Chapter 2
Bees in My Stomach
Our trip to the mall and Bloaty's Pizza Hog was, in a word, perfect. I don't want to ruin my idyllic memory of our night out by describing it word- for-word here because I fear that I can't do it justice. We were both in the mood. The zone. Whatever you want to call it. It was like we made up for a lifetime of being distant siblings with one night where we poured out all our repressed emotions. Oh, and TP-ing the Video Hut with Gaz was just bliss.
We knew dad wasn't home, so it didn't matter what time we got back. I think it was past 2 in the morning. Thankfully the only thugs we have to worry about in our neighborhood are the green ones who plan on destroying the world. As far as I knew there was only one of those, and, occasionally, his short and chubby friend Skoodge, though I don't know where the hell he comes from.
I watched over Gaz during our trip home, holding her hand tightly as we crossed the streets in almost pitch-blackness. The cold air chilled my already pale sister, and I proudly lent her my black trench coat, seeing that she forgot her gray windbreaker at home. We were in the middle of what was probably the longest, deepest and most intimate conversation we ever shared, discussing things ranging from past crushes to daring memories of escaping the clutches of probing scientists to good, old-fashioned rabid monkeys. Now it was about her favorite comic book, and though I've never read it, mine as well.
"So then the nun stands up from her seat in a furious rage and says she's had enough... Then she blows up everyone's head!" Gaz said slyly. I burst into a disturbing fit of seemingly drunken laughter. I think it was two seconds before she erupted into boisterous laughter herself, for once with me rather than at me.
"Hey, listen... Dib..." Gaz muttered between gasps for breath in the midst of her giggling. "And all the while the tour guide... Haha... The tour guide is standing there and... She's totally screaming at Johnny, saying it's all his fault and she's going to probably be sent to work at Taco Bell..."
I almost fell over as we crossed the street. Admittedly, I was a little embarrassed when I had to lean on my sister to keep from keeling over and collapsing from maniacal chuckling. She embraced my figure and nestled her head into my neck, snuggling up beside me in the middle of the dimly-lit road. I felt her heart against mine, heard her giggles of joy as they escaped her mouth.
You had to have been there. I don't know any way to describe this... This feeling. My large head seemed to know it wasn't exactly right, but it also knew that in my heart I had never felt more right in my entire life. I must have listened to the latter voice because I couldn't stop myself from twirling her hair in my fingers.
The road seemed to disappear. Her clingy hug around my right arm, her cheek pressed into my shoulder, I glided along the sidewalk, hoping to God that I didn't stumble in my confusion and ruin all of this...
As we passed under a streetlight, I turned my head towards hers. I wished that I could have a photograph of that moment. Maybe that's why I slowed my walking pace. My lips trembled at the sight of her... On me like this. But I closed my eyes and succumbed to my urges. I kissed the top of her head. My mind reeled from the complete overload of my bodily senses. The mere sight of her body. The touch of her hand. The sound of her breathing. The smell of apple shampoo on her hair. Mix that with human pheromones and you have pretty much the most beautiful scent imaginable. Even the taste of pepperoni in my mouth seemed inviting. My stomach churned. Did she know what she was doing to me?
The scary thing, in retrospect- whatever it was she was doing to entrance me like this, I didn't feel the instinctive need to push her off. Sudden? Yes. Out of character? Yes. Disturbing? Strangely, no.
But why, I thought? Then my thoughts went back to earlier in the night, in between my third and fourth slice of pizza, when I swore she was complimenting me on saving the world. I reluctantly admitted to myself that Tak, Zita, or any other girl for that matter, had never made me feel like this before... Had never made me feel good about myself. Good enough reason for me.
Gaz and I strolled through the town's picturesque park, and I must admit, the shining moonlight reflecting off of my sister's amethyst hair was too perfect a sight to miss. I slowed my pace, and eventually stopped at the shore of the small lake the midst of the park, my sister joining me in admiring the view. Maybe all those bullies in school were right. I am a lunatic. I mean, the moon does stuff to me, I swear. Underneath those lunar photons, my temperamental little sister was the most stunningly beautiful person in the world.
"You're so beautiful..." I muttered the words faintly and under my breath, not sure if I wanted her to hear me.
Gaz slowly turned her squinted eyes from the moon and opened them to a warm and loving innocence as she turned them towards mine. My brown eyes, though, were hiding behind the frames of my large glasses. I wondered if the glare from the moonlight hid my pupils.
My sister asked the inevitable question. "What?"
"Nothing."
At this point I was pretty damn sure she heard what I said. I tried adjusting my eyes. Maybe the glare would hit my glasses if I got the right angle and cut off her stare. A bee flying in the distance caught my eye, and in desperation to fixate my eyes on anything but my sister, I followed its flight, thinking that I handled the whole issue well as I released my palms' sweaty grip on the outsides of my pockets.
But I guess I wasn't going to escape that easily. She took me by the hand and looked me in the eye. I don't know what came over me.
This urge... This uncontrollable desire... Call it whatever- male hormones or complete lack of attention and love in my life, but right then and there I wanted so much to kiss her. Kiss my sister on the lips and unleash this feeling that we both shared at the moment... Or so I hoped. This moment could not come and go without my doing something, without my passing this up. I pulled her close to me, took her left hand in my right, and fingered her skull necklace with my left. She gave me a look of expectancy... I knew that this would be it... Or at least it was supposed to be. If I messed up tonight I would lose her forever. So you won't believe what I did.
In a strange little twist of events I grabbed the skull necklace, pulling it and its chain (whose buckle was on the back of the skull pendant) off of Gaz's neck, laughing, and, with it in my hand, making a mad dash for home. After a moment of taking in what I had just did, Gaz burst into a whiny little rage, as is her wont, and playfully chased after me. I guess the chase was not really important to her- I knew that she was gifted with some kind of superhuman athletic speed and strength, but was delighted to know that she was still playing along with me instead of tackling me like a pro wrestler.
"DIB! COME BACK HERE!"
I laughed, still not knowing what the hell I was doing. Strange human behavior. This innocent flirtation was still fun. I didn't know what would happen when this night was over- whether I'd perform some act of incest or not, but... This in-between stage, this... Playing around... It was a lot of fun.
Our trip to the mall and Bloaty's Pizza Hog was, in a word, perfect. I don't want to ruin my idyllic memory of our night out by describing it word- for-word here because I fear that I can't do it justice. We were both in the mood. The zone. Whatever you want to call it. It was like we made up for a lifetime of being distant siblings with one night where we poured out all our repressed emotions. Oh, and TP-ing the Video Hut with Gaz was just bliss.
We knew dad wasn't home, so it didn't matter what time we got back. I think it was past 2 in the morning. Thankfully the only thugs we have to worry about in our neighborhood are the green ones who plan on destroying the world. As far as I knew there was only one of those, and, occasionally, his short and chubby friend Skoodge, though I don't know where the hell he comes from.
I watched over Gaz during our trip home, holding her hand tightly as we crossed the streets in almost pitch-blackness. The cold air chilled my already pale sister, and I proudly lent her my black trench coat, seeing that she forgot her gray windbreaker at home. We were in the middle of what was probably the longest, deepest and most intimate conversation we ever shared, discussing things ranging from past crushes to daring memories of escaping the clutches of probing scientists to good, old-fashioned rabid monkeys. Now it was about her favorite comic book, and though I've never read it, mine as well.
"So then the nun stands up from her seat in a furious rage and says she's had enough... Then she blows up everyone's head!" Gaz said slyly. I burst into a disturbing fit of seemingly drunken laughter. I think it was two seconds before she erupted into boisterous laughter herself, for once with me rather than at me.
"Hey, listen... Dib..." Gaz muttered between gasps for breath in the midst of her giggling. "And all the while the tour guide... Haha... The tour guide is standing there and... She's totally screaming at Johnny, saying it's all his fault and she's going to probably be sent to work at Taco Bell..."
I almost fell over as we crossed the street. Admittedly, I was a little embarrassed when I had to lean on my sister to keep from keeling over and collapsing from maniacal chuckling. She embraced my figure and nestled her head into my neck, snuggling up beside me in the middle of the dimly-lit road. I felt her heart against mine, heard her giggles of joy as they escaped her mouth.
You had to have been there. I don't know any way to describe this... This feeling. My large head seemed to know it wasn't exactly right, but it also knew that in my heart I had never felt more right in my entire life. I must have listened to the latter voice because I couldn't stop myself from twirling her hair in my fingers.
The road seemed to disappear. Her clingy hug around my right arm, her cheek pressed into my shoulder, I glided along the sidewalk, hoping to God that I didn't stumble in my confusion and ruin all of this...
As we passed under a streetlight, I turned my head towards hers. I wished that I could have a photograph of that moment. Maybe that's why I slowed my walking pace. My lips trembled at the sight of her... On me like this. But I closed my eyes and succumbed to my urges. I kissed the top of her head. My mind reeled from the complete overload of my bodily senses. The mere sight of her body. The touch of her hand. The sound of her breathing. The smell of apple shampoo on her hair. Mix that with human pheromones and you have pretty much the most beautiful scent imaginable. Even the taste of pepperoni in my mouth seemed inviting. My stomach churned. Did she know what she was doing to me?
The scary thing, in retrospect- whatever it was she was doing to entrance me like this, I didn't feel the instinctive need to push her off. Sudden? Yes. Out of character? Yes. Disturbing? Strangely, no.
But why, I thought? Then my thoughts went back to earlier in the night, in between my third and fourth slice of pizza, when I swore she was complimenting me on saving the world. I reluctantly admitted to myself that Tak, Zita, or any other girl for that matter, had never made me feel like this before... Had never made me feel good about myself. Good enough reason for me.
Gaz and I strolled through the town's picturesque park, and I must admit, the shining moonlight reflecting off of my sister's amethyst hair was too perfect a sight to miss. I slowed my pace, and eventually stopped at the shore of the small lake the midst of the park, my sister joining me in admiring the view. Maybe all those bullies in school were right. I am a lunatic. I mean, the moon does stuff to me, I swear. Underneath those lunar photons, my temperamental little sister was the most stunningly beautiful person in the world.
"You're so beautiful..." I muttered the words faintly and under my breath, not sure if I wanted her to hear me.
Gaz slowly turned her squinted eyes from the moon and opened them to a warm and loving innocence as she turned them towards mine. My brown eyes, though, were hiding behind the frames of my large glasses. I wondered if the glare from the moonlight hid my pupils.
My sister asked the inevitable question. "What?"
"Nothing."
At this point I was pretty damn sure she heard what I said. I tried adjusting my eyes. Maybe the glare would hit my glasses if I got the right angle and cut off her stare. A bee flying in the distance caught my eye, and in desperation to fixate my eyes on anything but my sister, I followed its flight, thinking that I handled the whole issue well as I released my palms' sweaty grip on the outsides of my pockets.
But I guess I wasn't going to escape that easily. She took me by the hand and looked me in the eye. I don't know what came over me.
This urge... This uncontrollable desire... Call it whatever- male hormones or complete lack of attention and love in my life, but right then and there I wanted so much to kiss her. Kiss my sister on the lips and unleash this feeling that we both shared at the moment... Or so I hoped. This moment could not come and go without my doing something, without my passing this up. I pulled her close to me, took her left hand in my right, and fingered her skull necklace with my left. She gave me a look of expectancy... I knew that this would be it... Or at least it was supposed to be. If I messed up tonight I would lose her forever. So you won't believe what I did.
In a strange little twist of events I grabbed the skull necklace, pulling it and its chain (whose buckle was on the back of the skull pendant) off of Gaz's neck, laughing, and, with it in my hand, making a mad dash for home. After a moment of taking in what I had just did, Gaz burst into a whiny little rage, as is her wont, and playfully chased after me. I guess the chase was not really important to her- I knew that she was gifted with some kind of superhuman athletic speed and strength, but was delighted to know that she was still playing along with me instead of tackling me like a pro wrestler.
"DIB! COME BACK HERE!"
I laughed, still not knowing what the hell I was doing. Strange human behavior. This innocent flirtation was still fun. I didn't know what would happen when this night was over- whether I'd perform some act of incest or not, but... This in-between stage, this... Playing around... It was a lot of fun.