There was one thing in the world which young people either put up with or absolutely loathed, and most of the time that varied on how long they were going to be around for. The nickel-titanium brackets placed on the teeth to cure bad bites were known as braces. In the small town of Ashland, Oregon, they were a taboo subject; and should anyone fall victim to the harsh pulling of metal wires against stiff bone- they were sure to be isolated. Little Sally Johnson had the full set in the year of 1970, with headgear to wear every day until it was deemed fit to remove. You can imagine what the other 8 year olds called her. Timothy Brown received them in his first year at the high school in 1976- his only friends at the time were the teachers, because of his grades.

Nothing much seemed to have changed- apart from the obvious fact that it was 2012 and headgear was almost never seen, moreover, there was the option of braces behind the teeth for the kids who had access to more money. This was not the case for the one boy in Ashland who had a cross bite: where one or two of his lower back teeth stuck out further than the upper. The boy didn't know; as he wasn't listening. Neither did he care. What he did care about was the fact that his best friend had babbled on the day before about how stupid people looked in braces (in particular, one of her old friends from her home town, back in Michigan, who had sent photos of their new metallic teeth).What was he supposed to do about that?!

"WYBOURNE! WE'LL BE LATE!" the faint calls of his grandmother had Wybie Lovat snapping to attention.

"Late for what, Wybourne?" Coraline Jones asked, a little maliciously. She was disappointed that the boy currently sitting next to her was unable to explore earlier that day. Wybie guessed that she still felt annoyed. His mind working quickly, he came up with an excuse.

"Appointment. L-look Jonesy, I'm sorry I couldn't leave the house today; if I missed this my Gramma would k-kill me. I'll take you for a real ride on the b-bike tomorrow, I promise!"

"Really?" Coraline asked, hopeful but in a little doubt. Wybie nodded, getting up to run inside.

"Yeah. I-I gotta go Jonesy, I'll see ya around!" he called out, giving her a little wave as she stood up herself. He was lucky that she was gone by the time that his grandmother's old Cadillac was backed out of the driveway- she drove at such a speed that fatalities would surely come to the blue haired girl, had she stayed. As the trees and buildings slipped by the car window, Wybie worried about his new secret. It was easy to keep the grey separators hidden from the observational hazel eyes that belonged to Coraline, but how in hell was he going to hide the braces? They would be so obvious!

It wasn't a very long procedure, nor was it very painful. The strange rubbery object placed in his mouth made the affair very tedious, as did the other tools that the orthodontist used inside his mouth. His Gramma warned him that it would hurt afterward, however. He was not looking forward to that, not at all. After about 45 minutes, the man was through, and the boy politely declined looking at his soon to be repaired teeth. He had decided to save the moment until it was time to brush his teeth-his time for ultimate privacy and facial inspection. This only began after puberty hit and it was time to buy acne cream and other ointments of the type, but that was off the subject. He needed to be able to look himself in the eye, smile, and then make the attempt to scream into his pillow.

"Hello? Lovat residence."

"Hi Mrs. Lovat, this is Coraline."

"Hello, Coraline."

"Is Wybie available?"

"...Sorry, Coraline. Wybie went to bed just a few minutes ago. He was very tired... I'll tell him that you called in the mornin'."

"Oh. Ok then. Thanks anyway."

"Goodbye, Coraline."

"Goodbye."

CLICK. Wybie let out a sigh of relief as the phone was placed back in the cradle by his grandmother. She turned to face him with a very stern look in her eye. He suddenly felt quite exposed in his old black AC/DC t-shirt and boxer shorts which posed as pyjamas. He backed up a little as the old woman approached. "You better have a good excuse for actin' so rudely, Wybourne." "My mouth really hurts t-to talk." "Humph. You better have a good apology lined up for your friend tomorrow, she sounded quite disappointed. I'm not goin' to keep lyin' for ya." Wybie decided that maybe it would help if he went to sleep early. The pain in his teeth was quite strong as it were; he was barely able to eat the soft pasta that was dinner, nor the custard that served as dessert. He settled in for an uncomfortable sleep. Only others with braces would be able to understand how Wybie felt during the first hours of having the metal brackets on his teeth. He was barely able to slip into unconsciousness at all.

CLICK. Wybie was satisfied with the apology he gave Coraline, informing her that he would meet her by her house in half an hour. The plan was that he would scull down a highly caffeinated drink before meeting her, and during that time he would keep his helmet mask jammed securely on his head. Coraline didn't have to see the braces on his teeth. It was summer again, and there were 5 more weeks in which he could avoid her and slowly build up the courage to tell her before school started.

Due to the crisp weather of the day, Wybie saw no problem in wearing all of his 'exploring' attire; the large black coat, gloves with skeletal printing, his jeans and sneakers. Coraline seemed to have read his mind by deciding to wear her own exploring gear- her canary yellow coat (Wybie noted that it was just that much smaller on her growing body), blue pants and yellow gumboots. On her head was a black Navy cap.

She smiled at him as he waved to her in greeting before he patted the newly extended seat behind him. He blushed as she clapped in glee- rushing over and practically jumping onto the modified bike. A tingle went up his spine as she wrapped her arms around his waist; partially for an embrace, partially for safety as he cranked the pedal on the bike, causing it to snarl to life. Wybie knew at that point that the motor did indeed have a higher purpose. "Wybie, where are we going, anyway?" Coraline asked as he turned off the bikes motor at the top of a steep hill. Said boy did not respond as he unfolded her gloved fingers. Fizzy, carbonated, caffeinated drinks mixed with bike riding did not do much good for the stomach. He didn't need a bathroom break, as such. Just a moment to settle the new ache that whirled around threateningly...

"I just need to sit down on the ground for a minute." he explained, raising his voice a little so he could be heard beyond the heavy plastic welding mask that served as a helmet. Coraline frowned. "Don't you need fresh air for that?" she enquired sceptically. Wybie shook his head, hoping to make his blue-haired friend satisfied. Of course, he should have known that most of the time, that plan never worked. Coraline crossed her arms, giving him a glare which furthered his hunch. He looked at everything but her; the nearby tree, his feet, his bike. Coraline yanked the mask off his face, catching him off guard. He made a loud noise; a yell made of fright and protest. His gloved hands clapped to his mouth before Coraline could see what had happened to his teeth.

"What the hell, Wybie!" she exclaimed. She took deliberate steps towards him while he backed away. He regretted slamming his hands so forcefully to his mouth, but he did not relent. Wybie decided to risk holding up a hand in warning. His left fingers fanned out, a clear sign of 'STOP'.

"You stay away from me, Jonesy!" he shouted, though to Coraline it sounded like 'Doo stmph awoo frum mmph Jonesy!' She intensified her glare. The blue haired girl seemed to deliberate for a moment, coming up with a master plan (Wybie backed away further) before muttering a single word. Wybie could barely hear it, but he could read it off her lips, see it in her eyes.

"Jerk wad."

Suddenly, Wybie was on his back, on the ground. He felt winded. The knees that dug a little into his chest did not help, either. Still, he kept his mouth clamped shut- he was not going to give up, especially if his best friend was pinning him down on the ground, her surprisingly strong arms keeping his from moving. His heart was pounding in his ears from the, ahem, intimacy of the situation. Though, that may have been from various parts of his body being cut off from blood circulation. His eyes squeezed shut, this time not in fear, but in irritation.

"Open your mouth." He shook his head in defiance. "Wybourne!" He opened one eye, hoping his look told her to back off. The blue haired girl gave a groan of frustration. Still, she did not give up. Wybie knew she was quite bright- and sometimes very sneaky. Though he hadn't contemplated the notion that she would give him a funny look, and lean in closer, and closer, until-

"ARRRRRGGHHH!" he screamed, using what strength he had to get the girl off his form. Coraline sat on the ground for a moment, stunned. Then, quite suddenly, she threw her head back and laughed uproariously. Wybie got up, looking for his mask- salvation. It was of no use, however- within seconds he was thrown to the ground again by a giggling blue haired girl. "Open your mouth." she asked. Not thinking, Wybie gave a reply. "N-NEVER!" he shouted, quite unusual for his character- though he realized that was not the reason why Coraline suddenly moved away, moving up into a sitting position.

"Wybie, smile for me." she asked, this time quite seriously. Wybie gave her a dark look.

"I won't make fun of you, I promise. Just smile, Wybourne!" she said quickly. The tense silence which followed seemed to take forever to end. Coraline would not give up, nor would Wybie relent. After about two minutes of staring darkly at each other, Wybie rolled his eyes, giving up. He moved a little closer to Coraline. "Fine." he said quietly. His lips uncomfortably pulled back over his teeth in a brief grin. Combined with the bags under his eyes and the annoyed look in his green eyes, it was not a very good smile. Coraline seemed to think as much, though of course Wybie didn't know that.

"Don't l-look at me like that, Jonesy." he said finally. An awkward silence ensued. The sick feeling in Wybie's stomach changed- butterflies? Was he nervous about Coralines' reaction?

"It's not that, Wybie. Smiles only look good when it reaches the person's eyes. I didn't think you needed braces." she explained. Wybie shrugged.

"I got a cross bite." he informed her.

"Oh." Another awkward silence. The pair of teenagers stared at each other once more, before Coraline handed his mask back to him. There was silence as they once again mounted the bike and sped down the hill, towards the Pink Palace Apartments- towards home.

"I don't get it Jonesy. H-how come when your friend from Michigan g-got braces you hated them, but when I get them you're fine with it an' all?"Wybie asked. He was sitting on his bike, his helmet on his head but not on his face. Coraline's cheeks went a little pink before she answered.

"Easy. You suit the braces." she said. What she actually thought was that he looked quite cute, especially after he had made such a fuss over them before hand. It was funny that she had finally found a part of him that he was even afraid of. Usually Wybie didn't care about what anyone thought.

"Really?" he asked. Coraline nodded, before giving him a punch to the arm. "You're so weird, Why-were-you-born."

"S-so are you, Caroline." he replied playfully, before cranking the mask down over his face, changing the focus and pedalling off towards his house. The funny feeling in his stomach returned once more, and the funny look returned to Coraline's face.

Cat, who was perched on a nearby fence, licked his paw. Humans...

So there you are. My first Coraline fic, what did you think? I'd like to thank my good friend Cohen's Chicas for beta-ing this story.

Wybie with braces- Yay or Nay? Reviews would be much appreciated. HamPickleSandwich xxoo