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11 years old.
The first thing Adam did when he woke up Saturday morning was pack for the sleepover later that night at Tommy’s house. Even though he really wanted to go over right away, the Ratliff family was away visiting a grandmother over in the next city. This meant that Adam had to wait. No matter what he did, time inched by. There was a moment he even became desperate enough to help his mother clean around the house. That lasted a whole five minutes.
After dinner, Adam peeked out of the curtains to see if the car was back in Tommy’s driveway. Seeing it there, Adam grabbed his bag, yelling out his goodbyes as he raced out of the door. Once at Tommy’s door, Dia let him inside. Adam loved his mom, but Dia was just cool. She let Tommy wear what he wanted and decorate his room how he liked. Once she bought a cowboy themed comforter for his bed. Then the next day found it ripped to shreds. Tommy told her a dog did it. They didn’t even own a dog.
Opening up the basement door, Adam walked down the steps toward the makeshift room Tommy had designed for himself. The bed was now covered in black sheets. The walls had posters from various rock groups and horror movies, also the floor was littered with movie cases, clothes and guitar magazines. He saw Tommy sitting on the foot of his bed, strumming out a song on the guitar. It had a familiar ring to it but Adam couldn’t quite place where he had heard it before. When Tommy looked up at him, Adam waved.
“Thought we were gonna be there forever.” Tommy set down his guitar very carefully on a stand near the bed. “Check out the movie I got.” Snatching the case from the bed, he handed it over to Adam.
It was just what he had feared. The movie was titled ‘Basket Case’ and was about a deformed Siamese brother survives being cut off and tossed out. Now it wants revenge. Why do these things always want revenge and why does Tommy torture him with watching it? So much for sleeping tonight.
“Wait till you see what I bought off some kid in high school.” As Tommy went to reach for something under the mattress, they heard Dia’s voice from the top of the stairs.
“You two change into your pj’s and I’ll bring down some snacks for your movie.”
“Okay mom!” Tommy rolled his eyes, giving Adam the look that his secret would have to wait till later. Grabbing his sleep pants from the floor, Tommy stood up to change.
But Adam on the other hand wasn’t so eager to change. There was no denying the fact that he was different from other kids in class. The only one with flaming red hair and freckles that covered every inch of his skin. And though he hated to admit it, Adam knew he was a bit chubby compared to other boys. Looking over at Tommy, his friend stripped right down to his batman underwear without a care in the world. All the while, Adam changed as fast as his hands could move. Once his skin was covered again, he felt a lot better and joined Tommy on the bed.
Dia soon came down the stairs with a tray in her hand. On it was a bowl of popcorn and several juice boxes. “Now you two don’t stay up too late.” She went to kiss Tommy on the head which had him ducking away and complaining of embarrassment; she just shook her head. “Night you two.”
“Good night, Mrs. Ratliff.”
“Butt kisser.” It was said as a joke.
Sticking out his tongue at Tommy, he was pushed, almost to where he was shoved off of the bed. This lead to a playful shoving match where in the end, Tommy lost. Falling over his side of the bed, all that Adam could see was one leg sticking straight up in the air. The site caused massive amounts of giggles for both of them.
With the movie started, the two sat close in the bed. Tommy’s eyes wide on the screen while Adam tried to look at anything but. People were killed but this thing that in no way could be human but was and it freaked Adam out. Time for a distraction.
“What did you buy off of some kid?”
“Ohh, I almost forgot.” Slipping his hand between the mattresses, Tommy pulled out a magazine and placed it on the bed for the other to see. The magazine was a beat up copy of an old playboy. When Adam didn’t say anything about it, Tommy opened up the magazine to a random page. “This is the type of girl I’m gonna marry one day.”
“She’s so…” He wanted to say something nice about the girl he had no idea about, but he had to be honest. “Her boobs are weird.”
“They’re fake. But when we are musicians, that’s the type of girls we have to be with.”
“Why?” Adam seriously confused.
“That’s just the rule. The bigger the boobs, the better the woman.” Shrugging as he was making that up. Flipping a few more pages and the movie was long forgotten as they examined one naked girl after the other. Till Adam pointed to where two girls were kissing.
“Are they just friends or…”
“I guess. I mean they could be dating, too. I heard my mom talking about a cousin that lives in Michigan who is dating another girl.”
Biting on his lower lip, Adam looked from the magazine and over toward his friend. That was till he was caught.
“I can feel your eyes on me.” He turned now, looking right back at Adam.
“I was just wondering.”
“What?”
“I mean…do you think all friends do that?” Adam nodded toward the magazine, meaning the kiss.
Shrugging, Tommy looked back at the picture. “Could be, it’s not such a big deal.”
“Should we, err, I mean because we’re friends.” The blush that plagued his cheeks was again back to covering his face. Never expecting what he was about to hear.
“I guess.” It sounded as though Tommy could care less what they did. It was just a kiss. Shifting his legs to move closer, Tommy started to lean in. Following his lead, Adam too leaned in. As they got close, both boys closed their eyes and in moments, their foreheads bumped together.
“Fuck!” Tommy rubbed at his forehead as Adam did the same with his own. “Let’s keep our eyes open this time.”
Nodding in agreement, Adam let out a deep breath before they moved in close. Eyes staying open they pressed their lips together, staying connected only seconds before pulling back apart.
“That was…” Trying to find the right word, Adam felt the tingles now, louder than usual, swirling around his insides.
“Cool.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. Being so close, it looked like you were a Cyclops.”
“Tommy.” Sighing it was hardly the reaction he wanted.
“It was fine. From what my mom says, we used to kiss each other all the time when we were toddlers.” Not as though he could remember it, but Adam kept his eyes down on the bed. The sadness so clear and over whelming, Tommy could feel it like a whirl pool sucking him in. “I bet it’s a practice thing. Like when I play the guitar.”
“You’re just trying to make me feel better.” Crossing his arms over his chest, Adam was not about to be persuaded.
Sometimes his friend needed showing rather than telling. That’s exactly what Tommy did. Grabbing Adam by the night shirt and pulling him closer, the two kissed yet again. It lasted longer this time though it was sloppier. When Adam’s shirt was released, the red head sank back onto his bottom. Mouth hanging open slightly, watching Tommy rub at his lips and this time it was Tommy’s cheeks that started to turn red.
Changing the subject to video games after that, they listed off games they wanted to get. The magazine pushed off the side of the bed and forgotten for safer topics of discussion. Around three am, both could not stop their yawning. Giving up, Adam moved under the sheets as Tommy walked to the far wall to shut off the light. He was the only person who could navigate his obstacle course of a room and not trip. The bed dipped as Tommy moved in under the covers, shifting to find a comfortable spot.
With as tired as Adam was, his mind kept going back to the kiss. How wonderful it felt to have his first official kiss with his best friend and hoped Tommy was not lying about it happening again. Shifting himself, Adam’s hand brushed against Tommy’s arm. Following down the length of it, Adam placed his hand in Tommy’s, gently lacing their fingers together. When Tommy gave his hand a squeeze and didn’t pull away, Adam couldn’t hold back the smile on his face. Closing his eyes he was able to find some sleep.
The End?
Does anyone want to see more of this transformation? Please comment to let me know.