Some Things Change Pt. 01

This is the first half of a story; the second half will be posted later.

1. All characters participating in sex are 18+

2. No characters resemble real people

3. Enjoy the fiction

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SOME THINGS CHANGE

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Gideon is about the smallest town in Oklahoma. Or so I've always been told. Most people don't leave the county, so really, how would anyone know?

By town, what I really mean is a tiny village. There's a town square, yes, but it has a total of about 15 total buildings. Most everyone lives out on their farm, miles away from the square.

There's one school building with a couple of teachers. They do okay, considering each teacher has to teach multiple grades at the same time. Things got a lot better when we got the internet. But there's not enough kids to field a proper sports team, and no other schools nearby to play against anyway.

Most of the teachers didn't go to a proper college, but maybe took some online certification classes. The state keeps asking if we want to merge with another town's school district, but it's almost an hour from the town square to any other town, so nobody else wants to merge with us. Plus, who'd want to ride a school bus for an hour each way, five days a week?

There's a town hall, one small church, a gas station with two pumps, and a diner. The mayor's wife runs the diner, and his no-good younger brother runs the gas station. It should also be said that the mayor, Jim Hammond Jr., has been in office unopposed for a couple decades, and his father, Jim Sr., was the mayor before that.

In a town like this, things don't change.

----

I was never the biggest or smartest kid in town. Or even in my family. My older sister, June, was always the smart one. But since most people around here don't go to college, she graduated high school, then got engaged to her high school boyfriend. They were getting married next summer. I liked her fiance, Frank. He was a noble, kind, strong guy. He was big, but he was a teddy bear on the inside.

I was the second child of five. I had turned 18 last month, and was itching to be done with high school. My brother Steve was 16 and was more muscular than I was. He was also one of my best friends. Then I had two little sisters, the twins Jenny and Jilly, who were 11.

As school was winding down, the summer coming on, we were all expected to help Mom and Pop do the farmwork. It was just something that kids did on the farm when they weren't in school, and no one ever argued. Frank helped his family and June helped ours. After they married, June would probably move to Frank's parents' house, since it was rare that someone built a new house around here.

But I had other thoughts about my life. This town was boring for me, and I wanted to leave it behind. I didn't have money to leave on my own, but there was another option. Without my Pop's knowledge, I had talked to an army recruiter. He said I could leave town right after graduation and join the army, so I could see the world and get an education. Sure, I'd probably be put in combat, but it was worth the risk, I thought.

I didn't have a girlfriend. There were few girls at school to choose from anyway, and even fewer who I'd find attractive. But usually, people paired off and got married, and life went on in the endless loop.

----

When May arrived, the other kids were getting excited to go to the end-of-school dance. It was like a Prom, that other schools have, but without tuxedos and limosines. And all kids from 7th grade and up could go. I'd been looking around at my female classmates, deciding who I wanted to ask to go with me. It was somewhat important, as I didn't have a girlfriend, and the options were very limited. Furthermore, since the selection was so minimal, it was often assumed that couples who lasted past high school would eventually get married, like June and Frank.

Steve told me as we got ready for school, "I heard Lara wants you to ask her."

Lara Hammond was the mayor's daughter. She was 17 and had average looks. But she was the mayor's daughter, which meant she had some money and some influence. People wanted to be her friend, or at least not be her enemy.

"Lara? Damn." I shook my head. I had been trying to work up the courage to ask out Amanda Harrison or Prudence Smith. Amanda was a knockout blonde, also 18 like me. Prudence was a cute little red-head, like all the other Smiths, and was only 16, but her body was nicely developed.

On the other hand, Lara was skinny, not much in the way of curves. Her brown hair hung in a plain pony tail most of the time.

"What are you gonna do, Chuck?" asked Steve.

"I was going to ask Amanda."

"Good. I'm gonna ask Prudence today."

I turned to Steve. "You like Prudence?"

Steve couldn't stop smiling. "Hell yeah. She likes me too, I think. She kept looking at me yesterday."

I thought about it. Prudence and Steve made a good pairing, I guessed. Good for them, if it works out. "Alright. That's the plan, then. Good luck."

"Good luck with Amanda."

----

We waited until lunch time, then Steve and I parted ways. He found Prudence, and I walked over to Amanda. "Hi Amanda," I said.

"Hi Steve, what's up?" she said, flashing me her gorgeous smile.

"Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Amanda looked around nervously, then looked down at the ground. "Sorry, Steve, I can't go with you."

"Oh. Are you going with someone else?"

"Not yet," she said, still not looking me in the eye. Something was wrong here.

"Amanda," I said, "is something wrong? I mean, we're still friends, right?"

She finally looked up at me. "Of course, Chuck. I just..." she hesitated. She looked past me, and got a fearful look in her eye. "I just can't go with you. I really am sorry."

I turned around and saw Lara watching us from afar. I turned back to Amanda. "It's Lara, isn't it? She's got some kind of dirt on you?"

Amanda reluctantly nodded. "I cheated on a paper. I don't know how she found out. But if she tells the teachers, I won't graduate."

I sighed. "Okay. Maybe we can dance together?"

Amanda finally smiled. "Sure. I'd love to."

I left Amanda, heading back to my table where I always ate lunch with Steve. Lara intercepted me on the way.

"Hi Chuck," she said sweetly. "Nice day, huh?" Lara had her signature pony tail past her shoulders. She wore a white polo shirt, tucked into her navy blue skirt than ran to her knees. "Sure," I answered.

"Should be good weather for the dance coming up, I hope," she said, trying to hint at the obvious to me. If I hadn't been wise, I'd think she was rather smooth. Since I knew what was going on, I decided I didn't appreciate what she was doing.

"Should be, yeah." Then I walked away. "Well, bye."

I met back up with Steve. He was all smiles, so I didn't have to ask, but I did anyway. "How'd it go?"

"She said yes," he said, exuding joy. Then he saw my non-smiling face. "No go with Amanda?"

"She said she wanted to, but she can't. Lara got to her."

"Oh, man. That sucks." He and I sat down to eat our lunches. "So are you taking Lara?"

"No." I took a bite of my sandwich and didn't elaborate.

"Just.... no?"

"She's exerting all her power, and I don't appreciate it," I explained. "I'd rather go alone than with her."

"At least you know she likes you."

"She probably likes me because she thinks she can control me," I started to hypothesize out loud. "I'm not a checker in her game."

"You mean pawn?"

I shrugged. "I don't know how to play chess."

Steve was quiet at that. We ate in silence for a few minutes. Then he finally asked, "Are you still going to go? Can you drive me and Prudence?" His tone was quiet but hopeful. His face was grinning.

I grinned back. "Sure. Good for you, you snagged a good one." I couldn't be mad that he'd taken my second pick, as it looked like they could really be a good couple, and I was happy for Steve.

----

After Amanda, I asked a couple other girls to the dance. A few had dates already, which I couldn't fault them for. But the others, like Amanda, were afraid of Lara for one reason or another. One girl's father worked in the kitchen of the diner, and Lara threatened that her mother could fire him. One ninth grader was just plain physically threatened. I was irritated, but I told each one I held no hard feelings for them. It was Lara who I was angry with, not them.

Ironically, I thought, I might have asked Lara if she wasn't such a brat. She wasn't bad looking, really, just plain. Maybe she was a late bloomer, but she didn't have much in the way of curves. Nothing stood out for me, when comparing her to other girls like Amanda. But what really did her in was her bad attitude. Just because her dad was the mayor, she thought she could get away with anything, and I couldn't stand it.

Lara waited for days for me to ask her to the dance, and I didn't. She kept talking to me, hinting to me, everything she could think of, but I didn't take the bait. I almost expected her to ask me, but that wasn't something girls did in our tiny village. Things don't change, and boys always asked girls.

Finally, the day before the dance, Lara confronted me in the school hallway. "Why don't you want to take me to the dance?" she demanded.

I was a little shocked at her directness. "Because I don't like you," I said flatly.

"Don't you like girls?" she asked, indicating I might be gay. That was another thing that didn't change in this town: boys liked girls and vice versa.

"I like other girls fine. It's you I don't like."

She stomped her foot and raised her voice. "You ask me to the dance right now, Chuck Williams." Other people in the hall turned to look.

"No. You want to go to the dance, you go by yourself."

A flash of panic crossed her face. That was never something she'd thought about. A girl going to the dance by herself? It would be allowed, of course, but no one had ever done it. Girls got asked to the dance, and that was how it worked.

"Who are you taking?"

"I'm taking my brother," I replied.

"You know what I mean."

I'd had enough. "Why? So you can blackmail another girl? You gonna use your daddy's money and influence to make her dump me?" It looked like she was going to give some excuse, so I cut her off. "Don't lie. You made all the other girls run away from me."

She turned red. "If you don't ask me right now..."

I cut her off. "You'll do what? Get your daddy on me? Make your uncle beat me up? Go to hell, Lara." With that, before she could say another word, I stomped off.

----

I knew I wouldn't hear the last of it. That night, Pop got a call from Lara's dad, the mayor. Something about my bad behavior with his daughter. Publicly humiliated in front of the whole school. He took me into the barn, which is where Pop always had private, serious talks with his kids. I told Pop what really happened, and he believed me. He always believed me when I told him things straight, and he always spoke straight to me. I was proud to be named Charles after him, though I'd always just call him Pop.

"You told her to go to hell?" Pop asked. He was pretty religious, so that last bit was a doozy for him.

"Yes sir, I did." There was no point in denying it.

"Why won't you just take her to the dance?" he asked. "Seems like she's putting in a lot of effort over you."

"Because I don't like her. She's mean, manipulative, spoiled, and not even that pretty. Why would I want to be involved with a girl like that? Plus, if I take her, the whole town's gonna assume we're getting married or something."

Pop was going to say something, then huffed a sigh. "I guess you're right about that. But you know she's gonna make your life miserable, right? Her and her whole family."

I nodded. "You're probably right."

"How you gonna deal with that, boy?"

I thought about it. There was another option. "Pop, I talked to an army recruiter a few weeks back."

"You what?" Pop got confused. "What you gonna do, leave us? Right when I need you here on the farm?"

"I thought about it," I admitted. "This town ain't for me, Pop. I honestly can't see myself staying here all my life."

Pop grunted in anger, and glared at me for a minute. This had caught him off-guard, for sure. He was trying to think of what to say to me, but couldn't. In the end, he just huffed again. "Then go on." I left him in the barn with his thoughts.

Mom told me later that it wasn't that he was really mad at me for leaving, it was that I was going against the traditions of the town. Everyone here stayed here, and leaving was like thumbing your nose at all the people who would never leave. Mom told me she understood, though; she'd thought about it when she was my age, but stayed because she fell for Pop.

So, that Saturday, while Steve washed the car in honor of his date, I finished a few school assignments early, so I made sure I could graduate on time. I no longer planned on attending to receive my diploma, but I knew they'd mail it to my parents. I packed up all my clothes, and what little money I had, and said goodbye to Mom and the girls. Frank came over to shake my hand one more time. Only Pop wouldn't talk to me, but I patted him on the shoulder and told him I'd miss him.

Steve and I both got dressed in our fanciest clothes, which wasn't much. Nice shirts, black pants, and Sunday ties. Hair combed nice. I drove Steve to pick up Prudence. She wore a green dress that made her green eyes pop. She looked really pretty, and I admit I was jealous of Steve that night. The two of them sat in the back seat of the car while I drove.

When we got to the school, the dance was already going on. Steve and Prudence went off to have a good time. I looked around, and saw lots of people, but not Lara. Good. I didn't know if I could handle her right now.

I danced with a few girls, including Amanda. I even danced with Prudence once while Steve was taking a leak. But I didn't tell anyone there I was leaving. They'd find out after I was gone.

Then, a little before 10:00, I found Steve and hugged him. He wished me the best of luck, and cried a little. I promised him I'd be back. Then I handed him the keys to the car and wished him good luck with Prudence, and left the school building.

Outside, I grabbed my bags from the car and waited by the town hall. It didn't take long for the bus to arrive. I boarded it, headed for the city, and my new life in the United States Army.

----

THREE YEARS LATER

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I was driving back into Gideon from the city. The weather was nice on that mid-May afternoon, and I had the windows down. I'd thought of catching that same grey bus back into the small town, and having my family pick me up, but I was twenty-one now, and had a little money, so I bought a decent used car to drive myself home.

Life in the army had changed me. I had been a lanky kid, but I'd put on some muscle and really filled out. I'd styled my once-unkempt hair, and I'd grown a nice goatee. Well, I thought it was nice. So did a few girls.

I'd been around the world, pretty much. After basic training, they sent my unit to do some patrolling in Iraq. Thankfully, I was only in a few dangerous situations there, as my primary training was to be a mechanic. Then, after about a year and a half, they sent me to Germany for some glorified guard duty. That was boring but far less dangerous. I met a few European girls who liked studly, uniformed American boys. In the course of about a year, I was introduced to fine wine and beer and food, as well as fantastic sex - all stuff that I'd never learn about in tiny Gideon.

The other major change was my name. The army called me PFC Charles Williams, Jr., but I was Charlie to my buddies in the unit. I decided I liked Charlie better than Chuck, so I'd written to my family that I wanted to be called that now.

I hadn't been home since I'd left three years ago, but I had heard news from everyone. That is, except Pop. He hadn't talked to me since the night I left.

The biggest reason for my return was to be Steve's best man. He had sent me pictures of Prudence wearing our grandmother's ring, and I was ecstatic for him. Their relationship started the night of that dance, and hadn't let up since. They were getting married in a few weeks. The second biggest reason was that June and Frank were expecting their first child in August, and I intended to be there to meet my first niece.

About fifteen miles from town, I spotted an old car on the side of the road. Standing next to it was a very attractive brunette. She waved as I approached, and I pulled over. "Thank heavens you stopped," she said as I got out of the car. "I don't know what's wrong, it just died on me." I took in her appearance as I approached. Her brown hair was cut short near her neck. She wore a white tank top, one of those that's a little thin, and you can see her white bra underneath in the right light. She probably had around C-cup breasts, and her tight jeans hugged her nice hips and butt.

I walked up with my confident swagger, something I'd perfected overseas. "Well, pretty lady, you're lucky I'm a mechanic," I told her. "Let's take a look under the hood."

I opened the hood and she stood next to me. My first realization was that this car was old. Not in a cool, classic car way. Old in a 'you need to get a new car' kinda way. Probably twenty years old and not in good shape at all. But, in this case, it took me a minute to diagnose that her radiator was shot, even though lots of other things likely needed some TLC.

I told her the bad news. "You probably aren't going to make it anywhere with this car, at least not today. You're gonna need a tow truck."

Her eyes got wide, and she slammed a fist on the top of the car. "Dammit. I can't afford another car right now." She shook her head, almost to clear her thoughts, then suddenly gave me the prettiest smile. "I don't suppose I could get a ride from a handsome mechanic?"

I grinned. "Possibly. I'm heading towards Gideon. Are you from around there?"

She nodded. "Yeah, I have a trailer near there. I'd really appreciate it."

I offered my hand for her to shake. "I'm Charlie, and I'm afraid I didn't catch your name."

She shook my hand. "Hi Charlie, I'm..."

She was cut off by a loud "MOMMY!" emanating from the back seat of her old car.

She chuckled. "I'm Mommy, and that's my son Zeke." She opened the back door and fished him out of his seat. "You wouldn't mind taking us home?"

I quickly studied the child. His hair color matched hers. He wasn't a baby, he was really more like two years old. But the young woman's smile still beamed at me. Even if I didn't find her attractive, I'd still want to help her. "No problem," I told her. "I'll grab his car seat. You grab whatever else you need from your car. It'll probably be here for a while, I doubt anyone's gonna walk off with it."

"Thanks, Charlie," she said. I buckled Zeke's car seat into my car. She grabbed what looked like her purse and his diaper bag, and loaded them into my car too, then sat in the front seat next to me.

"I'm so glad you showed up," she said to me as we drove. "I've been having awful luck for the past... well, a long time."

"It's not a problem."

"Are you from around here?" she asked.

"Yeah," I said. "I grew up here, but I haven't been back for a few years. I just got back to the States a few days ago."

"You were overseas somewhere?"

"I spent time in the army. That's where I learned to be a mechanic."

"The army?" The girl looked me up and down, somewhat hysterically.

"What? Do I have a bug on my shirt?" I laughed at her panicked expression.

It took her a while to speak, but when she did, it was something I didn't expect. "Chuck? Chuck Williams?"

The way she said my name made me finally realize who she was. "Lara?" All the emotions of three years ago came back to my mind. I recalled the slim girl who bullied other girls, trying to force me to go with her to the spring dance. The demanding brat who other people were afraid to go against.