound too
nervous, but something in his eyes tells me he is.  I give him a smile.
	"You'll be okay," I say.  "It's not like they bite."  Well, Kasha
might if you put him up to it...that's not the point.
	He gives his eyes a small roll.
	"Yeah, I know," he says, "I just always get a little nervous
meeting new people."
	It's still a bit weird to me to see him not be the confident,
smooth-talking Phillip I'm used to.  I guess he's really being the Phillip
he used to be the first time.  I mean, he's still the same Phillip in some
ways.  Right, not the time for this.
	"Just be yourself," I say calmly.
	He raises his eyebrow, "So, you want me to scare them off, then?"
he says with a small smirk.
	I roll my eyes and giggle, "You'll be fine," I say, "C'mon."
	He takes a breath and we both walk over to the table.
	"Hey, guys!" I call out to the table.
	Vik and Kyle turn, giving me a nod, but Kasha looks up and grins
with a big wave, "Matty!  Hurry up, we need you to help settle debate."
	Kyle give me this deadpan stare and says, "They've been arguing
about this since they got out of the line."
	Vik gives me a small smirk and says, "Kasha.  He thinks he is so
right, but he could not be more wrong.  I am sure you agree, Kyle."
	Kyle holds up his hands, "Nuh-uh, I'm staying out of this one.  Let
Matty be the tie-breaker."
	I giggle, "What's the argument about this time?"
	I look over to Phillip, who looks a little confused.
	"Twins," I say with a shrug, "I guess they don't always agree on
everything," I finish in a really exaggerated way.
	Phillip just gives me a small smile as he takes a bite of his food.
	Both Vik and Kasha look at me kinda shocked and a little mad.
	"That is not how being twin works," Kasha says, a little offended.
	Vik levels off at me, "We are not the same person.  We do not agree
all the time."
	I just snicker a bit, "I don't know, you guys sure seem like you
agree a lot."
	Then they both raise their voice a bit and say together "We do
not!"
	Then they look at each other and we all start laughing.  Even Vik
and Kasha wind up laughing in spite of themselves.
	After the laughing dies down, I look at Vik and ask, "So what was
the argument about, anyway?"
	Vik takes a bite of his food and gestures to Kasha, "He thinks that
PewDiePie is the best YouTuber."
	I raise my eyebrow and look at Kasha, "Seriously?  PewDiePie?"
	"What?" Kasha says, his face looking like he can't believe I'd
question him.  "He is very funny.  Like, pro-gamer with sense of humor."
	"He barely plays any video games," I reply, "Most of his videos are
about memes and stuff."
	Vik nods, "That is what I have told him," he says. "At least with a
YouTuber like Ninja, you get to see someone who actually plays the games he
talks about."
	I roll my eyes, "Is that what this argument was about?  Ninja or
PewDiePie?"
	Kasha gives me this smug, kinda know-it-all look and say, "Yes.
Who else is there?"
	I sigh, "Well, I guess since I do play Fortnite, I'm more
interested in Ninja than PewDiePie..."
	Vik grins and looks at Kasha, "Ha!  You see?"
	"But," I continue, "I usually only like those vids when he's with
DrLupo."
	"Why?" Vik asks.
	I shrug, "I don't know.  Ninja screams too much."
	This gets a giggle from Kyle and even Phillip snorts a laugh.
	Kasha narrows his eyes at me, "So, who do you like?"
	I shrug again, "I mostly play a lot of video games more than watch
gamers, so I don't have, like, a real dedicated following to anyone in
particular.  Mostly, whatever my friend Sean or my cousin sends me.  I
guess I'll watch some Minecraft streamers for ideas, sometimes."
	Kyle gives me a smirk, "I like how you basically told them you
don't like either of their choices without saying it outright."
	I deadpan, "Shut up, I didn't say that."
	Then I give him a small smile and a noticeable wink, which gets
Kyle, Phillip, and myself giggling.  Even Vik and Kasha join after a few
seconds of pretending to have their feelings hurt.  Then it pops in my head
that I haven't introduced Phillip yet.  I guess I just got so comfortable
with having things back to normal for a split second that I forgot.
	"Oh, guys, this is Phillip," I say, nodding over to him.  I reach
over to pat him on the shoulder and give him a small squeeze to try and
calm him down a bit.
	Phillip gives his usual small smile and waves.
	"Hi, guys."
	Kasha, of course, is the first person to introduce himself.  He
leans over, reaching out his hand for a handshake, "My name is Arkady, but
just call me Kasha.  Is easier, ya?"
	Phillip nods and shakes Kashas's hand. "Kasha?" He asks to confirm.
	Kasha nods and smiles.
	Phillip looks at him questioningly, "Do people really have a hard
time saying `Arkady'?" He asks, saying it the way Kasha said it.
	Kasha rolls his eyes, "Well, the teachers do.  Kasha is easier and
I don't have to hear everyone get it wrong all the time."
	Vik looks over and gives Phillip a nod, "I am Viktor, but you can
call me Vik."
	Phillip nods, "Cool, Vik."
	Kyle gives Phillip a little wave, "I'm Kyle," he says.
	Phillip nods, "Oh yeah, Kyle," he says. Then he narrows his eyes a
bit, "We have Science together, right?"
	Kyle nods, "Uh, yeah.  I'm in the seat behind you.  I didn't think
you ever really noticed.  Honestly, I kinda thought you were ignoring me."
	Phillip rubs the back of his neck, "Yeah, I kinda keep to myself
for the most part.  Sorry if you felt like I was being rude or
whatever. It's just not the easiest thing in the world for me to talk to
new people."
	Kyle nods, "I understand.  I guess I owe you an apology for
thinking you were just being rude."
	"It's cool," says Phillip with a small smile.
	"So, Phillip," says Kasha, "We've got Matty's opinion, but what
about you?  Who do you think is better YouTuber?"
	Phillip gives him a sheepish smile, "I don't really like either of
them, sorry."
	I smile at Kasha, "Sorry, buddy.  I'm sure you can find someone in
the school who shares your terrible taste in YouTubers."
	Kasha just sticks his tongue out at me, then continues, "Alright,
alright.  Then who do you like, if not the obvious choice of PewDiePie?"
	Phillip thinks for a second, "Well, I play a lot of Minecraft, so a
few Minecraft streamers, like Logdoztip...PlayStation Access every once in
awhile," he pauses again, then shrugs, "I guess that's it.  I don't really
play Fortnite or games like that, so I don't really watch the typical
streamers."
	Kasha nods, satisfied with Phillip's answer, I guess.
	Then he turns to Kyle, "What about you?"
	Kyle smiles, "Sorry, but I ain't got a dog in y'alls fight. I
mostly just play Destiny, so I watch guys like FalloutPlays, TrueVanguard,
and TheBlackLink."
	Kasha raises his eyebrow, "That is all you play? Really?"
	"Hey, Destiny is a big game, man," Kyle replies, "I don't got much
time for anything else.  I mean, I play Fortnite every once in a while, but
that's it."
	Everybody keeps talking about games and stuff for a little
bit. Really, nothing different from normal. But Phillip isn't really
joining in; he's just kinda sitting there, quietly eating his food and
watching everybody. I catch his eyes a few times and he gives me a shy
smile. I don't want him to feel left out or anything, but I don't want to
push him and freak him out or whatever.
	I mean, I might be making too big a deal out of this, but I know he
can be friendly and fun to be around.  I just didn't think he still needed
more pushing from me.
	"Oh!  I almost forget!" Kasha suddenly says in the middle of the
conversation.  "We'll be having big birthday sleepover tomorrow night and
we wanted to invite all of you!"
	Oh yeah!  I've been looking forward to reliving this party!  Glad I
invited Phillip to lunch today.
	"Cool!" I say, feeding off Kasha's energy.
	"Totally," nods Kasha, "we are going to have party with telling the
scary stories, and have cake, and even camp outside!"
	Vik continues, even sounding excited himself, "We have a huge tent
and an even bigger backyard.  It goes all the way down to the creek."
	"Oh man," Kyle says, "I'll call mamma after school!  I can't wait!"
	"Count me in," I say with a big grin.
	Kasha looks to Phillip, still smiling and says, "What about you,
Phillip?"
	"Uh...me?" Phillip asks.  He looks a little confused.
	Kasha raises his eyebrows and asks, "You are coming to sleepover
too, right?"
	"But you barely know me," Phillip says with a nervous smile and
laugh.
	Kasha waves him off, "Ah, is no problem! It's why we want you to
come."
	Vik nods, "You seem like a fun guy to be around, especially after
getting to play in gym today."
	Phillip blinks a few times, "W-well, it's just that," he pauses,
moving his hands like he's trying to find the words.  He looks at me,
hoping I'll bail him out or something.
	I chime in, "It's just that he feels bad because he doesn't know
what to bring for a present," I look to the twins, "but that's not a
problem, right?"
	"Of course not," Kasha says with another hand wave, "You just be
there, okay?"
	Vik nods again, "The party is the fun part, anyway."
	I look at Phillip with a grin, "See, Phillip?  No problem.  So you
gonna come or not?"
	Phillip looks at me, eyes going from irritated to defeated.  He
manages to look back at the twins with a friendly smile.
	"Sure.  Why not?  Sounds like fun," he says.
	"Excellent!" Cries Kasha.
	Suddenly, I feel the need to go to the bathroom, so I excuse
myself.  Phillip looks at me like he's afraid to be without me for a minute
or something.  I just look back at him and silently move my lips to say,
`Relax.'  He rolls his eyes, but exhales and relaxes.
	I make my way into the bathroom and find a urinal to do my
business.  As I finish up, I hear the door open.  I'm still a little on
edge after what happened this morning, so I jump a little and turn around
to the door.
	But I'm surprised to see Michael standing there.
	He puts his hands up, "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."
	I smile a bit, "Nah, you're good.  Just a little jumpy, that's
all."
	He nods, "Yeah, sorry again.  I saw you walk in here and I wanted
to talk to you."
	I raise my eyebrow, "About what?"
	"Well," he says, pausing for a moment, "I guess first I wanted to
thank you...y'know, for being nice to me the other day.  That doesn't
happen a lot."
	"Sure," I say with a cheerful smile.
	"So, I was wondering," he continues, pausing again, "Why you were
talking to Beto?"
	"Beto?" I ask, a little confused.
	"Yeah," he says, "I saw you two talking in the gym.  He's friends
with Rod and Diego...he's even been there picking on me with them before."
	I stare at him and say nothing.
	"So, now I'm confused.  Like, did you really do all that to help or
if you have my back at all," he says, looking at me for an answer.
	"Look, there's some stuff going on with Beto," I start, trying to
figure out how to say this.  "I know he's hung out with assholes like Rod
and Diego before, but he's trying to change that.  I'm sorry if he ever has
picked on you, but he really does want to change.  He even tried to help me
out with a bully this morning."
	Michael raises his eyebrow, "Really?"
	I nod, "Really.  Look, I don't know what he did and I'm sorry that
he picked on you, but I know it's not what he wants to do."
	He looks at me, still unsure.
	"And I'm still your friend as much as I am his, so I promise to
help you both if you need it, okay?"
	Michale simply turns to leave.  Then, he turns just enough to say,
"I want to trust you...even if you're completely nuts."  Then he leaves.
	I stand there wondering about it.  I mean, I thought if I just did
the right thing and tried to make friends with everybody, things would work
out fine this time around. I guess it was silly of me to just assume
everyone would get along like it's a Disney movie or something.
	I mean, they don't all have to become best friends, but I know I
can make things better if I try my best to be the best friend I can be.
No, I'm sure things will work out fine. They have to.
	I wash my hands and rejoin the guys at the table, still in excited
conversation about games and stuff.  I kinda join in, but I'm distracted.
I think Phillip can tell.
	He looks at me until I notice, his face showing a little worry.
	"Everything alright?" He asks.
	I just smile and say, "Yeah, I'm fine."
	"You're sure?" He asks.  God, am I that readable, or is he just
that worried?
	I roll my eyes, but still smile, "Yes, honestly.  I'm fine."
	Phillip shrugs, "Okay.  If you say so."
	The lunch bell rings not long after that and we all file out of the
lunch room.  Then I hear a familiar voice call out, "Phillip!"
	We're both halfway down the hall when we turn and see Phillip's
friend from this morning kinda jogging out of the lunchroom.
	Phillip waves, "Hey!"
	I nod over in the friend's direction, "Your friend again?" I ask,
trying to sound cool about it all.
	"Uh, yeah," Phillip says, "We actually have the same lunch and the
next class together, too." He looks at me with a half-smile.
	I just keep nodding.
	"Cool," I say pausing for a moment as his friend walks up.
	"Phillip," he says, adjusting his backpack and glasses as he stops
next to us, "Dude," he says, looking all serious at Phillip, "They just
announced the new Borderlands!" His voice is kinda somewhere between mine
and Phillip's, I think.  His short blond hair has some gel or whatever in
it and it's styled like some of the boys in school have it.  He's wearing a
pair of fitting khakis and a dark t-shirt.
	Phillip smiles and says, "No wonder you're so excited."
	His friend throws his hands up, "How could I not be?!  If you'd
just start playing that Borderlands 2 copy I gave you, you'd be excited,
too.  I mean, all the cities and guns and vehicles already look like a ton
of fun. Borderlands 2 was already, like, twice as good as the first game,
so the third game should be at least three times as good."
	Phillip smiles a bit, cocking an eyebrow at his friend, "I'm pretty
sure that's not how sequel math works."
	His friend stares at him, "Dude.  There's a gun that has legs.  An
actual walking gun.  Of course the game is gonna be awesome!  I'm telling
you, we're going to go through the Borderlands games and by the time we're
finished, you'll be as excited as I am," then he pauses and looks at
Phillip again, "Guns. With. Legs, Phillip!"
	Well, he's pretty...talkative.  Most of that went by pretty fast.
	Phillip stifles a giggle. Then he turns to me and asks, "So...after
school, right?"
	I nod and reply, "Yep."  Then I nod over to his friend.
"So...who's this?"
	Phillip eyes snap open, "Oh yeah, I forgot."
	He moves his hand over to his friend, "This is Gareth," then he
moves back over to me, "Gareth, this is Matty."
	Gareth sticks out his hand.
	"Hi!  Nice to meet you," he says with a big smile.  His smile is
very warm and friendly.  Like it shines a light on his soft features.
	I reach out and shake his hand, "You too," I say with a smile.  His
grip is firm, though his hands are only a little bigger than mine.
	Gareth turns to Phillip then.
	"Oh, we should head on to class. I need to ask you about the
slope-intercept parts of the math homework," He says.
	Phillip smiles again, "Not like I'm going to be super helpful
explaining it."
	Gareth looks at him eagerly, "But you understand it better than me,
right? Help me, Phillip, you're my only hope!" He says with his hands
folded and trying to sound like a princess.
	Phillip giggles again.  "Come on," he says, turning around and
walking away with Gareth, "I'll see what I can do."
	He turns around after a moment and says, "Oh, I'll see you later,
okay?"
	"O-okay," I say with a smile and a wave.
	"So," Gareth says as they turn and walk off together, "This
slope-intercept thing is super confusing.  Like, slope is `m'?  How does
that make any sense?"
	This gets a laugh out of Phillip and they continue laughing and
talking as they go.
	Okay, I can't be getting jealous, can I?  It's Phillip, Matty.  I'm
sure there's nothing going on.  Phillip's not even ready to admit he likes
guys in public yet, so there's nothing to be jealous about.  I doubt he's
even looking at Gareth that way.  But it is Phillip, you know he'd totally
crush on the right guy if he...
	No.  Stop. Phillip's your friend and he likes you. Gareth is just
his friend.  That's it.  And I'm glad Phillip made another friend.  It's
better than him spending all his time alone at school.
	Anyway, I move on to my next class, impatiently waiting for the
rest of the day to end.  The day's been stressful enough, though, that it
makes it hard to focus on the classes, so they kinda just drag by.  Ugh.  I
hate when it feels like that. I'll say it again, I really wish that I could
skip moments like this.  Sucks sometimes that I can only go back.
	Finally, classes end and I head outside to meet up with Phillip.  I
run into him outside, undoing the chain on his bike.
	He looks up at me with his smile.
	"Ready?" He asks.
	"Yup," I say, beaming back.
	We don't really start talking right away.  I know, for me, I've
still got a buncha stuff on my mind.  I look at Phillip, who's just kinda
looking ahead as we walk.
	Eventually, the silence gets to be too much so I speak up.
	"I'm glad you're going to be at the twins' party tomorrow."
	Phillip looks at me with a nervous smile, "Honestly?  I'm super
nervous about it."
	I giggle a bit, "Why?  You like them, don't you?"
	He shrugs, "Yeah, sure...I mean, I barely know them."
	"You'll be fine," I say, trying to sound as reassuring as I can.
"I mean, you didn't want to play four square earlier and you ended up
liking it."
	He rolls his eyes, "Yeah, I know."
	"So you might end up liking hanging out with these guys, too," I
finish.
	He looks at me, then looks ahead.
	"Y-yeah.  Maybe you're right," he says with a smile.  "They did
seem like a lot of fun."
	I just smile, "See? I'm sure you'll have a great time."
	The rest of the walk is pretty quiet. There's a few moments of
chatter about school and stuff, but we mostly just keep walking in silence
through the heat.
	Finally, we make it back to my place, going through the front door
today so Phillip doesn't have to drag his bike through gap in the fence.
	Mom's watching TV, but looks up as we come through the front
door. She says "hi" and points out the pitcher of lemonade on the counter.
	"I thought you boys might have worked up a sweat on the walk here,"
she says.
	"Thanks, mom," I reply.
	"You're very welcome," she smiles. Then she turns to Phillip, "It's
good to see you again, Phillip."
	"Th-thank you, ma'am," Phillip says quietly.
	There's a bit of an awkward pause, then my mom says, "Alright, you
two grab your lemonade and go play.  You don't have to talk to your old mom
if you don't want to," she says with a sly smile.
	I roll my eyes, grabbing my lemonade.
	"Byyyee, mom," I say.
	"Byyyee, son," she says, mimicking my tone.
	Phillip giggles a bit as he grabs his drink and follows behind me.
	"Be sure to bring your cups back when you finish," she calls out.
	"Okay!" I call back.
	Finally, we make it to my room.  I set down my drink and turn on my
Xbox.  I look over to Phillip, who's looking at my keyboard that I had left
out this morning.
	He looks over to me. "Do you play it a lot?" He asks, pointing to
the keyboard.
	I shrug, "I played it more before I got sick, but I'm trying to
practice more.  Actually, I still kinda remember a lot of what I knew from
my last life, so that's made learning it again pretty easy."
	Phillip's eyes go wide, "Really?  You remember how to play?  Like,
you play just as well as you used to?"
	"Well," I say, "It's more like I remember the basics and I can fill
in gaps as I go.  The big challenge is just getting muscle memory back,
since I'm technically playing a lot of this stuff for the first time."
	I pause and think about it, "So, I guess it's like I'm learning for
the first time, but it also is like remembering how to play."
	"I guess that's what it's like," he pauses, "y'know, when you've
got powers like yours."
	There's another pause.
	"Would you...I mean, why don't you play me something?" He asks.
"I'd like to hear what you remember."
	I smile, "Sure."
	I mute the tv, then go over to my keyboard and turn it on.
	Once I get situated, I start playing "Clair de Lune."  It's a
pretty song and it's still fresh in my head from this morning.  I've had a
lot of time this life to practice--well, sorta--so I'm okay at it.  I can't
play it very fast or anything, but I know I can play it alright.
	I start the piece, closing my eyes so I can feel those opening
notes ring out.  I slowly walk down the keyboard as I play, going back up
to repeat once I finish the first part of the intro.  Then I hit the
section where the chords really come in full force, going up to arpeggiated
sections, starting slow, then just picking up enough speed--being careful
not to trip over myself too much.  The piece slows down to sort of repeat
the opening section, a relaxing break from the middle section before it
arpeggiates one more time into the closing trill.
	I finish, lifting my hands and turning to look at Phillip beside
me.
	His mouth is hanging open and his eyes are wide.
	"Dude," he says, "That was so good."
	"Thanks," I say with a small smile.  I can feel my cheeks flushing
a bit.
	"No, seriously," he says, looking at me, "That was better than I
was expecting.  You're really good."
	"Gosh," I say, feeling the blush form, "Thanks, Phillip."  Why am I
letting the praise affect me like this?  I know this piece and I practice
it a lot.  I guess it's just been a while since anyone beside my mom has
heard me play it...plus, it *is* Phillip.
	I snap out of it and shrug, "I guess that's what happens when you
can rewind time," I say with a smile, "It kinda makes it easier to learn a
song," I finish with a giggle.
	Phillip nods, "I guess so.  But it didn't seem, like, robotic or
anything."
	I raise my eyebrow.
	Phillip waves his hand.
	"I mean, I could see you focus on it sounded like you were feeling
it," he says.  "Like, it could've sounded like you were just playing it
like you had a hundred times before or that you were tired of it, but it
didn't," he gives me a sheepish smile, "Well, at least that's what it
seemed like to me."
	I nod, "Yeah, I think I get ya," I say quietly.
	There's a long pause between us.
	Eventually, I break it with a smile.
	"Anyway, let's play some games before you have to go home."
	Phillip jumps a bit, "Uh, y-yeah," he says, "sounds like fun."
	We both go to sit down.  I take off my shoes to get more
comfortable and Phillip follows suit. We start playing some Black Ops for a
bit, mostly quietly. Well, Phillip's being quiet. I get a few chuckles out
of him with some playful trash talk, though, and he starts to come around.
I mean, he's still very much the person he is this time, but more
comfortable, if that makes sense.
	"Man!  I almost had you," he says, a little frustrated.  I had just
gotten him, after he thought he had the drop on me, with a well-timed
grenade.  It was well-timed because I had thrown just seconds before he
came around a corner of the map and shot me, making it so he got blown up
before he could finish me off.
	"Almost," I say, "but you didn't."
	I just look at him with a smug grin.
	He raises his eyebrow, a small smile tugging at his lips.
	"How do I know you're not cheating?  You could be rewinding and I
wouldn't even know about it," he says.
	"I would never do that," I say, trying to sound all hurt.
"Besides, I don't need powers to beat you in Black Ops.  I'm just that
good."
	Phillip rolls his eyes, "Man, you're insufferable when you're
winning."
	"You want me to go easy on you or something?" I ask, still
smirking.
	"Nah," he waves it off, "It'll just make it that much sweeter when
I finally beat you," he says with a smirk of his own.
	I just raise my eyebrow at him, "I don't know if I'll still be
playing Black Ops when I'm 50, man.  I'd find another goal, if I were you,"
I finish with a giggle.
	Phillip smiles and laughs a bit.
	"Jerk!" He says, before taking a lunge at me, still laughing.
	The controller is knocked out of my hand as we tumble to the
ground.  I struggle back underneath him, trying to keep him from pinning my
arms so I can't use them.  I'm flailing and kicking while he tries his best
to get a hold of me.  Then he starts to tickle me and that's basically game
over.
	I start to laugh like an idiot as his fingers tickle my stomach.
I'm still flailing a bit, but Phillips takes advantage of the distraction
and quickly moves his hands to pin my arms over my head.  He sits on me to
make his victory official.
	I pant a bit, trying to recover from the tickling and the
wrestling.
	"Feel better, now?" I ask with a smirk.
	Phillip nods, "Yes, actually I do."
	"Well, good," I say, "Because you almost made me pee myself with
that tickling."
	Sheepish smile from Phillip, "Sorry about that."
	I shake my head as best I can, "It's okay.  I could've just gone
back in time before it happened, right?"
	Phillip thinks about it for a second.
	"I guess you're right," he says.  Then he shrugs, "Then I guess
I'll take the victory, after all," smiling at me.
	I roll my eyes and smile, "Gee, thanks."
	We take a moment to kind of look at each other.  I can see Phillip
start to think over something.
	"Can I ask you something?" He asks.
	"Sure," I say.
	He moves off of me and we both go back to our sitting positions
from before.
	"What's on your mind?" I ask.
	He pauses for another moment before finally asking, "Did
you...uh...did you come out in your last life?  I mean, if you knew how you
felt about boys or whatever."
	Okay, Matty.  He's asking about your first life here, so be
careful.  I mean, I want to help him, but not if it means he'll get a
seizure or worse.
	"Mmm...I was kinda out near the end of it.  I had started to figure
out my feelings I guess, and my parents knew," I say.
	"What about your friends?  Did they know back then?" He asks.
	"Eventually," I say, "I wasn't out right away because I kinda used
to get bullied a lot about stuff, so I was scared of getting bullied more.
But I finally started being honest about it after a while."
	"What made you change your mind?" Phillip asks.
	I shrug.
	"I just got tired of letting people have control over me.  It's
more important to own what makes you you then to let somebody else tell you
who you are or to make fun of you for not being what they want you to be."
	I pause.
	"I don't know," I say, "does that make sense?"
	Phillip nods, thinking things through but saying nothing.
	"What brought all this on, Phillip?" I ask.
	"I was just doing more thinking about what I liked...how to tell
people when I finally had everything figured out.  That sort of thing,"
Phillip says.
	"It's not like you have to rush the decision," I say softly.  I
understand what he's going through because I've been there before.  I guess
I'm still kinda there.
	I keep going, "I mean, I had figured out I liked guys in my last
life, but it's not like I go around talking about it to everybody in this
life."
	Phillip rolls his eyes, "I know, it's just," he takes a long pause,
"You've been so cool about things.  And you're so confident around people
that it makes me want to be that confident too, y'know?"
	I just look at him.
	"I know, it's pretty pathetic that I can't even work up enough
confidence to be myself," he says, looking down.
	I put my hand on his.
	"You're not pathetic," I say, "You've already changed even from
when we first met, and it's only been, like, a week."
	I pause and let it sink in, "I mean, you found the confidence to
make friends and even get invited to a birthday party for people you just
met."
	He rolls his eyes and smirks, "Well, you had a lot to do with
that."
	I shrug, "Maybe, but you still said yes.  I'm not so sure you
would've done that when we first met."
	He stares at me with a smile, "Thanks."
	"Now," I say, breaking the brief silence, "Didn't you say something
about wanting to play another game?" I ask with a smirk.  I rub his hand
with my thumb. A shy smile from Phillip as he takes a nervous gulp.
	"Uh, y-yeah," he stammers, "I-I mean, if you want to."
	I lean forward and plant a kiss on his lips, holding it there for a
few seconds.
	I break the kiss and lean back.
	"What do you think?" I ask with another smirk.
	He's blushing and has a slightly more dazed smile.
	I giggle a bit, but lean in for another kiss.  This time, I start
to use my tongue.  Like I said, I'm not that great with tongue, but I'm
okay.  Maybe it's all the singing and stuff that helps me get better?  Shut
up, it makes sense.
	We break the kiss to get some air.  Phillip is really blushing,
now.  Actually, I'm sure we both look pretty flushed.
	"I like it when we do that," I say, smiling.
	"Me too," Phillip says quietly as he smiles back.
	I lean in for another kiss, which Philip happily returns.
	Not long into the kiss, I feel Phillip's hand at the hem of my
shirt.  I quickly break the kiss so I can pull my t-shirt off.  After I get
it off, Phillip moves his hand up and touches my stomach.  Then he moves
his fingers gently around there, sort of tracing out my abs a bit.  Phillip
always did like my "six pack," but it's a bit too ticklish for that kind of
movement.
	I squirm and giggle, "That really tickles," I say.
	Phillips moves his hand back with a small smile, "Sorry," he says.
	I just smile back as I shuck my shorts off, leaving my briefs on.
I toss the shorts to the side and look at Phillip as he stares at me.
Well, he stares at my crotch, eyes crossing a bit.  I smile and decide to
have a little fun.
	I turn around on the spot and face my butt toward Phillip.
	"You were looking at this in gym today, right?" I ask, looking over
my shoulder.
	Phillip nods and smiles, staring at my butt.
	"Yeah," he says, "I was."
	I don't say anything, but move my hands to the waistband of my
undies.  I slowly move them down over my butt, stopping half way down my
legs.
	"Well?" I ask, but I'm not looking at him.
	Next thing I know, I feel a hand grab my butt and take a squeeze.
	Of course, this makes me yelp and I turn around to look at Phillip
who's got this grin on his face.
	"Sorry," he says, "but I couldn't resist."
	I just smirk as I fully turn to face him.
	"Well, at least you're more comfortable than you were before," I
say.
	As soon as I say it, I look at him and see that he's staring at my
crotch again, almost like he's dazed.  I look down for a sec and see my
dick.  I'm not boned up or anything, it's just my button (as Phillip used
to call it).  Phillip might be getting bolder with me, but it's easy to
forget in those moments how new all of this is to him now. But I want to
help him get more comfortable.
	I move toward him, leaning down again for kiss.  I kneel down and
reach for Phillip's shirt, tugging it quickly up his chest.  Phillip's eyes
dart around and down to his shirt and he shifts a bit where he's sitting,
quickly breaking the kiss and moving his arms so I can get the shirt off
him.
	With his shirt off, I move my hand to his chest to feel my way
around. I get a shiver out of Phillip as I do. I move my hand down to his
sides, lightly grazing my fingers there, but Phillip squirms as I do.
	"Stop," he says, "ticklish there."
	"Sorry," I say with a giggle.
	Then I push lightly against him, getting him to move onto his back.
I move down so that I'm lying gently on top of him, the skin of our chests
touching.  I'm definitely boned up now, too.
	I smile warmly.
	"I'm glad you're starting to enjoy this more," I say.
	"Well," Phillip says, pausing for a beat, "it's fun with you.  I
really like being with you," he says, looking away.
	I just go in for another small kiss.
	After I break off, I look at him.
	"Me too," I say.
	We start up some more intense kissing after that.  Eventually, I
break off and move down to his shorts.  I quickly undo the button and
carefully move the zipper down before I pull the shorts down, leaving him
in just a pair of boxer briefs.  Phillip is smiling, but he still looks a
little nervous.
	"Why don't we move to the bed?" I suggest.
	Phillip nods, "Good idea.  More comfortable than the floor," he
finishes with a smirk.
	I giggle as we move over.  I get on my knees and Phillip lies down
on his back.
	Then I move my finger in a little circle and say, "Flip over."
	"O-okay," Phillip says as he flips over.
	I straddle his back and lean over to his ear.
	"I just want to help you relax first," I say, making sure I move my
hips just enough to brush my dick against his, which makes his breath hitch
a bit.
	I dig my hands into his shoulder muscles as I start my massage.
Phillip moans into my pillow immediately on my first squeeze, which gets me
to giggle.  I do like Phillip used to show me, working all the key muscles
in his back.  He's moaning the whole time and my boner is really straining
at this point.  I move down to his butt, kneading his firm muscles here and
getting more moans out of him.
	I lean forward. "Not too loud or my mom will hear you," I warn.
	"Then stop doing it so good," he says into the pillow.
	I just giggle a bit.  But really though, as loud as she keeps the
tv, I could probably be screaming and she wouldn't hear me.
	I move back down to Phillip's butt, pulling his briefs down just
enough to uncover it.
	Then I get a wicked idea and reach out and squeeze my butt just
like Phillip did to me.  He lets out a yelp and jumps a bit.  He turns onto
side a bit and looks at me with a raised eyebrow.
	"Sorry," I say with a grin, "but I couldn't help it."
	Phillip rolls his eyes and I gently push at his shoulder getting to
him lay back down like he was.  I squeeze his shoulders again, getting
Philip to start up his moaning.  He's trying to be more quiet this time at
least. I move all the way down, working his back, spending time on his butt
and even paying attention to his super firm and sculpted legs.
	My head is swimming as I lean down onto Phillip's back and start to
gently grind my dick against him.  This gets a slightly louder moan from
him and I can't wait anymore.
	I lean forward and tell him, "Flip over."
	He starts to shift under me and I move out of his way until he's on
his back.  Then I move down to his underwear and take them the rest of the
way off, hurriedly peeling them off his legs until we're both completely
naked.
	I quickly move back up and go for another kiss and we end up on our
sides.  We're both really into it, but also nervous excited.  We move our
hands around, feeling for whatever we can get our hands on.  I try to move
my hand up to rub his chest, but Phillip tries to move his hand down to my
dick at the same time and our arms run into each other's, blocking the way.
	"Oops, sorry," we both say to each other. I look at him and he
looks at me and we both let out a small nervous giggle.
	"You first," I say.  Phillip takes a nervous gulp and continues.
	 Phillip finds his way down to my dick and slowly rubs it with his
palm.  I moan into the kiss, but I jerk a little bit when I feel Phillip
try to grab my balls and he ends up tickling them too much.
	I jerk away a bit, stifling a giggle, "Stop, that's too
light. You're gonna make me pee."
	Phillip jerks his hand away.
	"Oh crap! I'm sorry," he says.
	"No worries," I say.
	We go back to kissing like we were and I move my hand down and
gently tickle his balls.  Phillip shudders, moving his hand around to my
butt, lightly squeezing and rubbing there.
	Then, I get an idea to try something new.  I break the kiss and
Phillip looks a little surprised.  But I just smile and shift around a
little bit.
	"Don't freak out," I say, "I just want to try something."
	He raises his eyebrow and I move my face just in front of his dick.
Before he can say anything else, I stick out my tongue and take a small
lick right on the underside of the head.
	"A-ah!" Phillip gasps in surprised pleasure.
	I start to go to town, licking all over his dick.  I move around
the head, I lick down the top of the shaft, I come back up the underside of
the shaft.  I even take a few passes at his slit.  I really just take my
time and explore his cock with my tongue, which is something I really
haven't done in a while--and judging by the noises he's making, I'd say
he's enjoying it.
	Then I get another idea and shift around a bit so I can get a
better angle.  My feet are now facing Phillip's head and we're kinda making
this "V" shape.  Once I settle in, I start to lick one of his nuts.  Then I
move to the other one and try that before gently moving them around to
taste the underside.  The taste and smell so new to me in this life, but
reminding me of being close with him before.  Phillip is moaning again and
I feel his hand move to my butt.  He just kinda starts moving that hand up
and down, bringing it as far as my hamstring before going back up and
lightly squeezing my butt again.  We settle into that pattern for a moment,
me licking his nuts and take one into my mouth and start sucking.  Phillip
goes from moaning to a sharp inhale, hand kinda freezing where it is on my
butt.  I close my eyes for moment and enjoy the sensation of lightly
sucking on his balls.
	"That feels so good," he manages to choke out after a few seconds.
	Then, I decided to try and make him feel even better by sucking a
little harder. I guess I get a little carried away, because while I'm
getting more into it, I suck pretty hard, putting pressure down with my
lips.[a][b][c][d][e][f]
	"Ow!" Phillip yelps out.  Then he clenches down on my butt. I can
feel his nails dig in, making me yelp--but not before I quickly and
carefully let him go.  I shift back around to face Phillip, hands up in
apology.
	"I'm so sorry!" I say, "I didn't know I was squeezing too hard."
	"I-it's okay," he grunts.  He takes a moment to compose himself,
closing his eyes and taking slow breaths.  Then his eyes snap open, "I'm
sorry," he says, "I hope I didn't hurt you too much when I pinched you
there."
	"It's fine," I say, managing a smile, "It was my fault, not yours."
	Phillip gives an embarrassed smile, "Not the smoothest, are we?"
	I shake my head and smile back, "We'll figure it out."  I slowly
move my hand back down to his dick.  "Why don't we try something simple?"
I ask.
	I take my index finger and start to lightly trace around the head
of his still hard dick.  He inhales sharply, eyes practically rolling into
his head.  I move from head down his shaft and spend a little time in his
small bush of pubes, just kinda lightly grazing my nails and finger pads
through it.  Another inhale through his teeth and I giggle to myself.
	"If you suck in any more air, your lungs will collapse," I joke.
	"Can't help it," he says through his teeth before letting out his
held breath, "You told me not to moan too loud, remember?"
	"I guess I did," I say, lazily moving my fingers around his dick
and balls.  Phillip starts to squirm a bit and I giggle some more.  "But
you can moan a little bit, if you want to," I say.  Phillip starts to open
his mouth as I move finger to the tip of his dick, tickling the slit, and
the noise that comes out is more of a whimper.
	I smile, but I realize that Phillip needs to participate more, and
I kick myself a bit for getting so wrapped up in it. I take my free hand
and grab Phillip's hand.  His eyes snap open and he looks down, then gets
the cue.  He moves one to my dick, palming it like he was before, but also
switching to a little finger tweaking here and there.  He even takes his
fingers and rubs above my penis, maybe to feel the difference. It feels
really good and I'm in heaven, but then I see his hand go around behind me
as he awkwardly rubs my butt.  Well, it's not too awkward, but it does feel
like he's trying to figure it out.  He lightly squeezes and I moan, giving
him a bit more confidence as he keeps feeling up my ass.  I move my free
hand to Phillip's to sort of return the favor.  He moans as I lightly
squeeze and rub there.  As much as he loves it, I love the feel of his
solid, bicycle-sculpted ass more than he loves me feeling it.
	Our hands move like this in similar patterns all over each other,
resting in a spot for a moment or two to enjoy the touch.  We still have an
awkward bump or tickle here and there.  At one point, I try to play with
Phillip's nipples.  It's not something I'm used to doing even from my first
life, but he seems to enjoy the little tweaks and gentle rubbing I'm doing.
He even sighs a bit at the feeling.  But I get carried away again and make
my pinching a bit too hard.
	Phillip hisses and says, "Too rough."
	I quickly move my hand and say, "I'm sorry."
	He gives a nervous nod and a smile as we keep going.
	Finally, I move forward, pushing myself on top of Phillip as we
turn over.  I'm ready for more. I press my dick onto his and start
grinding.
	Phillip's eyes roll back and I see him catch the moan before it
gets out, turning it into a long grunt.  I start to pant, and even grunt a
little, as I get into it, putting my hands on his chest for balance.  I
move them to his nipples and start rubbing and lightly pinching there and
his grunts get louder as I do.
	Man, this feels so good!  We didn't do a lot of this in our last
life, but it feels amazing.  The feel of soft skin on soft skin as I pump
up and down against him. I go down far enough for my dick to bump into his
balls on the way up once--it feels different, but I love it enough that I
do it again.  The heads rub against each other, getting a grunt out of us
both at the same time when they do.  It all feels so good and I want it to
last forever.
	It doesn't take much more of this, though, for Phillip to shoot,
blasting a good dozen shots all over himself from his face all the way down
his chest until it oozes lazily into his small bush of pubes.
	The sensation of him coming while I grind into him is too much for
me, so I orgasm halfway through.  I watch my dick pump and try to shoot
until it finally manages its usual bit of clear cum that oozes onto
Phillip's dick.
	Right as I finish, though, I rewind to when he starts shooting,
wanting to feel it all over again and watch us both at max pleasure.  The
look on Phillip's face when he comes.  The feeling of his twitching dick
making me come.  Watching my clear cum ooze out over his head and shaft.  I
rewind one more time before I finally stop.
	I lean forward on top of Phillip, spent.  I'm laying in his sperm,
but I don't care.
	After a moment of collecting myself, I sit back up, still
straddling Phillip.  I look at him as he looks at me and all the sperm that
I just got on myself.  I just take a hand and kinda smear it around with a
goofy grin.
	He rolls his eyes at me, but manages a shy grin as he blushes even
more than he already is.
	"So," I ask, "Did that game live up to the hype in your head?"
	"It was really good, yeah," he says, looking down with a shy smile.
	I lean in for one more quick peck on the lips.
	"I thought so, too," I say.
	Phillip looks at the mess he made on himself, then looks up to me.
	"C-can I have a towel or something?" He asks with a shy smile.
	I giggle, "Yeah, hang on."
	I go to the closet and grab a couple of t-shirts out of the dirty
clothes hamper next to it.  I give them a sniff.  They're mostly clean
enough to help us wipe off, so I go hand one to Phillip and we both clean
ourselves up.
	"You sure do cum a lot," I say.
	He lets out a nervous chuckle, "Uh, yeah. Sorry about that," he
says.
	I shrug, "I kinda like it."
	He blushes, "You're weird," he says.
	I give a stupid grin, "I know."
	He goes quiet for a minute or two as he cleans himself up. He seems
a little dazed, honestly. I put on my underwear and go to sit next to him
on the bed.
	"Something still bothering you?" I ask.
	He looks at me, then makes a face like he's thinking about it. Then
he shrugs and says, "A lot of everything, I guess."
	I giggle a bit, "Well, can you narrow it down a bit?"
	He rolls his eyes, "I guess part of it is me still trying to figure
out how to think about my feelings."
	"Yeah?" I say, raising an eyebrow.
	"Don't get me wrong, I'm pretty sure the `attracted to other boys
part' is pretty set in my head," he says in a hurry. "I mean, I'm still
getting used to that, but I'm trying. It just," he pauses.
	"Just what?" I ask.
	He sighs, "It just feels hard to come to terms with around you, for
some reason."
	I stare at him blankly.
	"You're so confident about how you express yourself to me and to
your friends. That kind of confidence is tough to deal with when I'm
working stuff out...I don't know, it's motivating but also kinda
intimidating."
	"Okay," I say, sounding a little confused.
	"But for what it's worth, I think I...really like you," he says.
	I perk up a bit, "Yeah?"
	He picks at his fingers a bit, "I think I...I think I could be
something more than friends."
	I gasp excitedly.  Smooth, I know, I just can't help it.
	"B-but I think I need more time to figure that out," he says.
	"O-oh," I say, "Okay."
	He shakes his head and puts his hand on mine, "It's nothing against
you.  Honestly, it's because you've been the friend you are that I'm
thinking it over."
	I give a weak smile, "I understand."  There's a lot more I want to
say, but I don't.  For now, I just say, "I'm glad to have you as a friend,
too."
	He smiles back, "Thanks," he says, "I know I'm being all unsure or
whatever, but between that and...Uh, I mean," he trails off.
	"What?" I ask.
	"Well, you've been a good friend, but there's also a lot about you
I'm trying to figure out. I feel like I know you, but that I also don't,"
he says.
	"But," I start, "You know me better than anyone else does."
	He shakes his head, thinking about it, "That's not it.  I know
you've told me about your powers and stuff, but so much of it feels like a
mystery to me.  Like I just don't know what to make of it."
	He looks at me.  He must see that I'm confused, because he keeps
going.
	"I mean, you know me...er, knew me...a different me...what was I
like?" He asks.
	Crap.  How on earth do I answer that?
	"Similar," I pause, "In some ways.  Maybe more confident?  But that
might be because you were in Drama," I try weakly.
	"Me?  Drama?" Phillip's eyebrows raise.
	"Yeah," I giggle, "Funny, huh?"
	He chuckles a bit, "I guess so.  Wait...is that why you said you
thought I was in Drama class when we first met?"
	"Uh...I think so?" I say.
	"Huh...but that's all that was different?"
	I shrug, "That's all I can really remember right now."  It's
official.  I'm lying to my best friend.  My heart sinks and I try my best
to ignore it.
	"Oh," he says, head dropping a bit.  Then, he looks back at me and
says, "B-but, you'll tell me if you remember something, right?"
	"Yeah.  Of course," I say.
	He smiles, "Good.  I know it must seem...I don't know, desperate,
but...like I said, my brain throws the weirdest crap at me that feels like
stuff I've forgotten.  Something about being around you makes me
feel...like I could finally remember what it is I'm missing."
	He looks at me and I just stare at him sadly.
	"I-I'm sorry to keep bringing it up.  I know you're trying to help
me, it's just...anyway, yeah," he says.
	There's a long silence between us.
	I want so badly to say something but I feel like I'm paralyzed.
What the fuck am I supposed to do? I want Phillip back to his old self. I
can see he's in there somewhere, but I have no idea how to pull him out
without hurting him. All these freaking time powers and I can't figure out
a way to help him. If I could just tell him things would be so much more
simple. Well, they would be, except now I'm having to lie because maybe
that's better for him. But...I just want him back.  He'd be better off if
he knew the truth, right? But it'll hurt him or worse...Argh! Why can't I
figure this out?!
	"Hey...you okay?" He asks.
	I snap out of it, "Uh, yeah. I'm fine."
	There's a pause between us.
	"Are you...sure?" He asks.
	"Yeah," I say, forcing a small, quick smile, "I'm fine."
	"O-okay, just making sure," he says, looking away. Then he looks
around the bed. "Well, I better start heading home, if I stay any longer,
mom will start to wonder..."
	"Phillip," I say. I try to sound calm, but I think it came out as a
snap. He even kinda jumps a little. Nice, Matty.
	"Y-yeah?" he says.
	I look him in the eyes, "I promised I would help you and I
will. Just...give me time, okay? It's not like I've done this sort of thing
before."
	He finally manages a sheepish smile, at least.
	 "Yeah, I know.  I guess just having someone like you around, with
your powers, letting me know I'm not just a weirdo...I get a little ahead
of myself, I guess," he says rubbing his neck.
	"I understand," I say, "I know how you feel, believe me...oh, and
about the other thing..."
	He looks at me, eyebrow raised.
	"You can take the time you need to think over...if you LIKE like me
or what you want to do with that or whatever..." I say.
	"Well, I think I do LIKE like you," he smiles, "I'm just not sure
if I'm ready for anything official, y'know?"
	I smile--a real smile, this time--and say, "I understand. Like I
said, I can wait until you figure that out."
	He blushes, "C-can I ask one more thing?"
	"Sure," I say.
	He rubs his neck again, "C-can we...I mean, I really liked it when
we kissed," he pauses and stares at me for an awkwardly long time.  I just
stare back blankly.  "So, I was wondering if we could...y'know," he
stammers.
	Finally, it clicks and I smile for a moment. I lean forward again,
planting my lips on his for a long kiss. We even get our tongues going a
little bit, tasting each other again. But just as I put my hand on his
chest and starts to rub the bristly parts of my hair, I stop and separate
us before we both just melt into each other.
	"I hate to say it," I say, "But you have to go, right?"
	Phillip lets out a long sigh, "Yeah, I need to get home. Thanks
for...well, y'know," he trails off.
	"Anything for the person I LIKE like," I say with a smile.
	He gives me a weird look for a split second, before he smiles. Then
he gets dressed and leaves. I do see him out, though. We're all smiley and
we manage a quick, awkward hug and we wave goodbye. When I close the door
and turn around, Mom's turned around and has got this mushy face she's
staring at me with.
	"What?" I say.
	"I think you two are so cute together," she says simply.
	I roll my eyes reflexively, "Ugh, moooom."
	"Okay, okay, fine. I'll leave you alone," she says with a smug
smile.
	"Thank you," I say, turning to leave.
	I make it to the hallway and mom calls out, "But your smile was
even cuter!"
	"Mooooooooom!" I say, as I walk through my door.
	"I love you!" she calls back
	"I love you, too!" I say. Ugh! I want to be irritated, but it's
hard to stay mad at her. Mostly because she always knows how to make me
smile.
	Eventually, my mind wanders back to what happened between me and
Phillip...boy, where do I even start? Honestly it gives me such a headache
to even start thinking about it. I like him, he likes me, but I'm lying to
him and it's pissing me off that this whole thing is as complicated as it
is.
	I hop in the shower to clear my head. I try and relax by jacking
off a bit. It feels good, but I'm not as satisfied as I normally am by it
all, though, so I finish up and go through the rest of my evening like
normal.
	I try to settle in for the night, but my brain finds stuff to worry
me with. I thought once I met Phillip again, it would all start to fit
together. Now, I'm more worried about how things will turn out. What am I
gonna do? Where do I even start?
	I shut my eyes tight and force my mind to go blank. I take a deep
breath and think back. Back to a time I can't rewind to. The memories of
the good things from my last life come rushing back to me. Phillip's in
most of them. I wish I had that Phillip back. He would know what to do.
	I shake my head. He's not here. I mean, he is, but not all
here. Argh! Whatever.
	Well, at least I've got the twins' party to look forward to
tomorrow. Especially if it goes like the last one did...


END CHAPTER 5


	FINALLY! Back in action!  Sorry for the long wait between chapters,
gang.  Life gets in the way sometimes.  But it feels good to finally have a
good pace and a little more wind in my sails to get this done, so:


	OMG the plot thickens!  What's Matty gonna do?  Will Phillip make
his "LIKE like" public? And who the heck is this Gareth kid anyway?  Well,
we're gonna have to find out together!  Send me an email if you want to
talk about the story or give me any feedback.  I'd love to hear from you.
Until then, I'll see you next chapter for some birthday sleepover fun. ;)