Been a while since I posted huh, anyway I wrote this for Pride month near the end of May in three days. I've been meaning to post it for a while, but lack of motivation was a big factor but since today's the last day if June I figured today would be the best day to do it. I wanted to post more for this month but again lack of motivation was a big factor. Anyway, hope you enjoy the one shot; and happy pride to all my fellow asexual's
Why can't they ever have a normal night? When Rory and his friends showed up at Ethan's house for their weekly meetup, he expected it to be just another night. A rare one where nothing supernatural was going on and they could pig out on pizza, soda, and chips. Playing video games till the sun came up—or he would if his mom wasn't picking him up in three hours. Honestly, it should have been that simple, but when the group came inside, Ethan and Benny weren't in the living room; Mrs. Morgan said the two were upstairs and would be down in a few moments. Which wouldn't have been a problem if it weren't for the fact that Rory's vampire hearing picked up some strange noises coming from Ethan's room. The noises he couldn't pinpoint, they sounded familiar, but knowing him, he could easily be wrong.
"What's up, Rorster?" Dakota spoke, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You seem a little distracted."
"Yeah, you could say that." He replied, wrecking his brain and wondering what the heck was going on up there.
"Is there something wrong?" His friend questioned, "Cause if there is, you know you can tell me. Are you getting hungry? We can pop back to our place real quickly."
"No, nothing like that. Or at least not yet."
"Then what's up?"
Rory looked around to make sure no one would hear him and whispered into Dakota's ear. "I hear something coming from Ethan's room. I can't tell what it is, so I don't know if it's bad news or not."
"Maybe they're playing a video game? I could always check on them if you'd like."
Rory perked up. "You'd do that?"
"Well, yeah, what's the big deal? It's probably nothing other than sounds from Ethan's computer. Be back in a sec." She smiled, gave a short wave, and went upstairs.
In reality, it should've been that simple: Dakota would greet the two, alerting them to their friend's arrival. Ethan and Benny would come downstairs with Dakota in tow, and the night would begin. But this is Whitechapel, and nothing is ever straight-forward. That was something Rory learned the night he became a vampire, and it has been nailed into his brain ever since, though of course something has to happen to give Rory all the more reason to remember it.
Dakota hadn't been upstairs for no more than a few seconds when she came stumbling downstairs, her face white as a sheet, her eyes in a faraway blank daze. Rory knew something was up when he called out and she didn't respond. He shot up from the couch, seeing how nauseous she looked, and super-speeded to where she promptly fainted in his arms. That was when Rory knew Dakota saw something traumatizing.
And that leads us to now.
"Whoa, what do you think triggered her this time?" Emily asked, poking Dakota's cheek,
"I have no idea, but judging by her reaction, It probably wasn't good."
"Hold up, I recognize this look." Emily realized,
"And what look is it?"
"It's the same look she had during sex-ed three months ago. You know, right before she fainted, think they're watching naughty stuff up there."
"I sure hope not, you know, for their sake."
"You know, I would love to comment on that, but who am I kidding? You're all adolescents who deserve to explore yourselves in a safe, responsible way, as long as you're not doing anything illegal; it's none of my business. But really, if they are watching, uh, Something indecent, someone needs to tell Ethan to lock his door."
"So, what do we do about Dakota?" Rory wondered, looking down to see her rocking back and forth and holding her head desperately, trying to get that image out of her mind.
"Yo, Mabel!" Emily yelled,
"Yeah?"
"Send us some dank asexual memes and pictures of cake and garlic bread!"
"I'm on it!"
"Don't worry, this will work like a charm. In the meantime, I'll get Dakota something sweet to snack on." Emily smiled, heading off to the kitchen.
Rory looked down at his damaged bestie and sat down next to her. "Hey, Dakota, it's okay; you're okay." He spoke, gently rubbing her back. "You know I'm always here if you want to talk about it."
Dakota wasn't the type of girl to like sexual things. Any shops that sell outfits that look remotely sexy make her uncomfortable; she stayed clear of sparkly bras, and reviling lingerie, or anything reveling for that matter. I mean, at the end of the day, she was only 15, so of course she wouldn't be interested in something so indecent. Maybe once she got older, but for now, sex was the last thing she wanted to partake in, both now and in the future.
"Morning gang." She greeted,
"Morning Dakota." They replied,
"So, what's our first class for the day?"
"Health class." Erica said simply, "We're having Sex-Ed."
"Oh." Dakota felt woozy at that fact. It shouldn't be a huge deal; it was just a human activity, but that didn't relieve the distress she felt.
"Hey Dakota, Are you okay?" Ethan asked, noticing her distress,
"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm feeling a little lightheaded. Don't worry, I'm okay." She reassured,
You're sure, because if you feel sick, we can take you to the nurse's office."
"Nah, Eth, I'm fine. The last thing I want is you being late for class; let's just get this over with." She smiled uneasily, taking a deep breath.
Ethan wasn't convinced Dakota was okay but decided to let it slide. After all, it was only a class to bring awareness to safe sexual practices; she'd be fine.
But that was the thing she wasn't fine.
"Hey, Dakota What's your favorite type of cake?" Rory asked, casually scrolling through his phone,
The 15-year-old slowly turned her head to face her best friend. "Carrot cake…" She simply said still kind of out of it. But was slowly unwinding from her fetal position. "Though Cheesecake is pretty good too."
"Is this it?" He followed up showing Dakota a picture of her favorite cake.
"Yeah, that is; it even has the little carrot frosting detail. This has been my favorite since childhood; I can't tell you how many times I had it for my birthday." She smiled fondly.
"Looks really good; maybe I'll buy one so we can share it with the gang."
"What about cheesecake?"
"Umm, I can't say I'm a big fan. It's too sweet for me."
"Too sweet even for you?" She smiled in amusement and said, "Now that's ironic."
"Yeah, it kind of is; I don't hate it outright, but I can't have more than one slice, and if I do, it has to be a really small one."
"I relate to that; I'm not much of a sweet tooth. Too much sweetness gives me a tummy ache." Dakota explained sticking her tongue out,
"Hey, Dakota, remind me again why Aces love cake so much?"
"The same reason we love garlic bread and want to take over Denmark... I have no idea."
The two laughed. Rory loved Dakota's sense of humor; she was always a joy to be around. And if you asked, she'd say the same thing about Rory.
"Hey, Rory, Have you got any more cake pictures?"
He smiled and said, "I might; come here, I'll show you." Rory put his arm around his best friend and showed her some videos of people making and cutting hyper-realistic cakes.
Sex-Ed did not end well for her; five minutes into the presentation, Dakota threw up and passed out, making Ethan and the gang rush her to the nurse's office.
"Oh boy, if I had a nickel for every time someone got sick during the nitty-gritty of these sorts of classes, I'd have enough to buy myself a yacht in Bora Bora and never work a day again." The nurse joked, giving Dakota a wet towel and some ginger ale. "Here you go, Hun; this should help with the nausea.
"Thank you, nurse." She thanked him, taking a sip and saying, "Sorry gang, I didn't mean to worry you."
"Hey, it's fine." Erica came forward, placing a reassuring hand on Dakota's shoulder. "You're not the first or last person to faint during class. You should have seen me during biology class back in middle school. We were dissecting frogs when the one I got was filled with unlaid eggs. I fainted and knocked over the entire row of people next to me. It was so embarrassing."
"Oh, yeah, I remember hearing about that; that was hilarious." Benny laughed but shut up after seeing Erica give him the death glare.
"No, it wasn't; I couldn't get that image out of my mind for three whole weeks."
"What Erica is trying to say is Sarah stepped in and said, "Don't worry about it; if you ever want to talk about stuff like this, we'll be here for you."
Dakota smiled, grateful that her friends had her back. But the truth of the matter is, she didn't think they'd understand just how much the idea of sex bothered her. Just thinking about the graph she saw and the way the teacher explained it made her feel sick again. Holding her tummy and trying to keep her lunch down, she tugged at Emily's shirt.
"Emily, can we go home? I feel sick."
"Yeah, of course we can. You're still looking a little green; we'll chat with you guys later."
"Yeah, feel better, Dakota." Sarah waved as the nurse handed Dakota a bucket for the road.
"Thanks guys, I will." She smiled uneasily as Emily and Mabel helped her walk.
Everyone else went back to class and carried on with their day. Except for Rory, who knew what happened, it must've been a personal thing Dakota was dealing with. She had said before she wasn't a fan of sex and asked the gang not to talk about it in her presence, saying it made her uncomfortable. And they respectfully agreed she was still a minor at the end of the day; a girl her age shouldn't even be thinking about those things until at least 17 or 18. But after today, Rory could tell this was more than an age thing.
It was a Dakota thing.
"Bwahahahahaha!" She laughed as Rory showed her another meme. "Ugh, that's so relatable."
"Yeah, I'm not ace, and even I thought that was funny." He wrapped a tear away and tried to calm himself down. "Oh, here's another one you'd might like."
Dakota took a look and smiled. Never in her life has a meme described her more.
It was a picture of a two-way road with the street signs labeled "Having Sex." "Doing literally anything else" The car was going down the second road.
"This, this is so me!"
Rory couldn't keep the dorky smile off his face, seeing just how happy Dakota was to be understood. "I thought you'd like it."
"Whooohoooo!" Emily cheered, making the two jump up to look at her. Guys, a new Scott the Woz episode just dropped. The dude is going speed dating! Come on, let's watch it."
"Don't have to tell us twice!" They replied getting comfy on the couch as they watched their favorite YouTuber.
Hey, all Scott here."
Rory knew there had to be something to describe what Dakota was going through, and while he didn't know where to start, he did know where to look. The moment he got home, Rory got on his computer, hoping to find the answers. After all, the internet was how he found out he was pansexual, so surely this wouldn't be any different. After about twenty minutes, he found something.
Asexual: someone who doesn't feel sexually attractive to anyone.
"Oh, oh my god." He internally freaked out; this right here described Dakota to a T, while he didn't know if Dakota could identify as ace. Rory decided to dig a little deeper. After nearly an hour of research and hearing other people's experiences, he decided to bite the bullet and give his potentially sex-repulsed friend a call.
"Hello?"
"Hey, Dakota It's me. First off, how are you feeling?"
"Better…" She replied simply, "But not completely; I still feel kind of nauseous."
Rory sighed, feeling pity for the poor girl, as excited as he was to show Dakota what he found. He didn't even know if Dakota was well enough to handle that kind of shock. Either way, he won't know unless he tries. "Do you think you're well enough to come over? I found something you might be interested in."
"I don't know, maybe in an hour or two. How important is it?"
"It's not too important; it can wait a few days if you're not up to it. But it is something that might give you a bit of clarity."
A bit of clarity now. Dakota was curious. Alright, fine, you've convinced me. Give me a moment to ask Emily, and I'll see you soon, K."
Alright, Dakota, that sounds great. See you soon." Rory smiled as the call ended. He was sure Dakota was asexual, but the only person who could answer that was Dakota herself.
She got there a little sooner than they both thought, but neither was too surprised the girl's warp stars were just as fast, if not faster, than vampire flight. But Rory was happy to see her nonetheless.
"Hey, Dakota, good to see you." He said, opening his bedroom door. Dakota returned his smile with a tired one.
"Hey, Rory, good to see you too. So, what do you want to show me?"
"Come here." Rory made room for Dakota to look at his monitor.
Dakota squinted, reading over the definition carefully, when her eyes widened. "Asexual? I've never heard of that term before." She expressed turning to her friend and asked,
"Rory, how did you find this?"
"I saw how distressed you were today and how sex in general seems to make you squeamish, so I decided to do some research of my own." He explained, "Now I know this might make you confused; I was too when I was coming to terms with being pan, but this just sounds like you, so if you want, Do you want to go a little deeper?"
Words could not describe how touched Dakota was by the fact that Rory took matters into his own hands to help her. It would be rude to let all that hard work go to waste, so taking the blonde's hand, Dakota agreed, "Yeah, I do. I don't think I've ever come across a sexuality that describes me more; whatever you find, I'll listen."
So, the two spent all of the afternoon and early evening researching and discussing the possibility of Dakota being ace. And while the two found a lot of signs, the young girl still wasn't sure.
"Not gonna lie, I feel almost as confused now as I did earlier." She voiced,
"That's normal; trust me, it can take a while to come to terms with any sexuality." Rory reassured,
"Was it the same for you?"
"Yeah, it was. I felt confused for a good while, wondering if this was who I was."
"How did you get over it?"
"Well, I kind of just came to terms with it; I knew I was attracted to all genders regardless of pronouns and identities; I preferred personality over looks. I guess something just clicks. When you know, you just know." Rory explained as best he could based on his own experience. And while it did seem to help, he could tell Dakota was still unsure of her sexual identity.
"How about this? Why don't we take a quiz?"
Dakota looked up. "Those exist?"
"Yeah, there seems to be a quiz for everything these days." Rory replied, searching for asexual quizzes. Here, this one seems promising; want to give it a go?"
"Sure, I don't see the harm in it." Dakota replied, starting to kind of enjoy herself. She was grateful for Rory's kindness and patience on this matter. Up until today, Dakota didn't even know what asexuality was; she had enough knowledge to know she wasn't the only one who felt uncomfortable about sex or anything relating to it. She at least felt she was either somewhat ace or maybe even demisexual, but the fear of mislabeling herself or people not accepting her sex-repulsed side weighed heavy in her mind. But she still wanted to look into it, so she answered the questions as Rory read them out and took a few other quizzes to compare the answers.
So far, gray asexual seems to be the most common answer.
Alright, what's your opinion on physical touch and intimacy?" Rory asked,
"I'm okay with cuddling and hugging, and kissing is nice as long as it's not too heated, I start feeling overwhelmed. But I will always draw the line at sex." She answered truthfully,
Rory nodded as he put in her answer. Even though he already knew her answer, Rory couldn't think of anyone more loving and touch-oriented than Dakota; she loved being near those who were close to her. Tight hugs and warm smiles were just how she functioned. And none of them would have it any other way. Rory made a mental note to teach her about love language in the future because he was sure hers was physical touch, just like him.
Alright, next question: someone in your friend group is talking about sex with you and their friends. What is your reaction?"
"Cover my ears, look the other way, and bolt. I'm not going down that rabbit hole; my mind can only handle so much."
"That's valid."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"It means you're totally allowed to feel that way; topics like these are uncomfortable to most people. Even people who don't identify as asexual might have problems talking about or explaining sexual intimacy. Heck, even I would have a little trouble conveying what I'd like to say. Rory stopped midsentence, remembering it was stuff like this that made Dakota sick in the first place. "Oh, sorry, I kind of let myself ramble for a moment there. I hope I didn't gross you out."
"You didn't; in fact, it made me feel a tiny bit better. It makes me feel less alone, you know."
"You're never alone, Dakota; no matter what you identify as, we'll always support you. You know, as long as you don't do anything to hurt other people,"
She giggled "Of course, Rory, you know I'd never go that far."
"Just checking. Alright, last question: What's your opinion on relationships? Now remember romantic attraction and sexual attraction are two different things."
"I'm okay with a romantic relationship; I'm not the kind of girl to hook up with random strangers like Erica does from time to time. While I might fall in love way too easily, I wouldn't get myself into anything until I can get to know them first. Does that make sense?"
"It makes perfect sense." Rory smiled and said, "Glad to see one of us has some sense of self-control." He muttered under his breath, considering him and Benny would hook up with the first girl who'd give either of them attention, which, in hindsight, isn't a healthy way to pursue anything. "I'm really glad I stopped living in that mindset and gave myself at least some standards."
"Is there anything else you want to add?"
"Would being ace make people see me differently?" Dakota asked nervously,
"In hindsight, it shouldn't, but there will always be people who just don't understand it. Everyone in the LGBTQ+ community gets ridiculed at least once by people who can't get their heads out of their butts and just accept other people's happiness. So, while you might meet acephobic people, you and I both know they're not worth your time."
"Would Sarah and the others understand, or will I get the whole I'll do it when I'm older speech? What if my own parents don't accept me? What if I never find anyone because all they'll want from me is sex?" Suddenly, all of Dakota's fears came to the surface; she didn't even realize she started crying until Rory jumped up to hug her.
"Oh, Dakota It's okay; please don't cry. Hey, it's okay; you're okay." He reassured holding his best friend close. "Shhh, shhh, it's okay. I support you, I promise. You'll meet someone; I know it, and if you decide you'd rather be alone than waste your time on someone who doesn't even care about your boundaries, then that's their fault. Just know we are here for you, asexual or not. You're you, Dakota; no one can tell you otherwise."
Laughing through her sobs, Dakota hugged Rory a little tighter. She was really happy that he invited her over. "Heh, thanks, Rorster. I'm so happy to be accepted by you. Even if things change in the future, for now, I'm happy to call myself a sex-repulsed asexual."
"And I'm happy to know you've accepted that part of you." He beamed, very pleased to know he helped his best friend.
Rory, thank you."
"Ugh, I can't keep this up. Alright, don't have sex; the world doesn't need it."
"I have to get laid; I think it'll bump up my credit score."
"If you get laid, who else is not going to get laid?"
"You! You hate sex!"
"But I don't want to hate sex alone; I need someone who shares my interest."
The threesome laughed hysterically. Scott's insane writing and comedic timing made Dakota, Rory, and Emily laugh hysterically.
"Oh god." Dakota breathed, trying to calm her laughter. "Why do I relate to Rex so much? I to hate sex; I swear, whether Scott intended it or not, Rex Moes is without a doubt Asexual coded."
"Funny thing is, you can kind of say that about Scott as well. The character, of course, but dude takes his job as a virgin very seriously. Hey, the dude has a no-sex sign on his bedroom door; he might say he wants it, but only when the plot calls for it."
"That's a pretty good observation, Emily." Rory agreed: "Hey, Dakota, are you feeling better?"
"Yeah, much better. Thanks guys. I appreciate everything you've done tonight."
"Aww, anything for my best girl." Rory beamed, patting Dakota's shoulder.
"Hey, considering you're better now and hopefully this won't be triggering, What did you see up there?" Emily questioned,
"Did someone get murdered?" Mabel added,
"What?! No nothing that severe!" Dakota yelled,
"Then what did you see?"
Dakota pulled her knees to her chest. She didn't want to recall what she saw, but at the same time, they'll find out sooner or later. So, taking a deep breath, she spilled the beans. "I saw Benny and Ethan having sex."
"What?!" Everyone shouted,
"Hold up, having sex how?! As in giving each other—"
"Fully butt naked, going to town on each other in Ethan's bed, Ems! I don't know how to make it any clearer!"
"Holy ship." Rory swore, now realizing what those noises were. "Oh god, I don't even know what to say."
Hey, I hope I'm not intruding, but..." Chloe spoke up.
"Well, out with it; spit it out, girl!" Emily encouraged,
"Am I the only one who's noticed Benny and Ethan getting closer lately? Like more than just friends."
Everyone was stunned silent, recalling moments they've brushed off as just how their relationship worked. They should have known better.
"Holy smokes."
"Oh my gosh."
"How did I not see this coming?" They realized as the two in question came downstairs. Both boys looked disheveled; Ethan's hair was messier than usual, and he was wearing Benny's jacket. Benny looked to be in slightly better shape, except his clothes were messy, as if he put them back on in a hurry. Not to mention sporting a large bruise on his collar bone. Emily didn't miss it, that's for sure.
"Hey girls, Rory, uh, how long have you been here? I didn't hear you knock."
"I'm sure you didn't." Emily muttered,
"Shhh." Her sister shushed as Mabel giggled.
"Why didn't you tell me you two were dating?" Rory came forward, breaking the silence.
"What, how did you know!?" Benny replied as he and Ethan scanned the group and noticed Dakota wouldn't even look at them.
"Wait, Dakota, that was you, wasn't it? You were the one who came into my room; I thought that was my mom." Ethan put two and two together and remembered how sex repulsed she was. "Oh god, we didn't traumatize her, did we?"
"How much did she see?" Benny questioned,
"Enough to send her into the asexual equivalent of a panic attack." Emily answered, and the two looked away, both from guilt and embarrassment. Also, did anyone ever tell you the importance of locking your door?"
Now they were mortified, Benny and Ethan had a lot of explaining to do. But that could wait for now; the two had a lot to make up for traumatizing their friend.
"Anyone want to play Mario Kart?" Ethan offered,
"I thought you'd never ask." Rory smiled, happy to take the offer. Dakota, you want to come?"
"You know what? Yeah, Mario Kart sounds fun." She smiled as the group returned to the living room to play one of the best multiplayer games.
While things might be awkward among the Whitechapel gang for the time being, There was one thing they could agree on. Never trigger an asexual who could kick your butt into next year.
And that is a lesson Benny and Ethan won't forget anytime soon.
And there you have it, I've never written a Bethan subplot for any of my fics before, and even if it's a minor moment I thought they'd make the most sense than having Etharah since number 1 Sarah wouldn't do that while babysitting and kids are in the house 2 while they have guests over. When everyone heads home yes, I can see her and Ethan getting down and dirty while Jane's asleep or if they think she's asleep. Black mail moment but Benny on the other hand would convince Ethan for a quicky because they're teens and have needs and the two are known for making stupid decisions but seriously Ethan should've locked his door especially after his dad walked in when he was trying to ask Sarah out. But again they're teenagers they do dumb stuff Dakota and Rory are the stars of this show.
Speaking of which I think this is the first time I'm pairing Rory and Dakota together platonically, and I'm happy with it it's actually cannon that Rory was the one to help Dakota learn she's ace in fact I head cannon that he knows a lot about sexualities it fits him.
And for those Scott the Woz fans the episode I referenced is Speed Dating, and yes I head cannon Scott and Rex are asexual well more for Rex than Scott, but I think most of us can agree there's some asexual coding here and I love it even though most likely its not intended to be that way but us fans can head cannon it regardless.
I think that's everything. I hope everyone enjoyed the story I hope to post more next month I'll finish the Adventure story eventually and expect the return of The Adventure of a Lifetime very soon bye guys.