A/N- I have published a book. Check my profile for details.
Also, I have a new poll up about a summer M rated oneshot featuring a random couple I've never really done before. Go vote for your favorites.
Sorry for the wait but here's the next chapter to my Riley-in-drag story.
Enjoy. Love, Sai-Chan.
Sometimes, there is an instant when one knows one is doomed for all eternity to suffer the same sort of horror. It's merely a moment in time when everything in one's head ceases to function and all that matters is that the same, single event continues to plague one's life. That was pretty much how Riley felt as he stood there on the porch, covering his face and silently screaming. His purse hit the ground as she shrieked and fell backwards. She stared in wide eyed terror and disbelief as the other girl blushed from ear to ear and shivered. He just wished he could be shot dead or disappear through the ground, which ever would be less painful. No matter which it were, he knew it would be less traumatic then watching as those two females gave him the same look it seemed everyone was destined to give him for the rest of his life.
For a moment, he just wanted to scream, to cry, to run back inside and hide behind his forever slow brother. Then there was a snap behind his eyes. That familiar snap that lingered in every Freeman's eyes. That spark that made the family as insane and unbelievably wild as they were. He didn't lower his hands and pout or even scream. His body marched down that driveway, trembling with anger. The girl standing drew back on instinct. Her eyes widened as his hand snatched up the shirt of the fallen female. Then they were eye to eye.
" YOU GOT A STARIN' PROBLEM, CINDY?! ANYTHIN' I 'AN HELP YOU WIT, BITCH?! OR YOU JUST BE NEEDIN' A BEAT DOWN!!!" he roared down into her blue eyes and pale face. She blinked, but wasn't necessarily effected. Jazmine, though, squeaked and hurried over to the front porch where Huey was walking out, sipping some water.
" Hu-ey!!! Riley's going to kill Cindy! You have to stop him!" she sobbed, grasping his arm and pleading with her over large green eyes. The older boy cast a glance in her direction, but the look was not friendly. Sighing, however, he jerked out of her clingy fingers and made his way over to where Riley was pulling his fist back to break Cindy's jaw.
" Riley... let her go," he commanded in that unfeeling, uncaring tone of voice that always hurt. The thug twitched from head to toe, turning wide, vicious eyes on him, " Let her go,"
" YOU AIN'T 'POSED TA TAKE HER SIDE, HUEY!!!" he screeched, throwing her into the ground and twisting to face the other. The revolutionary swirled his glass of water, blinking in response. Riley gritted his teeth, then smacked the glass from his hands. It shattered as he drew close to his older brother, closing the gap with one step. They were immediately an inch from one another, " You got somethin' ta say ta me, nigga? 'Cause you been a real bitch,"
" Shut up, Riley. You're being paranoid,"
" Oooh... I'm paranoid? I'm paranoid?" he teased, giving a wicked smile. Huey's expression didn't even change, " WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WIT YOU!! SAY SOMETHIN'!! REACT!! ANSWER ME!!!"
" You didn't ask me anything. You're mocking me like the child you are. I'm not going to play into such a pathetic attempt to embarrass me," Huey calmly stated, as if he knew exactly how to side step this game. The younger glared, his breathing uneven and unsteady. His hands clenched at his side, he knew he should just walk away, but he couldn't take his eyes off this creature that was his older brother. The two girls stared at the conflict they'd grown up with. They knew what was coming, but they still flinched.
Riley swung a punch and Huey's knee connected with his stomach. The thug's wrist was grabbed and he was flipped onto his back. His head smacked into the cement and then there was the pressure of Huey pinning him down. They were once again only inches from each other. This time, though, Riley couldn't move. He was held down and could only look into that still unfazed face.
He'd lost again. Nothing ever would change with his sibling. Huey Freeman could and would still kick his ass, just like he'd always look at him like he was a stupid child. Just the evening before, Riley had come to terms with this and had been grateful for the steady constant in his dying realm of normality. Laying there, underneath the unmovable revolutionary, his head was flooded with a million things he wanted to say. He wanted to scream at him for doing it again, for beating him so shamefully in public. He wanted to thank him for not going easy on him simply because he was in a skirt today. He wanted to ask him to get off, as the cement was rough against his bare back. He wanted to beg him to hold him as he cried because he was still the same Riley he'd always been but no one saw that.
He wanted to, but he didn't. He was a gay drag queen, currently dressed in a pleated mini skirt and a tight tube top. He was pitifully in love with fashion and jewelry. He was in the midst of the backlash from a mental meltdown. He was, but that didn't mean he was ever going to let Huey know what he was feeling laying there, glaring up at him. Thus, he thrust his hands up and shoved the older off. Muttering swear words, he stumbled to his feet and dusted off his dirty skirt.
" Nigga, you gay," he mumbled, flipping his brother the bird. That face didn't change, so Riley stuck his tongue out and sauntered back over to the porch. Jazmine's eyes followed him in that quiet fear she was so well known for. He ignored her as those green orbs watched him pick up his purse. Then he ignored her as he swept down the steps and back over to where Huey was standing in quiet boredom, " Can we go now?"
" Whatever you say....Princess,"
" Nigga! Don't chu call me that!" Riley hissed, swinging another pointless punch at his older brother. Huey avoided it with a smack of his hand and a tilt of his head. Ignoring the dirty look he was being cast, the older Freeman steered the younger off the driveway towards the sidewalk. His grip wasn't kind, but it didn't need to be. Riley gave a small struggle, if only for the show, before they reached the sidewalk and he was shoved forward, " Man, you need ta learn some manners,"
" Just because you're in a dress doesn't mean I have to act like you're a girl," Huey answered nonchalantly. Riley didn't bother starting a fight, for he knew it would end similarly to the previous one. His back was already throbbing. He didn't need to be thrown to the ground again.
Instead, he just shuffled down the cracked pavement after Huey's retreating back. His brother didn't slow his stride for his brother. He just marched down the path to the Wuncler Estate, which was where they were currently headed. Riley felt his feet dragging, a reluctance flooding over his every move. As grateful as he was that the revolutionary would never treat him differently, Cindy and Jazmine's reactions hadn't been a grand start to the morning. He was supposed to go see Ed and Rummy today in order to come out to them. He had purposefully worn a skirt for the occasion. Walking outside to see the horror on the two female's faces, however, hadn't given him the confidence he thought he needed to do this. Right then, slowing to a stop, Riley wasn't sure if he could go through with this. So far, Granddad had completely shifted his view of him, the Lethal Interjections looked upon him like a sickly individual, and both of the girls were horrified just because he had decided to change what he wore. He wasn't sure how much more rejection he could handle. To be honest, he wasn't even sure if it was the rejection he feared at this point. He was almost certain that he was tired of learning that no one in his life truly liked him for who he was.
As much as it pained him to admit it, he knew Huey was right. If his friends were really his friends, then they would accept that he was a gay drag queen and move on with their lives. Throughout the process, though, the single solitary person to just shrug it off was Huey himself. Huey, as he told him, had always known he was gay, so it wasn't like a surprise or anything. As for everyone else, their reactions had been frighteningly less then positive. For an eight year old whom had never really had any positive enforcement to begin with, Riley knew he was drowning. He was sinking under the pressure that came with this label. He felt like screaming all over again, if only because his head was going under and there was no one with a life jacket waiting to save him. How could he honestly walk himself up to two more people who would only pour more water over his head and watch him disappear under the waves? Why couldn't he just stay inside and grab hold of whatever sanity he still had and try to survive in isolation? Why couldn't he salvage his life rather then destroy more pieces of it?
The walking came to an abrupt halt. Riley just outright stopped, his hands twisting up the strap of his purse. Before his eyes were the sandals he was wearing and the pretty flawless nail polish glittering on his toes. The ground was cold, hard, and cracked like his world. There was no easy way, he realized, out of the closet. He could be a teenager and he could be an adult, but it wouldn't matter. The world wasn't accepting of who he was. Why couldn't he salvage his life? That was one of the easiest questions he'd ever asked himself. He couldn't salvage what wasn't there. If his Granddad didn't want to look at him in his skirts and heels, then there wasn't a relationship there worth having. If the Lethal Interjections couldn't like him the same, then he didn't want to fight for that affection. If the girls weren't friendly anymore, then they weren't really his friends. He shouldn't have to hide in a garage to avoid ridicule and disgust from people he treasured. He shouldn't have to dread seeing his two closest friends. He shouldn't have to salvage anything. He should only have to be himself. If he couldn't be that, then he couldn't be anything.
The scream building into his throat seemed to vanish out of thin air. Riley didn't want to cry anymore. He was tired of being the one crying himself to sleep and screaming himself hoarse. If the brother who hated him could like him just the same, then the friends who loved him should be able to do the same. Huey was right. They weren't his friends if they couldn't. He was gay and there was no shame in that. Nodding stiffly then, Riley jogged across the jagged sidewalk to where Huey was still marching. The thug didn't know how he would feel after he saw Ed and Rummy. He knew that every time he rebuilt his defenses, something else brought them crashing down. This time, however, he was ready to fight for himself and his right to be who he was.
The Wuncler Estate was one of the most impressive buildings in Woodcrest. The thing towered above everything and everyone that approached it. Whenever Riley saw it, he wanted to stand there for a second just to admire what could be done when the price tag was alarming but the check right. Thus, he looked upon it as his brother swore at the white gate keeper to let them inside. As the gate swung open, the gate keeper buzzed up to the mansion to inform Ed Wuncler that they were there. Huey didn't wait for niceties or permission. Once that gate was open, he was inside, his hand latched around one of his little brother's wrists. Huey wasn't gentle, but he did get the job done. By the time Riley snapped out of his daze, they were opening the front door and halfway inside the foyer. He blinked a couple of times, then jerked out of the revolutionary's grip. He rubbed his wrist as he looked around at all the marble and expensive looking vases that littered the corners of this massive homestead.
Out of nowhere, however, there came a hysterically loud exclaim of his name. Two sets of footsteps came pounding from the stairs across the way long before the two militants appeared. Automatically, Huey's dark eyes narrowed in that familiar aggression. Riley, though, could only swallow dryly as his two pals came barreling down the marble spiral steps. A sinking feelings was dragging his former confidence away at the seams, leaving him shaking and afraid of the disgust and terror that would streak across those faces.
Ed stopped first. His eyes widened as he skidded to a stop about seven feet away from the child in drag. His red hair was a mess, his clothes dirty as if he'd slept in them, and a machine gun was slung over one shoulder. He looked just like he always did. Only this time, he looked stunned, which was something of a rarity with the unshakable heir. Rummy was next. He nearly collided with his longtime friend. He just barely avoided the collision by jerking around him with a swearword. Then he too noticed just what their accomplice was dressed in. His shades were pushed into his golden cornrows as he tilted his head to the side. He was dressed in his undershirt and pants, a gun over his shoulder as well, but the look on his face made him appear less familiar. The two stared at Riley for a long moment of tense silence. Then, slowly, Rummy moved his shades back down over his eyes as the former army boys exchanged a look. Finally, though, Rummy said something just as Riley felt like bolting to save himself this humiliation.
" Uh. . . is there somethin' you'd like to tell us, Riley?" Rummy asked in a steady voice. Ed merely shifted his gun from one shoulder to the next as if it were a nervous habit. Riley looked from one of them to the next. He didn't know what he ought to say. He couldn't tell what the look on their faces meant. The shock was wearing away and leaving something cold like the kind of expressions his older brother often cast him.
Regardless of the expression, though, there was no reason to dance around this confession. Squeezing his eyes shut, then, Riley took in a deep breath and told the two of them the reason he was there. He was gay and he was a drag queen. The words felt heavy and hard on his tongue. No matter how many times he said them inside his mind, they felt strange coming out of his mouth. He knew, of course, that his previous phobia of this lifestyle probably lead to that sensation. Still, he said them. The moment after they were spoken, however, Riley opened his eyes. He longed to keep them shut, to shield himself from the initial reaction. Something wouldn't let him. He opened his eyes and found them staring up at the two soldiers with an expectance he didn't recognize right away as hope. When he figured it out, Riley couldn't grasp what he was hoping for. Was he hoping them didn't hate him or was he hoping that they would accept him? Was there a difference?
Before he could figure out if there was, Rummy smiled. The shock vanished from his blue eyes as his white teeth were displayed. A jolt of uncertainty rendered Riley speechless. His eyes widened when Rummy laughed a little, his hands on his hips. He honestly looked like he'd just heard the best punch line in his entire life. Sickness flooded into Riley's stomach then. He knew that they thought this was some kind of joke. They were expecting him to laugh it off or point at their faces for daring to believe him for a second. Just as he was about to turn and walk away, however, Rummy waved his hand in the air as if discarding the idea.
" Like that's news. Okay, so I didn't peg you for a trannie, but, the gay thing, that's not news," Rummy declared with a hearty laugh. Riley felt his mouth dropping open, his eyes widening to the point of being physically painful. There were no words, honestly, to describe the sort of emotions rushing together in his already stressed mind. He was left speechless for longer then he wanted to admit as Rummy snickered, " What?"
" Y'all knew?!" he exclaimed, pointing at that grinning face behind those shades. Rummy gave a light shrug as he swung the gun from his shoulder to the ground. Riley shivered in a chill he couldn't place.
" It wasn't difficult to figure, nigga. Man, the way y'all acted around ice was all I needed. I ain't never met a straight nigga who ever idolized diamonds the way you do," Rummy explained in a halfhearted way. Huey gave him a strange sort of look that made him clear his throat, " 'Sides, Riley, you said it yerself. You didn't like bitches,"
" I always said I never knew how no one ever saw it but me," Huey muttered under his breath just loud enough that Riley could hear him. A slight blush crossed his otherwise blank face, his eyes shooting a glare at his older brother. Again, Rummy shrugged as though this was absolutely no big deal to him. Apparently, he really had known and had already come to terms with this reveal.
Ed, on the other hand, continued to stare at Riley in that distantly stunned way. His green eyes looked up and down at the mini skirt and tube top the child was dressed in. The relief of actually having someone act nonchalant about his sexuality was fading the longer the heir stared at him. That dreadful feeling was starting to creep up Riley's spine all over again. His throat ran dry as his muscles tightened. He didn't know why, but his body reacted to this potential disgust much like a physical blow. When it was finally delivered, of course, it felt as physical as any punch Huey laid on his body. Waiting for the heir to throw it his way thus made Riley sick. His stomach churned, turning quickly into lead, as he shivered from a cold fright that was washing over him. Ed took a couple steps forward, his expression never changing. Both Huey and Rummy gave him equally questioning looks, though it was certain that their internal questions varied greatly.
Without warning, Ed flipped up Riley's skirt, revealing his bright pink bikini cut panties complete with frills and bows in the front.
" PANTIES!!!" Ed yelled, grinning madly as if this was some sort of game. The very next second, his back crashed into the ground as Huey's boot made solid contact with his face. There was a loud smack as the heir collided with the marble floor right before Huey jumped into the air. He slammed both feet down onto Ed's stomach as Rummy broke out in various swears directed at the two of them. The redhead's gasping apologies could just barely be heard over the racket, " I'm sorry, nigga! I had to! I-ow- can't help myself!"
" Dammit, Ed! There is a time and a place for that and this is neither the time nor the place! He's not even the age, you stupid bitch!" Rummy roared down at him as Huey nailed the heir in the skull with one last roundhouse kick that laid him out flat on the floor.
" You ever do that to my brother again, and you'll regret it, got it?" Huey sneered down at Ed's twitching form. Rummy continued to shout obscenities about the event, covering his eyes with one hand. When he got no response, the revolutionary jerked away from the fallen soldier. Instead, he turned his harsh eyes on the silent and utterly stunned Riley, " You aiight, nigga?"
" Uh. . . yea', man, I cool," Riley mumbled, blinking several times to get the shock to wear off. His hands locked into place at the edge of his skirt, restraining it to any other attempts. A furious blush then rushed over his face when he realized that everyone had seen what he was wearing. Groaning a bit, he turned away from the three older men. His brother deemed him fine and launched into a lengthy, curse filled lecture as to why Ed would regret flipping up Riley's skirt in the future. Rummy fell silent as he just nodded in agreement with the revolutionary.
Behind them, a slow, hesitant smile began to cross Riley's lips. Weird fetishes aside, neither Ed nor Rummy had changed their opinion of him since that closet door had creaked open. Perhaps that was because they'd already come to terms with it. Maybe that had to do with their general acceptance of strange occurrences. Whatever the reason, they weren't giving him dirty looks and falsely sweet words that felt like sandpaper. They were continuing to be the idiots that he had come to know and love. The scene before him was so familiar that Riley couldn't help but smile. After losing the majority of the normality in his life, it was comforting to know that some things would never change. The fact that he could add Ed and Rummy to that incredibly short list was more of a relief then anything. True, he didn't know if things would change the longer he was there at that estate. At that time, though, he was merely observing Huey giving Ed and Rummy a nearly pointless speech. A couple weeks ago, he had been doing the same thing. That he could do this now, while in a skirt and holding a purse, was more then enough to make him smile.
For all his smiles, though, Riley knew at that moment more then he ever had that there was one person's whose reaction would not be as positive. There was still one last person to talk to about his decision to open the closet door. Unfortunately, this person suffered from severe closet phobia. Whatever relaxation he was feeling, whatever stability he had gathered, Riley knew what lay before him at the end of one telephone call. The ultimate rejection, the purest detestation, that he would ever receive lingered in the future Still, that night, he knew, he was going to place that call. He had to tell him, had to confront him, one last time, if only so he could move on his life as a gay gangster.
Riley had to tell Gangstalicious that he was out of the closet.
Somehow, even then, Riley knew that Licious was going to be less then thrilled to hear the news. In fact, he knew even then what was going to happen. Nothing, however, could actually prepare him for the inevitable.