The Girl Next Door Pt. 01

Damarco lets out a chuckle. "I'll try to keep all my bones in tack. But as far as putting on a show, I'll do my best. The other team is good so it'll be a tough match. But I'm sure if we can come together as a team we can meet the challenge."

"God, Demarco, stop being so cocky." Gracie's laugh is like a chorus of songbirds singing a sweet morning melody.

Damarco gives her a smile. "Well, I guess I'll see you at the game, I should get going."

"Good luck," Gracie says as he walks away.

"Come on, Gabs. We need to upgrade your outfit before the game," she says, taking off with me in tow.

Once we get back to her house, she pulls me into her room. I'm not surprised to see it's a mess as always. Some things never change. "I don't know how you can live like this. How do you find anything in this mess?"

"Come on, Gabs! We can't all be Ms. neat and organized like you," Gracie says as she tears through her closet, tossing aside one outfit after another. "Oh, this will look so good on you. I can tell. Now hurry up and get those rags off."

"You want me to undress? Here? In front of you?" I say as the blood drains from my face.

"Of course, it's just the two of us. Besides, I've seen you naked before. Come on Gabs, we used to take baths together, remember?" Gracie says.

"But that's... That's totally different," I spit out. I can't get naked in front of her. What if...

"Trust me, Gabs. You're beautiful, even if you don't realize it. Besides, I'm the last person who will judge you. Now hurry up, I have to get back to school and get ready for the game." She walks over and starts grabbing at my clothes. Before I can protest, I'm down to my underwear in front of her. "Oh my god! You're so adorable in your little superhero undies. God, some things never change."

"You said you weren't going to judge," I yelp as I try to cover up.

"Relax. I think it's cute. Now try this on," she hands me a skirt that's far too short. "I... I can't wear that. My legs. I..."

"Yeah, you really do need to shave your legs. We can do that tonight. You can wear this to the party tomorrow," Gracie says. "I know what you can wear."

She heads back to the closet and pulls out a pair of jeans. "Try these on."

She tosses me the jeans and I fumble them to the floor. I quickly bend down and rush to get them on. They're so tight. It's like a second skin.

"Gabs, you need to chill out. You're so perfect. Stop stressing. I mean, granted, you do really need to shave your legs. You probably don't trim down there, either, do you?"

"Trim down, where?" I ask.

"You know, your cooch," Gracie says bluntly.

"God no. Wait. do girls actually shave down there?" I ask.

"Of course, you don't want it looking like a jungle. Come on, Gabs! God, we have our work cut out for us tonight," she says.

"Wait, you don't actually mean we're going to... You know," I say. Is it hot in here or is it just me?

"Obviously," Gracie says. "You can't go to the party tomorrow looking like Big Foot. Bushes are not attractive. Don't worry Gabs. It'll be like old times."

"About that. I don't know if I should go. I..."

"Of course you're going. Stop being such a hermit," Gracie says. "Now put this on."

She tosses me her soccer jersey. I quickly slip it on to hide my flat chest. "Damn, you look so cute. Now let me quickly add a touch of makeup and every guy will fawn over you."

"You want me to wear makeup?" I look at her like a doe in headlights.

"I thought that was obvious?" Gracie says, pushing me onto her bed as she rushes to the bathroom. She comes back with a bag and pulls up her desk chair. "Now hold still."

She slowly takes off my glasses and everything blurs. "I can't see."

"Gabs, do you trust me?" Gracie asks.

"I... I do," I say.

"Of course you do. We're still best friends even if I've been such a shitty one lately. I'm sorry about that by the way, I just... I had a lot going on and I pushed you away," she says as she starts poking and brushing my face.

"It wasn't your fault. I totally understand. I..."

"No, Gabs. It wasn't okay. You mean everything to me and I don't want to lose you again. I missed you so much. You have no idea." Her words hit me in the chest like a bullet. I can't hold back the tears.

"Don't cry, you're going to ruin the makeup I just put on."

"I'm sorry, I can't help it. I missed you too," I sniffle. Suddenly, I'm pulled into her arms and a warmth develops my entire body. I just want to live here in her embrace.

"Don't worry, Gabriela. I'm not leaving you this time. Okay? You're the best friend I've ever had and I... " she trails off as she pulls away. "I should clean off the mess of makeup on your face and start over. This time don't start crying on me. Okay?"

I laugh. "Okay. Just don't get all sappy on me again."

She chuckles. "Can't make any promises."

She starts to wipe down my face and then starts all over with the poking and brushing. "Okay, I'm all finished. Take a look."

She holds up something in front of my face. "I can't see anything."

"Duh... " she laughs as she puts my glasses on me.

I take a look in the mirror and a gasp escapes my lips. "That's me?"

"Of course that's you. Didn't I tell you, you are beautiful?" she says.

"I guess," I smile.

"Now come on, I've got to get going. Do you want to come with me? Or can you bike to school without being hit by a car?" she asks.

"I'll bike there. I have to tell my parents that I'm staying at your house this weekend."

"Okay... You better come. I'm counting on you being in the stands to see me cheer. Okay?" she says.

"Okay, I promise I'll be there," I say.

"There's no breaking promises between us, remember," she says as she leans in and presses her lips against my cheek. It feels like I've been hit by 100 volts of electricity. My face just passed the sun in temperature. "Now come on Gabs. You've got to get your bike out of my car."

I follow her outside and she helps me grab my bike out. I nearly trip over my own feet as I pull it out. "God, I swear Gabs, you're the most clumsy person ever."

My face couldn't burn any hotter. "I know. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. I think you're adorable. Never apologize for being yourself, Gabs," Gracie says as she gets in her car. "I'll see you at the game. You better be there."

"I will, I promise," I say, brushing a stray string of black hair out of my face.

She turns her car on and rolls her window down. "Just don't get hit by a car."

I laugh. "I can't make any promises."

She blows me a kiss and pulls out. I walk my bike over to my house and lock it up before going inside. My mom's frantically going about the kitchen while she gossips on the phone. "I can't believe Marta's daughter threw such a scene and announced to the entire world she's gay. What's wrong with that girl? I always knew she was a problem child. Marta better get that child under control and have a come to Jesus meeting with that girl. Whatever happened to the old traditional values? I swear kids these days..."

I quickly dash into my room and pull my headphones on. Why is it so wrong to be gay? Are they not human? But if it's in the bible. If it really is a sin, what happens to someone who is gay? These thoughts leave me feeling as if I'm being buried alive. I turn on some Rachel Platten and try to drown them out.

I pull up my blog and the shadow leaks. I got too carried away with the new superhero Tigress, I wasn't able to finish watching the rest of the videos. I click on the new Karma and Fate video.

I turn on my webcam to catch my reaction. "Hey everyone. I found a few more videos of real-life superheroes and I'm doing a reaction video. By the way, I uploaded the Tigress video who is definitely my new favorite. Check it out. There's also another new superhero named Rift. I posted that video as well. Sorry for not posting my reaction, but I still have a video of Karma and Fate, plus another one of the masked vigilante who's been fighting criminals in Orlando. So let's get started."

I play the first video. It's a video captured by someone's cell phone of a bank robbery. They're being held, hostage. "Wow! The person who's recording is brave. I could never do that, I'd be too afraid."

There are 4 men with guns and masks, they're loading their bags full of money. Suddenly out of nowhere, Fate and Karma teleport into the room in an explosion of blue light. Karma's face is covered by a black mask. She's dressed in her black leather jacket, thigh-high boots, and fishnet stockings. Her dark brown hair with blonde highlights flows with the wind as she charges the men. They start shooting at her, but the bullets bounce off. Fate creates a blue magical dome over the hostages just as another robber opens a clip on them. The bullets disintegrate as they hit the shield.

She then taps her staff on the ground and a surge of wind blows the guy back, smashing him against the wall. Her costume is amazing. Like Karma, she also has thigh-high boots, but they're white instead of black. Which contrasts her dark chocolate skin. She's also got tights that ride up underneath her skirt. She's wearing a magicians tux with a bow tie. A masquerade mask covers her face with a top hat to finish her outfit. Her weapon is a mythical wizard's staff.

Fate raises her staff once more and a bright blue light blinds the surrounding area, making it impossible to see.

When the light finally vanishes, the staff is just floating there by itself. Fate has a man pinned down as she binds his arms behind his back. Another man goes flying across the camera as Karma comes into view. She grabs the guy and pulls out a zip tie from his pocket to tie his hands behind his back.

A guy goes running, but Fate's magic carpet flies in and wraps him up, and spins him out at Fate's feet. She snaps her fingers and a rope appears and binds the man's hands behind his back.

The fourth robber has a gun to a hostage's head. "Don't move, I'll blow her brains out! I swear I will!"

Suddenly, the gun gets pulled from the man's hand and flies straight to Fate's outstretched palm. Karma doesn't hesitate and knocks him unconscious.

"That was incredible! Those two are definitely some of my favorite heroes of all time. They're so beautiful and so cool. I wish I was like that. Brave and courageous. I can't even make it through class without having a panic attack. Okay, let's move onto the next video. The masked vigilante."

I hit play on the Masked Vigilante video. The video is a security camera. A girl with distinct lime green hair walks into view. Holy shit, is that Naomí? A guy follows her and grabs her, pushing her into the alley. He pins her up against the wall. "Oh my god! Someone needs to help her!"

Suddenly, a man in all black comes out from the shadows and grabs the man, tossing him backward. He climbs back to his feet as the masked vigilante gets into a fighting stance. The man charges at him, but the masked vigilante pushes his boot into the guy's stomach, causing him to stumble backward.

Before the guy can react, the vigilante's foot slams into the side of the guy's head. He falls like a tree and doesn't move. The masked vigilante says something to Naomí. She looks shaken. She nods and she leaves. Then he disappears out of view. "Well, that was crazy. I'm so glad the masked vigilante came to her rescue. I was so worried. My heart was beating so fast, I thought it was going to break out of my chest. Well, that's all I have for today. Please like my video and share it. Subscribe if you haven't. Bye."

I stop the video and turn off my webcam. Is it weird that it doesn't bother me talking into a webcam, but talking to an actual person scares me to death?

Oh shoot, the game is going to start soon. I still have to talk to my mother. God, I hope she's calmed down a bit. I find her in the kitchen. "Mom, I'm going to the football game tonight and I was going to spend the weekend at Gracie's. Is that okay?"

"Yes, that should be alright. But you're not leaving until you eat something. You're too skinny, you're practically skin and bones," my mother says as she pulls out the casserole from the oven and then piles a mountain onto a plate and pushes it into my stomach. "Eat up. You need some meat on those bones."

"Yes, mother," I say as I grab a fork and try to stuff as much food down as I can, but it's far too hot and I end up burning my tongue. I quickly get a glass of water to put out the fire in my mouth. And of course, her cooking is always full of spice, so after I finally stop the searing burning, my mouth is overtaken by the spicy sting of her habanero peppers.

By the time I get all the food down the latch, I quickly brush my teeth and rush out. It takes me a good 20 minutes to bike back to school. I pay for the ticket to get in and make my way to the stands. We've already scored a touchdown. That's awesome.

I find an open seat up by the top, as far away from the student section as possible. We have the ball on the 40-yard line. Samson hikes it and hands it off to Damarco who bursts through the line of scrimmage, breaks a tackle, spins off another one and dashes down into the endzone, adding another 6 points onto the scoreboard. Fortunately, my brother played football and he taught me all of the rules. But the game doesn't really interest me all that much. My eyes drift down to the cheerleaders as Gracie goes spinning through the air and lands into the hands of her teammates. That was incredible! Gracie has always been so talented at everything she does. And she looks so beautiful in her uniform with Damarco's jersey on. Although, I swear the skirts they wear keep getting shorter and shorter. And yet, I can't take my eyes away from Gracie's tan smooth legs. I can tell she's athletic by the definition of her muscles. Not a shred of fat on her.

The cheer squad takes a break as the special teams come out. Gracie's eyes meet mine. Her face lights up like the fourth of July as she waves at me. Feels like I'm being baked inside an oven. I quickly wave back and she blows me a kiss. If I wasn't burning up before, I surely have a fever now.

They get back into formation and send Gracie back flying into the air as she does a series of twists and turns. The game continues on and eventually comes to an end, but I couldn't tell you what happened, however, I can tell you that Gracie is so amazing the way she makes all those backflips look so easy.

When the game finally ends, the cheerleaders all line up to congratulate our victorious football team. They really beat up on the other team. I casually make my way down the stands as the crowd swarms the team.

Once they enter the locker room everyone sort disperses. Gracie's eyes connect with mine as she skips over to me. She's as happy as a cat with a ball of yarn. Before I can react, she pulls me into a hug. "I'm so glad you came. I was worried when I didn't see you. I thought I was going to have to march down to your house and drag you out."

A giggle escapes my lips. The funny part is I know she'd actually do that. "Now come on Gabs. Let's go. I don't want to see Kate and Stacy getting all mushy gushy with their boyfriends."

We get into Gracie's messy car and take off back to her house. As we pull up to her driveway, I notice the house looks empty. "Is your dad not home?"

She laughs. "My dad's rarely ever home anymore. After mom and Erika died, he spends more time at the church than anywhere else. I think he forgets he has another daughter. One that's actually alive. He just buries himself in his work."

"I'm sorry," I say.

"No need to apologize, you're not the one who killed my mom and sister," she says, turning away as she gets out. I follow her inside. "Now come on, we have to get you ready for tomorrow night."

"Do I have to go? Can't we just hang out just the two of us?" I ask.

"No, definitely not. You have to go. You're not spending your senior year of high school as a hermit."

"But..."

"No buts," she says as she unlocks her front door.

We head into her room and she puts her hands on my shoulders. "Look Gabs, you need this and I need my best friend. I won't let anything happen to you. I promise. You have nothing to be afraid of. Now let's get those legs shaved. You're not going to find a boyfriend looking like a Yeti."

"What if I don't want a boyfriend?" I ask. "They don't sound all that great."

"You don't know unless you try," Gracie says as she drags me into the bathroom. "Come on Gabs, just let me be your saving grace."

Once we're inside the bathroom, she shuts the door. "Now strip."

"Seriously?" I whine.

"How am I going to shave your legs with pants on?"

I sigh, but before I can comply, Gracie takes charge and starts tearing my clothes off. "Trust me, you'll be thanking me later."

She gets me down to my skivvies. "Those are going to have to come off too."

"What? Why?"

"Because you're going to have to shower afterward," Gracie says. "Besides, while we're at it we should shave that bush you got growing."

"Gracie!" I yelp as she places her hands on my hips.

"Relax, Gabs, it's not like I haven't seen a vagina before. Are you forgetting I have one myself?" Her face is so close to mine. Those emerald eyes feel like they're staring into my soul. "Gabriela, do you trust me?"

Of course, she uses that line. All I can do is nod. Her fingers slip under the hem of my underwear, dragging them down as they fall to the floor. Then her hands slide up the side of my thighs and make their way around to my back as she undoes my bra. I quickly cover up but she grabs my arms and holds them down. "Don't ever be ashamed of your body. It's beautiful and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Okay?"

I nod, but I still can't bring myself to believe her. I feel so open right now. I... I've never felt this vulnerable before. Gracie starts to take off the jersey and then strips out of her cheerleading uniform down to her underwear.

Wow... Her body looks as if it were chiseled from stone. She's got abs. They're rock hard. She turns around as she slips her underwear off, showing off her tight tush. My breath catches as she stands in front of me completely naked.

"Well? Don't just stare..."

"I'm sorry, it's just... I... nevermind," I say tearing my eyes away.

"No, say what you were going to say. Stop being so bashful," Gracie says.

"You're so beautiful. I wish I could be as pretty as you," I spit out.

"You are. I wish you saw yourself as I see you," she says.

"How's that?" I ask, looking back into her eyes.

"We should get going. You're not going to need these," she says, pulling my glasses off.

"Hey! How am I going to shave if I can't see?" I ask.

"I'm going to be doing the shaving, you'll only end up cutting yourself," she laughs.

"Hey! I'm not that clumsy..." I say that as I nearly trip taking a step forward.

"You were saying?" I hear the water turn on. "Come on, let me help you."

Gracie's hand slinks down into mine as our fingers intertwine, sending a shiver down my spine. She guides me into the shower of hot water. At first, I flinch, but not at the water. Gracie's hands set sparks to my skin as she wraps her arms around my waist. She spins us around and I grab a hold of her shoulders so I don't fall.

Her body rubs up against mine as she grabs the showerhead. I can feel the heat of her breath against my face. She brings the hot water of the showerhead against my body and heat sets my skin on fire. She brings it down to my legs, I quiver just knowing how bare I am to her. She runs the water over every inch of my skin.

She puts the shower head back up top and turns the water off. I tense up as I feel her hands on my legs as she rubs a cold gel on my skin. "Relax, Gabs. You're so tense."