Author's Note: In order to show that I haven't abandoned my readers or forgotten about this story, merely become swamped with the demands of a college curriculum, I decided to submit a short teaser for your enjoyment. As finals draw near I don't anticipate having a lot of time to write over the next month, but the story is nearly complete! I will steadily continue writing up to the very end, and once it's all worked out you can once again expect regular updates. For now, I hope this will do. Happy Reading. jinxauthor

Teaser Chapter: Con. Prep.

Freya packed the last of her clothes - an extra pair of socks - and zipped the duffle bag closed. She stepped back a pace, staring at the small bag. Packing didn't take her as long as she thought it would. Granted, she wouldn't need many things for a two-night stay, but still she felt unprepared looking at her luggage. What kinds of things would she need once she was at the convention.

Her gaze roamed over her costume where it hung on the closet doorknob. Thomas had insisted everyone hang their outfits properly in order to prevent wrinkling. She expected to be wearing either the summer or winter uniform throughout the duration of the con, so there was really no reason to bring a lot of clothes. Still, she'd packed a couple outfits just in case.

She was just considering whether or not she should go ahead and throw some homework in her suitcase when a dull footstep alerted her to the presence of someone in the doorway. She smiled at her father and motioned to her bag, "Well, it looks like I'm all packed."

"That was fast," said Ryan. He leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed, looking first at his daughter, then at the powder blue uniform hanging beside her, "So what're you doing again? Dressing as a boy?"

"No. I'm dressing as a girl who's dressed as a boy."

Ryan smirked, "Right. Well so long as you'll be safe…"

From the way he let his sentence trail off Freya could guess that there was something on her dad's mind. She surveyed his expression carefully and tried to say in the most casual manner possible, "Is something wrong?"

"Oh no. It just occurred to me that, well, I hadn't heard anything about a chaperone. You kids won't be able to get a hotel room by yourselves, you know. I just want to know what the plan is."

Freya hesitated. It hadn't occurred to her to ask about which parent was hosting their trip either, but she knew if Ryan heard that he might tell her she couldn't go. She ran her fingers along the fabric of the bag, keeping her eyes steadily on her father. She couldn't let him keep her from going with the guys. They'd be so disappointed.

Ryan broke the silence between them. "It's just… If you guys needed a chaperone then I could call in sick and get the weekend off. I don't mind taking you kids to the city for this 'con' thing."

"Oh," Freya sighed. She shook her head as she suddenly remembered something she'd heard Thomas say the other day. "I don't think you have to worry about that, Dad. Thomas said that Kyle was handling the hotel reservations, and we're all going to ride in his mom's van. One of his parents must already have it covered."

Ryan's look brightened. "Kyle's parents? Oh well that's good. I haven't met them but that Kyle seems like a responsible kid. I guess I'll just give you this, then."

He pulled his wallet from his back pocket and handed a wad of bills to Freya. She fanned them out and looked at the faces of five Andrew Jackson's staring back at her.

"I don't need this," Freya said as she tried to hand the bills back to her father. Ryan held up a hand to block her. "Take it," he said. "I want you to have fun while you're there. And you never know what you might need in an emergency."

Freya felt uncomfortable taking the money from her dad. Who knew how many nights of tips he had to save to get this amount? But she knew she'd be fighting a losing battle to protest further, so she simply nodded and slipped the money into her pocket.

"Thanks, Dad."

"Don't mention it. Oh, and since I guess you're done packing you can go to the living room and entertain your guest."

"What guest?"

Ryan grinned, "I'll give you just two guesses."

Freya frowned. Could Thomas possibly have arrived early? She asked her father if this was the boy waiting for her. He shook his head. "Try again."

Freya smiled and slung her duffel bag over her shoulder, grabbing the costume on the way out. She found Tyler in her living room with a similar bag at his feet, just as expected.

"Figured it'd be easier for the guys if they could make less stops," he said as he stood to greet Freya.

"That's a good idea. Do they know you're going to be here?"

"I just called them," he said, showing her the cell phone in his hand, "They just got Michael and now they're on their way here."

Freya stared down at the phone. She thought of the crunch a similar model had made under her foot just a few months ago and was suddenly reminded of why she had agreed to go on this trip in the first place. Somewhere along the line, she forgot she was supposed to be making it up to Tyler. How did that happen?

"You know, it's going to be a lot of fun hanging out with you and the guys this weekend. I'm actually really excited."

Freya looked at Tyler and saw he wasn't lying. The boy could barely contain his emotions. She smiled slightly when she realized he had pretty much mirrored her own thoughts.

"Yeah. It'll be fun."

"I think they're here for you," Ryan said suddenly. He opened the front door and waved at the vehicle outside. Freya and Tyler heard a car horn beep twice and grabbed their bags. Sure enough, Thomas was hanging out the passenger window, waving and encouraging them to hurry.

"Bye, Dad!" Freya called as Henry slid open one of the mini-van doors to admit them. Ryan stood on the second floor landing and continued to wave until the vehicle was out of sight.

When she could no longer see their apartment, Freya settled into her seat. Henry and Keith sat in the very back with Michael between them. Tyler had taken the seat next to her. Freya was just about to ask where Kyle was when she saw that he was the one driving the van.

"Um. I thought one of Kyle's parents was taking us?"

"No," Kyle said. "My mom just said I could borrow her van. It was the only thing that would fit all of us."

"But what about the hotel? We can't make a reservation without an adult."

"I said I'd take care of that didn't I?" Kyle asked carelessly, his eyes focused on the road as they neared the end of town, "The reservations taken care of. Don't worry about it."

"So… There's not going to be a single adult to chaperone us?"

"That's not a problem, is it Freya?" Thomas asked, twisting around in his seat to get a good look at her, "Kyle and I do this every year for the con, and it's never been a problem."

"No. I guess it's okay."

She looked at the guys surrounding her. Henry and Keith in the back tormenting Michael already. Tyler laughing and threatening to beat them up at the same time. Thomas had put in a CD and was singing along to a theme song to some anime. Under all the noise, Kyle continued to drive in silence. Here was the closest thing to chaperone this group would have, and he didn't seem to care what they did.

Freya sighed. This was going to be an interesting weekend.