Chapter 19: Sunday to Monday
"Well'p, it's good to be back out on the prowl," Tyler said to himself, high up on his perch on the Transamerica Pyramid.
With year number seventeen already on a positive note, he was all smiles. The daytime air was a pleasant 70 degrees with a slight saltiness from the bay. Down below, people went along their Sunday afternoon business. As he sat on the edge of the tower, he pondered something he read while checking out an e-mail that Jennifer sent him talking about Zodiac Signs. Though he didn't buy into it, he did find some of the information about his sign, Gemini, to be interesting.
Reading through it, he was hoping for aggressive lover and best in bed, but was rewarded with being nice, a great listener, and trustworthy. All were good qualities–and he knew that–but they weren't quite the ones he was hoping for. It did say, however, that a Gemini's love was one of a kind. He then looked at what was said about Libra's, the sign of Chelsea, after Jennifer told him when her birthday was. It described a Libra as being very gentle, silly and fun, and most caring person ever.
He could attest to that as it was a nice way to describe Chelsea. But there was one prominent thing that really caught his attention: Libra's were great in bed.
"Jackpot!" he cried, throwing his hands up and falling backwards in his chair, especially after experiencing some action, even though they just fooled around and didn't have sex.
Judging by his night with Chelsea, he knew he now had an active drive, but luckily, he didn't have to deal with the fears of contracting or transmitting diseases. He was curious to the fact of whether he could reproduce or not. Up until the relocation to San Francisco, it had never been an issue, but now? One way or the other, however, he never really was comfortable talking or thinking about intimacy.
"Well, that's what condoms are for." he said to himself. "Or maybe she's on the pill or something?"
Nevertheless, he vowed to himself that he wouldn't go all the way with her unless she wanted to. Plus, the thought of all this was beginning to give him a brain cramp.
"Girl, I can't believe you spent the night at his house," Raven exclaimed, shuffling through a mass of clothes in her closet.
"Rae? It was... amazing," Chelsea sighed, reminiscing about the night.
Raven peeked her head out. "So did he sleep on the couch?"
Chelsea laughed, "No Rae. We slept in his bed."
"Fully clothed?"
Chelsea blushed, then shook her head.
"So you and him were... nekkid?" Raven whispered.
"Well, he had his boxers on. They were so cute 'cause they had little smiley faces on them."
"Oh yeah that's great, Chelse," Raven noted sarcastically, then yelled, "Do you still have your V-Card?"
Chelsea grabbed her purse and looked inside. "Let's see... I have my ID, my Old Navy card, my Banana Republic–"
"Not that kind of card. I mean are you still a virgin?" Raven asked, filled with concern.
"Oh, of course, Rae. We just, you know, kissed. A lot. A whole lot. And he said he loved me, too. I said it first, but then I shoved my tongue in his mouth before he could say anything. But he said it later on."
Raven exhaled with relief. Even though she really liked Tyler and thought he and Chelsea were excellent together, Chelsea mattered more since she was her best friend. "So you guys just made out all night? You two must have some serious lung capacity.
"So you're telling me that you and him didn't... you know... hook up?" Raven asked slowly, but deliberately as she continued to fumble through her closet.
"What do you mean hook up?" Chelsea wondered, not quite comprehending.
"Damn it, Chelse! I can't believe that you and Tyler didn't fu–" quickly, Raven stopped her statement, knowing that her parents were just downstairs and her voice had a tendency to carry a long way. "I can't believe you two didn't have sex. He's a guy, after all."
"Rae? He's not that type of guy. In fact, he's been nothing but a gentleman," Chelsea stated.
Raven knew Chelsea was right. The reason she knew was not because of her friend, but the fact that Tyler told her everything about him, in addition to the times that Raven "inadvertently" read his mind. He really did care about Chelsea a whole lot. To the point where it almost killed him. Literally. Still, though, the fact that he was, in a word, assembled, still made her nervous, for Chelsea's sake.
"Well... do you guys have pet names for each other yet?" Raven inquired.
"Nuh uh. And you haven't called me by my pet name in a while," Chelsea noted, then pouted. "I bet you forgot, didn't you."
Raven poked her head out, cocked an eyebrow, then groaned. "I didn't forget–Biscuit Head."
Chelsea couldn't contain her giddiness as he hopped off the edge of Raven's bed, ran to her best friend, and embraced her in a big hug. "I knew you remembered."
"Yeah, yeah, Biscuit Heat." Raven muttered.
"Aww, Rae," Chelsea squealed, overjoyed.
Opting not to remain at his perch some 700 feet above everything, Tyler went for a flight around the residential neighborhoods of the city. If I'm gonna watch over them, the least I could do is at least get an idea of who I'm watching, Tyler thought as he glided just above the streets. Since it was a Sunday afternoon, most people were out on the streets and had a clear view of him. Many of the people who watched him fly either stared at him or waved, trying to get his attention. Courteously, Tyler waved back and kept on his way.
Up ahead, he saw a small red balloon rise higher and higher into the air. Below, he heard a lady consoling her child.
"I'm sorry, but we have to go," the woman said as her child cried, watching her balloon float away.
Without hesitation, Tyler snagged the balloon, then soared down to the ground.
"Hang on just a moment, ma'am. I think you forgot something." Tyler said as he landed.
Both the woman and child turned around, then gasped. "M-Magna Man?"
"The one and only," Tyler replied, then knelt down before the kid. "And I think this belong to you."
The little girl smiled brightly, as Tyler presented her the balloon. She stuck out her wrist and Tyler tied the ribbon around it, making a nice bow.
"There you go," he said, standing back up and noticing a nice crowd massing around him.
He gave her a curt two fingered salute, which the girl gave right back with a smile, then he lifted off. Before he did so, however, he noticed a few people take his picture, a couple armed with highly professional cameras.
The next morning, Monday, Tyler gathered his things for his return to school. It had been a long, but highly enjoyable four days free from learning, but two days off, plus the weekend was enough of a break, not to mention that the school year would be over in a couple more weeks.
Since Eva was still off on her business trip, Tyler walked upstairs, made some coffee, then went to the front door to grab the newspaper. Sipping his coffee, he grabbed the paper, only to find himself–as Magna Man–right on the front page, along with that little girl and her mom. The headline read, From Stopping Villains To Helping Kids: What Can't He Do.
A grin cracked his face as he looked through the article which had a few testimonials from some of the people around San Francisco and the rest of the Bay Area. In the article, one guy from Sausalito, just north of the city, stated how much he hated Magna Man and wished he would leave.
"Ah, my adoring fans," Tyler chuckled, walking back into the house.
An hour later, after getting cleaned and dressed, he decided that it was high time to take his motorcycle out for a spin by riding it to school. He had been meaning to ride it over the weekend, something much more fun–Chelsea–prevented him in doing so.
Raven, Chelsea, and Eddie strolled down the sidewalk, approaching the front of the school, which was abuzz with activity from students chatting with their friends or playing Hacky-Sack.
"I ain't gonna lie to y'all, I don't feel like being here," Raven yawned as the trio walked.
"Who really does wanna be here Rae?" Eddie asked. "It's a Monday. There go my cookie lips. Holla back y'all."
Before Raven and Chelsea could say goodbye, Eddie took off towards his girlfriend. Once he was out of sight, three people came up behind the two girls–three people they had managed to avoid for a while: Bianca, Loca, and Muffy.
"Baxter!" Bianca yelled. "It's been a while."
Both Raven and Chelsea's eyes shot wide open. Slowly, they turned around–and found the steely, frightening stare of the three tormentors.
"Oh snap," Raven gasped.
Though Bianca was slightly shorter than Raven and Chelsea, she was more than tough, not to mention that she had an intimidation factor off the charts. Next, Muffy, a girl with blonde hair, had the appearance of a preppie school goer, but that was just a front as her inner badness was hidden beneath a shell. Finally, the visible muscle of the group, Loca stood a slender, but solid six feet. All three had gazes that could burn through steel.
"You know the best part of waking up?" Bianca growled.
"C-could it be Folgers in your cup?" Raven nervously asked.
"Hell no!" Loca sneered. "It's a sunrise ass whoopin'!"
"Well I much rather begin the morning with a bowl of Lucky Charms," Chelsea noted. "They're magically delicious."
The three oppressors cocked their eyebrows at Chelsea's random statement. Even Raven had to shoot Chelsea a strange look.
"Bianca is thinking that you're a retard." Muffy scoffed, acting as a liaison. "And she wants to say that this will hurt you more than it hurts us."
Raven and Chelsea embraced each other, fearing for their safety as Bianca, Loca, and Muffy came closer, evil grins plastered on their faces as they popped their knuckles. Then, on a motorcycle, someone came up as if he was a knight on a black and white stallion.
The person wore a brown leather jacket, khaki pants, and highly polished brown boots. Their head was covered by a blue helmet with a mirrored visor. The rider revved the engine, getting the attention of the three female bullies.
"Now what do we have going on here, ladies?" the rider asked.
"None of your damn business," Bianca snapped.
"Well, precious. That's where you're wrong. Now those two girls are close friends of mine," The rider noted, his voice hinting that he was smiling.
To Chelsea, that motorcycle looked very familiar as if she had seen it recently. It then dawned on her.
"Tyler?"
"Wait? That's Tyler? He got a motorcycle?" Raven asked, shocked.
Tyler raised the front portion of his helmet up, revealing his face. His eyes, however, were covered by a pair of polarized and mirrored silver lensed aviator style sunglasses.
"That's Tyler? The one who got shot?" Bianca inquired.
"That would be me," Tyler grinned. "You three must be Bianca, Muffy, and Loca."
Bianca's smirk went from one that had the intent of harm, to interest in Tyler, though it was hard to distinguish one from the other.
Muffy stated, "Bianca thinks you're hot and thinks you should go with her."
Chelsea's face turned bright red–nearly the same color as her hair–as she was filling with rage. Raven held Chelsea in place, however, making sure she didn't get herself broken and battered.
"Aw, well I am truly flattered, but..."–Tyler beckoned for Bianca to come closer and when she casually did, filing her finger nails with her infamous pink file and walking in a gangster step, Tyler placed his arm around her shoulder, then pointed to Chelsea–"now you see that beautiful red-head over there. Yeah. Me and her have a Fan-Tastic relationship dealy so... I'm going to have to respectfully say heck no."
Chelsea's face returned to it's normal tone and she wasn't as tense, even though Bianca was way to close to Tyler for her liking. Bianca, on the other hand, became enraged as a handful of other students witnessed her embarrassment put down by Tyler.
"Oh I hate to see a young lady upset. Turn that frown upside down." Tyler exclaimed. "It's a lovely gray and cloudy San Francisco Monday morning. Good stuff, man, good stuff."
Muffy scoffed. "Bianca thinks that if you weren't so cute and had a motorcycle, she'd mess you up right now."
With that, the three stormed off and went into the school.
"Don't let the door hit your ass on the way to class!" Raven yelled.
"Nice rhyme, Rae," Chelsea exclaimed.
"I'll see you guys inside," Tyler said, then rode off into the parking lot.
"Girl, where can I get me a Tyler?" Raven asked, watching him round a corner then go out of sight.
"But, Rae? You're already got a Mister Perfect." Chelsea stated.
"Well I want a Mister Perfect and a Tyler model too," Raven whined. "Chelse, you are so lucky!"
"It's because I eat my Lucky Charms." Chelsea said proudly, then noticed the same strange look that Raven gave her quite often.