Chapter 2: A Side-plot! Gasp!

Tawny: Stevens' house, Louis' room, Sacramento: 3:29pm: 4 June

"Your sister is really hot, you know." I said during a moment of silence, in a way that made me sound completely serious. Louis and I were alone in his room, waiting for Twitty who had taken a new girl out to lunch.

He turned away from his Churro machine and glared, "Don't ever say that again. Ever."

"Why not?" This would be more amusing than I had initially thought.

"Because."

"Why not, Louis? You jealous?" I rolled my eyes.

He glared harder, "No. I just don't believe you."

"I'm serious. You should hook me up with her."

"But you're my girlfriend."

"No, no. We broke up again two weeks ago, remember?"

I turned completely around, "I know you swing all sorts of ways with your love interests, and the people you choose to torture, but do not swing toward my sister. It's wrong on many, many levels."

"What do you know about levels? You're the most one-dimensional person I know."

"Why do I put up with this?! Why?! Why?! Why?!" He focused again on his Churros. "Where the hell is Twitty when I need him?!"

"I think she's really interesting in addition to being hot."

"That's what you always say about everyone, and she's the most boring person in the world, Tawny. She watches the National Geographic channel and never does anything remotely wrong, and just no. It's like incest."

"She interests me. There is more to her than meets the eye, my dear boy."

"You're crazy." He shook a Churro at me, "You'll be interested in her for a week or so, then move on to someone new, or back to me. That's how you work. I can't let you do that to my sister. I only let you use me like that because you're hot, and my sister would never go for you, or any other girl, or boy, or animal because she's asexual. So there."

"Hold on. Back up." I stared at him firmly, "Number one, stop making me out to be a bad person because I just happen to date a lot of people. It's not like I'm a slut, I'm merely playing the field, and looking for someone that I like. I happen to realize that I don't like anyone I date after a while, and as opposed to leading them on, I break up with them, often on friendly terms, unlike you."

"But-"

"No, shut up. I've told you this before, I keep trying to like you because I know you really, really like me, though you deny and just say that I'm hot, that's why we go out all the time. I used to think I liked you back in middle school, but really, no one knew anything about really liking anyone back then."

"You-"

"No, shut up again. As for the lovely Ren Stevens. She is not asexual, she is merely just putting off dating until she's ready to be serious, which makes good sense, and I should do it too, but this is far more fun." I smiled bitterly, "And as far as the her not going for me thing goes, I bet I could change her mind about girls."

"I will not let you make my sister gay!" He stood up, and bit his Churro.

"I can't make her gay. You can't make people gay. I will just make her realize that the more intelligent side of the population is available to her as well, giving her more options. Every girl is capable of liking another girl, she just must realize that she is capable of it."

"No! Bad Tawny!"

"Oh hush, I bet I could do that to any girl." I said, smirking.

He looked at me blankly for a while before saying, "Your ego is huge."

"Yes, it is, but seriously, I will bet you 100 that I can make any girl seriously question her sexuality if not shift her orientation, and you can pick the girls. We can do this up until the day after Ren's party."

"You're on." He stuck out his hand covered in powdered sugar and cinnamon. "Just stay away from my sister. She's already has a horrible track record with boys, and she needs not start one with girls."

He actually cared about her, and it was cute. I shook his hand, and hoped he had 100. "This has to be a secret between us."

"Alright."

Twitty barged in, "Heeeeey," He said in an excited and drawn out manner, then he looked at us and tilted his head to the side, "Holding hands, or shaking?"

"Shaking, dude." Louis said.

I pulled away and wiped my sugar-coated hand on my pants, "He's our witness."

"Witness to what?" He asked, and sat down on Louis' bed.

"Us shaking hands."

"Alright. Cool." He ran his hands through his somewhat long, blonde hair, "That was one of the best lunches in the history of my life."

"How'd it go?" I asked, as Louis tended his Churros.

"Man, the sandwich I had was incredible. The girl wasn't bad either, but I couldn't remember her name, so I just avoided saying it the whole time."

Louis laughed loudly.

I hung my head, and mumbled, "Boys…" Deciding to leave them alone, I headed for the door to go see what Ren was doing. I stopped by Louis and whispered in his ear, "I could do it with boys too."

"Stay away from me." He said between his teeth.

I smiled, and left his room. Ren's bedroom door was partially open, and I peeked inside. Not there. I then ventured down the stairs and went toward the kitchen to find her making a sandwich.

"Hey, Tawny."

I laughed at the thought of me liking her. She was absolutely just my friend. Louis was incredibly gullible. I was simply getting him back from when I first met him and he made me think his mother was dead. Eileen was certainly not dead. Maybe I was overdoing it a little, seeing as it was years ago, but it was entirely too amusing to stop. I'd never do anything to hurt Ren, she was one of my best friends. Louis, though also one of my best friends, he was a different story.

"What are you laughing at?" Ren asked, carefully positioning the lettuce on her sandwich.

"I think I convinced your brother that I have a thing for you."

She sighed, and smiled, "Poor Louis. You own him."

"I could so easily make him think that I've just been using him to get to you."

"Do it. It'd serve him right for being such a pain in the ass to me for so many years."

"Don't encourage me, Ren!" I watched as she lined up her top piece of bread perfectly with the bottom, "You're definitely obsessive-compulsive."

Looking up, she said, "It's harmless, and you know I make good sandwiches."

I pulled out a chair at the table and sat down, "Yes, good sandwiches, but lining up the bread doesn't contribute to that."

"Don't act like you're not weird." She said while carefully cutting her sandwich into triangles of equal size. "You dress funny, and avoid sunlight."

"I dress comfortably, and not in bright colors because bright colors make me dizzy, and I don't want skin cancer. Sorry for being logical and healthy."

She shrugged, "Want a sandwich?"

"Sure."