Automatic
Chapter 3 – New Guests
Dean felt his phone vibrate just as he was walking through the side door of his father's house. When he pulled the phone out of his pocket, there was a picture of Seth on the ID, though most of Seth's face was obscured by a raised middle finger in the foreground. Now that Dean was all cooled off he didn't hesitate answering.
"Hey." said Dean.
"Hey, bud." said Seth, jokingly cautious. "You kill anyone? Do we have to dispose of any bodies?"
"Nah, I took care of it."
"Seriously though, everything cool?"
"Yup."
It wasn't really a lie. There was nothing Dean wanted to talk about. Except that one thing he felt bad about.
"Was coach pissed?" he asked.
"No more than usual." said Seth. "But you're prolly running out of chances."
"He didn't go out back where the dumpster is, did he?"
"Nah, not while we were there. Why?"
"Don't worry about it."
"Arright..." Seth said reluctantly. He knew Dean wouldn't elaborate. "Is tonight still happening?"
"Yeah, come on over. I invited AJ and her friend."
"What? When?"
"I saw AJ walking-"
"You stalking her already?"
"I told you I've seen her before around the neighborhood."
"It's fate, huh?"
"Yeah." Dean drawled. "She said she's coming over. I better clean the place up."
"We can help when we get there."
"Get your asses over here, then."
"We're comin', we're comin'..."
"We need a code word." said Kaitlyn. "In case it sucks and we want to leave."
"Good idea." said AJ.
They got out of Kaitlyn's car, which was parked about a block away from Dean's address, and checked their reflections in the windows.
"How about…'Nintendo'?" Kaitlyn suggested.
AJ hmm'ed skeptically. "What if they're playing video games?"
"If they're playing video games, it probably won't suck."
"We'll just say we have to call our moms or something."
"Ooh, classic."
Zack slipped in through the side door right before the girls got there.
"Anybody home?" he called out, going straight for the kitchen fridge. He was rooting around for the good stuff when Dean jogged up from the basement.
Zack turned to see who it was. He straightened up, one hand lingering on the refrigerator door and he puffed his chest out subconsciously, like he wanted to warn Dean off before he tried anything.
Dean scratched the back of his head, and made a strained facial expression as he avoided eye contact and swallowed his pride. They weren't best friends, but they hung out a lot. Zack was a nice kid. Nobody wanted things to be awkward.
"Hey." Dean greeted him.
"Hey." Zack said.
"Sorry about today." said Dean. He peeked at Zack's face.
Zack frowned and nodded, satisfied by the acknowledgement alone. He didn't know Dean quite as well as Seth and Roman did, but he was beginning to learn. At this point he knew not to take Dean's outbursts personally. That didn't help when he was getting punched in the face, but Dean was a pretty cool guy otherwise.
"It's alright." Zack said, shrugging one shoulder. His serious expression broke into a goofy smile. "I should have kept my hands up, right?"
Dean chuckled and waved for him to follow.
"Don't take my dad's beer, we got stuff downstairs."
"Oh, sweet."
"And we got girls coming, so…"
"Hey," Zack put his hands up. "I know how to act around the ladies."
"…..Right."
"Will there be enough for -"
"Nope." Dean said immediately.
"That's cold, bro. You're gonna hook me up though, right?"
"I don't work miracles."
Zack laughed, thoroughly amused by their exchange. With his back to Zack, Dean smirked to himself since he wasn't really joking. As they walked toward the basement door, Zack glanced out the kitchen window, his head moving back as his eyebrows rose.
"Damn. You weren't kidding."
Zack gestured with his chin toward the side door. Dean turned to look. Kaitlyn and AJ were outside, walking up to the side of the house. They were dressed casually, in form fitting jeans and tees with jackets to keep the chill away, and they looked good. They didn't have to try very hard.
AJ looked up at Dean's house. She couldn't help comparing it to her own. The two-story structure was bigger than AJ's one-story, but it was also older, and just as run down as hers. She found it comforting and familiar.
With girly hesitance, AJ carefully opened the door. She looked sheepish when she spotted Dean.
"Heyyy." she said, jokingly awkward.
"Don't be shy." said Dean, waving them both inside as a smile formed at the mere sight of her. "Make yourselves at home."
Zack introduced himself to AJ, and his face lit up when he went to shake Kaitlyn's hand.
"Hey, I remember you!" said Zack.
"Hey, Zack." Kaitlyn grinned and giggled softly when Zack leaned down to give her a friendly hug.
"You two know each other?" Dean asked. AJ was equally surprised.
"We used to do karate at the rec center when we were kids." Zack explained, chopping Kaitlyn playfully across the arm with stiff hands. Kaitlyn chopped back.
"Small world, huh?" Dean asked AJ.
"I think it's this town." AJ said wryly.
"Wise woman." said Dean.
"You ever get a belt?" Zack asked Kaitlyn.
"Nah, I gave up after, like, a year."
"Yeah, me too."
"I guess we weren't very good at it." Kaitlyn joked.
"Guess not. But you're no stranger to the gym, I see." Zack said approvingly.
Clever son of a bitch, Dean thought to himself. A 'you must work out' comment was a free pass to check her out. Even if he sounded like a freakin' dork.
"You better watch out." Dean warned Zack. "Either one of these ladies could bench you."
"Get outta here." Zack said, as if Dean was serious.
They all went downstairs - Dean in front, AJ and Kaitlyn in the middle, with Zack as the caboose.
"We've got some new guests." Dean announced to the small gathering. "And they brought their pet monkey with them."
Seth was putting a game in, and he glanced up at the same time as Roman and two other friends. They were all in sweats and t-shirts, like they were just coming from or planning on going to the gym.
"You know Seth and Roman," said Dean.
"Hey." The boys said to the girls, glad to see AJ again, and Kaitlyn for the first time in years. Kaitlyn definitely recognized them now.
"This is Darren and Justin." Dean continued, letting the girls introduce themselves to the other guys in the room.
After introductions were made, AJ glanced around the room and saw a bunch of blue gym mats leaning against the wall. Maybe this was their gym?
Subtly – at least, he thought so – Dean made gestures for Justin and Darren to give up their seats, so the newcomers could have a spot on the couches. They tried not to roll their eyes as they complied.
"You want the first round?" Roman asked Kaitlyn, who happened to take a seat on the same couch. He held the controller out to her, and she smiled when they made eye contact.
"That's okay." Kaitlyn declined. "I'm pretty sure I suck at this game."
"You can only get better with practice." Roman reminded her.
"I'll watch you guys first." she replied. Roman shrugged, half of his mouth turned up in a casual smile.
"I guarantee you will laugh if she tries playing it." AJ added.
Kaitlyn scoffed and poked AJ's leg, knowing it was sore from her morning work out.
"Sounds like a challenge to me." said Dean.
"Oh, speaking of bench pressing," said Kaitlyn. "I could lift her over my head."
Seth made a sound like someone had been majorly insulted, trying to stir the pot.
"No, she's right, that's true." said AJ, rubbing her leg. She smiled impishly at Kaitlyn, whose eyes sparkled with playful competitiveness.
"I wanna see that." said Roman, now distracted from the game.
"So how do you know these guys?" Darren asked the girls, looking up at them from his new spot on the floor in front of the couch.
"We went to the same high school." said AJ.
"For a couple years." Dean added. "Before we dropped out."
"We never really hung out back then," AJ continued. "But they saw me walking home last night, and they gave me a ride."
"You got in a car with these guys?" Justin said, revealing a strong accent as he joked about his friends.
"That's what I said!" Kaitlyn chimed in.
"Naw," said Darren. "They act tough, but they're nice guys."
"Uh, except when they're punching you in the face." said Zack.
Roman and Seth chuckled to themselves under their breath, but their eyes remained on the game they were playing.
"Zack, buddy," said Dean. "I can't help what the sight of your face does to my fists."
"Wait, you were punching him for real?" asked Kaitlyn.
"We were boxing." Dean explained.
"I was boxing," Zack corrected him. "You were in the murder zone, bro."
Zack, with an open bottle of beer in one hand, perched himself on the arm of the couch that Roman and Kaitlyn occupied. Seth was on Roman's left; Justin and Darren sat on the floor in front of the couch. AJ was on an old arm chair to Kaitlyn's right, and Dean chose the seat on the far left of the furniture configuration. It was technically as far from AJ as he could get, but this way he could face her straight on and watch her whenever he wanted.
"That's how we know these guys." Darren explained. "I think we've all sparred at some point, in some form or another."
"Boxing?" Kaitlyn asked.
"And wrestling." said Darren.
"He's a local champion." said Justin, pointing in Darren's direction.
"That's awesome!" said Kaitlyn. "I've been getting into kickboxing recently."
"You're definitely in the right house, then." Justin confirmed happily. "They'll try anything."
"You any good?" Roman asked Kaitlyn.
"I think so…" she said, not committing to too much. "No official competitions yet, but hopefully soon."
"Sounds like you're serious about it, at least." said Roman. "I'm impressed."
"They're my new bodyguards." Dean said to Zack. "So watch your mouth."
In response, Zack held his beer bottle near his crotch and sneered at Dean, mouthing the words 'blow me' so the girls wouldn't hear.
"What's your contact sport of choice?" Kaitlyn asked Roman. She liked the sound of his voice and wanted to hear more of it.
"I'm trying to get a mixed martial arts thing going." he said.
"You just want to kill people, don't you?" she joked in response.
"I want to know every way to kill a man, yes." Roman said, his smile widening as he glanced away from the game to look at her.
Dean snuck glances at AJ when she wasn't looking. She was following the conversation but not talking as much. She seemed to be the reserved one, while Kaitlyn was more outgoing. Sometimes his friends made fun of him for not having a type. His 'type' was whoever caught his interest, and usually when it was caught it would consume him until he connected with them one way or another. Seeing how reserved AJ was only made Dean more determined to get to know her. She'd shown up at their little house party; that was a good sign.
They spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening chatting and watching each other play. Pizza and wings were ordered and disappeared almost as fast as they arrived. Competition in the video game got heated, and the trash talk got worse the longer it went on. The boys seemed to get a lot of entertainment out of pretending they were about to kick each other's asses. The gameplay ended when Darren and Zack had their noses pressed against each other, staring into each other's eyes and trying to seem intimidating while trying (and failing) not to laugh.
"What're you gonna do, D-boy?" Zack asked his friend.
"I got nothin' to prove, Z." said Darren. "I already know I could pin you."
"You don't know shit about dick." Zack insisted.
"He knows about mine." Justin reminded them shamelessly.
"Poor choice of words there, buddy." Roman said to Zack.
Zack almost cracked up, barely maintaining his composure. Justin covered his face, not even trying to stifle his laughter. Darren remained undisturbed, confidence bolstered by his boyfriend's support.
"I knew it." said Kaitlyn, grinning at Justin. "You guys were being way too sweet to each other."
"We gonna prove something here or what?" Dean asked.
"Is that a formal challenge?" Seth answered with another question. He began to shut the game system down without an answer. The feeling in the room underwent a subtle shift. The girls looked at each other with smiles and widened eyes, wondering what they'd gotten into. They watched as the boys moved around Zack and Darren, who were still pretending to intimidate each other.
"Choose your opponents!" Roman ordered.
Seth grabbed the gym mats, and Roman began to drag the couch away from the center of the room with Kaitlyn still on it. She hopped off and helped him push it toward the wall.
"Why do I get the feeling this was going to happen no matter who won the video game?" AJ asked, yelping as Dean tipped her chair back and pulled it toward the wall with her still in the seat.
AJ tipped her head back and saw Dean looking down at her with a smile.
"Told you you're a wise woman." said Dean.
He let the chair back down slowly, and when he walked over to help Seth set up the mats, AJ noticed for the first time that his knuckles were all wrapped in white tape. The backs of his hands looked cut up and bruised too. She couldn't recall if they'd been that way the previous night. With only the intermittent street lights to illuminate the back seat, only his scabbed knuckles caught her eye. AJ looked over at Zack. His face didn't seem injured. They must have been using protective gear for their sparring, so how did Dean hurt his hands? Dean's crack about forgetting his gloves played back in her mind. AJ's curiosity was definitely piqued. She hoped she wasn't developing a thing for bad boys.