My name is Tom. The Yeerk in my head is named Tem.

I walked up to Jake's door. I raised my fist to knock, but stopped. I thought I heard my name. If I listened closely, I could just barely hear voices through the wood.

"Take that back." My brother Jake. Quiet but angry.

"It can be anyone, remember?" His friend Marco.

"Not him. He would never do that."

[Don't eavesdrop,] Tem said.

[Spoilsport.]

I knocked loudly. "Make yourselves decent!" I said just as loudly. I opened the door without waiting for an response - or rather, I tried to. It surprised me that the doorknob wouldn't turn.

I meant it as a joke. They were decent, right?!

A couple seconds later, there was a click and the door opened. Jake looked up at me nonchalantly. "What?" Marco was sitting on the floor behind him. Everything looked normal.

"Why did you lock the door?"

He rolled his eyes in the way only adolescent little brothers could do. "'Cause you're always barging in."

[He's not wrong,] Tem commented, [Mister Eavesdropper.]

[You should talk,] I shot back. [You eavesdrop on literally every conversation I have!]

[That doesn't count! I'm half-you.]

In my head, this fast-as-thought exchange only took a second or two. I wasn't gonna spend longer than that arguing in front of Jake.

"Mom said to tell you dinner's ready." I looked over Jake's shoulder at Marco. "You staying?"

"Yeah," Jake answered for him. "We already asked Mom."

Marco got to his feet and smirked. "As if I'm gonna say no to free food," he said as he walked past us.

Marco was Jake's best friend. They've been practically glued at the hip since kindergarten. It almost seemed like he spent more time over at our house than I did.

I guess it's true when they say opposites attract, because Jake and Marco looked about as different as possible. Jake was tall for his age, while Marco was short. Jake's pale, and Marco has caramel-brown skin. Jake kept his bangs long but the rest of his hair boyishly short. Marco's shiny black hair nearly went down to his shoulders.

Their personalities were different too. Jake was usually quiet and serious and, frankly, worried too much about everything. Marco lived his life like he expected applause from a studio audience every time he walked into a room. He was loud, constantly making jokes, and loved being the center of attention.

Also, I was about 90 percent sure Marco was gay. I was 50 percent sure he had a crush on Jake, and maybe 10 percent suspicious they were secretly dating.

[I still don't think he's gay,] Tem thought.

[Have you seen his hair?!]

[Hair has nothing to do with sexual orientation,] he insisted. [You only think he's gay because you humans try to make EVERYTHING about romance and sex.]

[And you only think he's NOT gay because you Yeerks keep forgetting the rest of the universe isn't as asexual as you.]

[I'm in the body of a sixteen-year-old boy. Your hormones won't let me forget.]

It was an old argument. It was probably rude for us to be making bets on a kid who was trying to stay in the closet, but what Marco didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

.

My family was laid back in a lot of ways, but we were kinda formal about dinner time. Even on the rare nights we got take-out, we always sat together at the main table, and we never had the TV on. We weren't really religious either, but we still said a prayer before eating.

We brought in a fifth chair for Marco. My family thought there were five people gathered for dinner tonight. None of them knew Marco was actually the sixth; there'd been five people here every other night for months.

I probably shouldn't have joked earlier about Tem eavesdropping on my conversations. It wasn't really his choice. Tem watched my mom, dad, and little brother. He listened to our small talk. He was invisible - though he wasn't exactly silent. Tem and I thought alike on a lot of subjects. What I said often reflected what he was thinking anyway. And even when we disagreed, we decided together what my mouth would say out loud. He had questions or comments for my family; I decided what sounded too out-of-character for me. That's how communication worked for Yeerk-hosts.

Tem and I were two separate people. At the same time, we were also a single person. One body governed by two blended minds. It was something ordinary humans wouldn't understand.

The point is: Tem could say little things to other humans, if he really wanted. But it was still lonely. These people were practically his adopted family, and they had no idea he even existed.

These dinners made me feel a little lonely too. Hiding such a big part of my life from my mom and dad. The placard was still hidden under my shirt. Still nobody noticed.

[This is probably how Marco feels.]

[He's not gay.]

It was always tempting to tell them everything. But it was a lot harder now that Andalites were hiding on Earth. I could hardly tell my folks that their son was the target of a manhunt by space-fascists. And I didn't want to risk dragging them into the same danger I lived with. I would never, ever, let the Andalites get their tails into Jake.

So instead, we just talked about normal stuff at dinner. Marco did most of the talking tonight. He complained about doing wrestling in his last gym glass. He lost, and Marco acted like the whole thing was a criminal conspiracy by the gym teacher to ruin his life.

"I don't even like wrestling when I'm winning," he whined.

"How would you know?" Jake asked. I immediately reached across the table and gave him a high-five.

Marco grinned. "I should be insulted, but that was a good shot and I respect it." He frowned. "Seriously, though. Getting up close and personal with a bunch of sweaty guys? Not my idea of a good time."

[Methinks he doth protest too much,] I thought smugly at Tem.

[Or he protests just enough,] he replied.

Marco continued. "Although, still smells better than helping Cassie clean up after horses. I don't know how I let you keep talking me into that."

I didn't have perfect recall of Jake's circle of friends, so I asked, "Who's Cassie?"

Marco, completely casually, replied, "Jake's girlfriend."

Jake seemed to choke on his food for a moment.

"Whoa! Wait." I stared at Jake. "Since when do you have a girlfriend?"

That nixed my theory that Jake liked Marco back.

[Told you so.]

"I - She's not!" Jake frantically waved his hands. "Marco's just being stupid. Cassie - She's just a regular friend. That's it!"

I stared at Jake's blushing face for a moment. Then I ignored him and looked at Marco. "Level with me. Are they dating?"

"He likes her, and she likes him back," Marco said simply. Before Jake could protest, Marco turned to him. "Yes, you do! Everyone can see it." He turned back to me. "But they are so freaking shy, they would spontaneously combust if they did so much as hold hands."

"Oh, so it's like that." I grinned as wide as possible. "Lil' Jake's in loooove!"

Jake was blushing all the way down to his neck. "Shut up." He pointed at Marco. "And you shut up. It's not like that."

"Tom, stop teasing your brother," my dad said, even though his smile told us he was enjoying this too.

"Hey, as the big brother in this situation, it's my job to get involved." I looked back to Jake, mock seriousness. "Do I need to have a talk with Cassie? Let her know what'll happen if she breaks your heart?"

"For the hundredth time, she's just a friend. Nothing's gonna happen," he insisted while giving me a stern glare.

His glare didn't intimidate me. "So what I'm hearing is: I still have a little time before I need to write the best man speech for your wedding."

"I beg your pardon?" Marco raised an eyebrow at me. "I'm gonna be his best man. And I already have the speech written."

"If I ever do get married, neither of you will be my best man," Jake said.

Marco dramatically slapped a hand against his chest. "Ugh! Drive a steak through my heart, why don't you?!"

"Really," I added. "For that, you're out of my will."

My mom came to Jake's rescue by changing the subject. "What about you, Tom?"

I stared. "What about me, what?"

"Are you seeing anyone at the moment?" she asked with an mischievous smile.

Oh. That.

This awkward feeling was probably karma for teasing Jake. But I kept my face relaxed, expertly hiding how uncomfortable I was. "Uh . . . No. Haven't found the right girl yet."

"The basketball star couldn't get a girlfriend before Jake?" Marco asked. "That's sad."

"She's not my girlfriend!" Jake hit peak exasperation.

"Honestly, I'm not really looking right now," I said. "I don't wanna date just for the sake of dating, you know? I'd rather wait till I meet a girl naturally."

Was that a good enough answer? Did my parents think it was weird I wasn't dating yet? I hoped they wouldn't ask any more.

The truth was I did want a girlfriend - at least eventually. But it was probably never going to happen as long as I was a Yeerk-host. Even once I was an adult, it was entirely possible I would never lose my virginity.

Yeerks, mostly, are asexual and aromantic. The pre-virus Ancient Yeerks believed that stuff was only for "lesser" species. Giving into their host's yearnings was considered disgusting and scandalous. (Some historians suspect Edriss 562 had less-than-appropriate relations with her involuntary hosts, but there's no proof. History shrugs.)

Modern Yeerks didn't look down on other species like that anymore. But they still didn't like using a host's body to get sexual pleasure, and frankly, I didn't blame them. Tem and I were almost a single person, and we had no privacy or shame with anything else, but there's got to be a boundary somewhere.

The closest thing I had to a love life was every three days - well, not every three days, but during most of Tem's feedings in the pool - I would sneak away to a bathroom and spend my once-per-three-days alone time, you know . . . having alone time. And then I suffered through the awkwardness of Tem seeing my memories on his return. But I was a teenager; you can't expect me to stop completely.

So no girlfriend. But it wasn't only because of the sex thing. The bigger issue was the idea of an actual, long-term, relationship . . . What kind of relationship could a girl and I have when I'm keeping a secret this huge? It wasn't just what I do or where I go, but my own identity. Surprise! There's actually two of us in here! And how could I fall in love with someone when half my two-person brain wasn't even interested in romance?

I never regretted bonding with Tem. In a perfect world, I would stay his host for the rest of my life. But it came with unexpected questions we didn't have answers to.

[Chapman and Alison were married before they became hosts,] Tem reminded me. [You should ask them how they deal with relationship stuff. They probably set aside time to separate from Iniss and Niss and-]

[Ew! Stop putting that thought in my head!] I pleaded.

[I'm putting the thought in your head?!]

[I'm not gonna ask Chapman and Alison when they get intimate!]

[You humans are so weird. You think about sex constantly, but you can't stand to talk to each other about it.]

[It's not constant. Just . . . recurring.]

The easiest answer was to just ignore the issue. Tell myself it didn't matter unless I someday found a girl I liked.

Just one more unknown question about my future I kept putting off until later.

.

After dinner, somehow I wound up driving Marco home.

He lived only a few blocks away, but it was dark out. He asked me to spare him from walking. I didn't mind, but Tem idly wondered why he asked me instead of the adults, since I had to ask my mom to borrow the car anyway.

By the front door, as I was putting on my favorite denim jacket, I looked over at Jake. "You coming with us?"

Before Jake could open his mouth, Marco spoke up. "Nah. It's just a quick drive home. And we already said goodbye."

"I don't mind coming," Jake said.

Marco said, "But Jake, if we're together, we'll just start talking again and it'll take all night to finish. You know how we get." He looked up at me with mock sadness. "Long goodbyes always break my heart."

Before I could even think, Tem responded with, [He's just being funny. It doesn't mean a thing.] Yeah, right.

Jake seemed unsure how to respond. I grabbed my mom's keys off the hook and said, "You coming or not? I've got homework later."

I opened the front door as Marco slung his backpack over his shoulder. Before Marco walked out, Jake grabbed him by the arm, leaned close and whispered, "Don't be rude to Tom. And don't say anything stupid." Jake's look was oddly serious, even for him.

Tem and I both wondered if this was evidence in our bet, decided it wasn't, and ignored it. Marco shrugged Jake off and followed me outside.

I got in my mom's car. Marco rode shotgun. I asked, "Your dad's house, right? Or Eva's apartment?"

"Dad's house. I don't really sleep at my mom's place."

Eva and Marco's relationship had been strained ever since the divorce. I never asked either of them for details.

I drove through the night.

Marco casually asked, "So you're on a first-name basis with my mom?"

"She asks everyone at The Sharing to call her Eva."

That was true. But the real reason I was on a first-name basis with Eva was the annoying, frustrating, humiliating fact that I couldn't remember her last name! I knew it once - I must have. I kept waiting for her full name to come up in conversation, but everyone just called her Eva. It drove me nuts.

[Just ask her,] Tem told me in exasperation. [Or ask Marco.]

He thought it was stupid for me to be embarrassed by this. But I kept telling him, [I am not gonna admit I forgot her name.]

[You could ask if she kept her married name or not after the divorce.]

[That's not any better.]

[Then . . . Pretend you know the name, but double-check the spelling or something.]

[Oh. That could work.]

"Speaking of names," I said nonchalantly, keeping my eyes on the road, "Refresh my memory. What's the proper spelling of your last name?"

Without missing a beat he answered, "It's spelled exactly the way it sounds."

I frowned.

[Great idea, Tem. That was super helpful.]

[Like your 'do nothing' plan was any better.]

Marco spoke up again. "So about The Sharing . . . It's kinda funny how little I know about that club when my own mom is the founder."

I shrugged. "There's not much to know. It's just volunteer work and tutoring."

"The Sharing has meetings open to the public, what, every two weeks?"

"More or less."

"But you also have members-only meetings almost every day, don't you?"

"Not quite that often."

We reached his dad's house. I pulled into the driveway and parked.

But Marco didn't get out of the car. "So what exactly do you do during all those private meetings? Mom never really talks about it."

Alien stuff. But I obviously wasn't gonna tell him that.

Before I could answer, he added, "I ask, because all Mom says is 'some new project' or 'volunteer work'. She never talks to me about the details. I'm curious 'cause there are only so many times a week you can work at a soup kitchen or pick up litter at the park."

Well, this was annoying. Usually I just made up a few vague cover stories and that was enough to satisfy people. I wasn't used to being pestered for details.

Tem was starting to get nervous.

"I don't know what to tell you," I answered. "We don't punch in a time clock and follow a written schedule. Mostly we just talk and try to think of new ideas."

He shrugged. "Yeah, it's probably nothing. It's just, recently, I've been on the lookout for anything unusual. And for a moment, it almost seemed like The Sharing was hiding something." He laughed. "But that's ridiculous, right?"

He acted like it was a joke, but I realized it was just that: an act. He was suspicous for real.

Crap. I always thought Marco was just some kid, but turned out he was smart. Smart enough to notice we were up to something.

No, he didn't know. Right now, he was just a paranoid kid looking for trouble. But if I said the wrong thing, he would latch onto it and keep going until he found the truth.

Suddenly, I felt like I was trapped with a wild animal. This car was a tank of water, and Marco was a shark sniffing for blood. Exposing a single drop around him could be fatal.

I kept my expression calm. But inside, Tem's mind and mine raced. I needed to distract Marco. Change the subject. But he was smart - a regular pivot would only make him suspicious. I needed to go big. My only hope was to distract him with something so huge, so mind-blowing, it would monopolize all his brain power and make him completely forget what he was talking about.

"So then, wh-"

I interrupted him. "Before you go, there's something I gotta ask. Is Cassie real?"

As I hoped, he was confused by the randomness of the question. "Real?"

"You know, the girl Jake supposedly likes. You didn't make her up, right?"

Now he looked skeptical. "Why would Jake make up a girlfriend just to deny dating her?"

"Well, I thought - I mean I wondered . . ."

"What?"

"I just wondered if, maybe, you made up a girl to hide the fact that Jake was dating . . . you." I looked down at him, pure innocence.

He stared at me. At least four full seconds by actual count.

Then, in what was probably a higher pitch than he intended, he shouted, "What the hell?!"

There we go.

I held up my hands. "Hey, it's fine if you are. I totally support you two."

"I'm not dating Jake!" He shrieked as if I suggested he date his own mother. "Why would you think that?!"

I shrugged. "It was just a thought. I mean, I have no idea about Jake. But I always suspected you were, you know. . ." I innocently looked away. Innocently.

He angrily replied, "I'm not gay! I like girls!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, you like 'em so much, you wear your hair like one," I mumbled.

"THIS IS NOT A GIRL HAIRCUT!"

Okay, Marco was either really deep in the closet, or homophobic. Either way, I actually started to feel bad about how upset I was making him. But, hey, whatever it took to get his mind off The Sharing.

"Look, I like girls, got it?" he insisted. "I'm not faking! I like girls, so that proves I don't like guys!"

"No, it doesn't," I said simply. "You can like girls and guys, you know."

He was about to say something, but then he stopped. He switched from angry to puzzled. "Wait. You can like both?"

"Yeah, Marco. It's called bisexual. Look it up."

He thought this over silently for several long moments. He stared at me. Looked out the windshield. Back to me. "That's a real thing?"

I smirked. "Well, that got your attention."

He blinked. Blushed. Tried to say something, and settled on, "S-Shut up!"

Marco got out the car and slammed the door behind him. I calmly watched him walk across the driveway and enter his house.

Tem thought, [Okay, I'm starting to see it.]

Author's Notes: Originally, I was going to give Eva and Marco the last name they have in SoloMoon's "Eleutherophobia" fanfiction. Then I decided it would be closer to the canon, and funnier, if I made it a running gag that Tom didn't know their last name.