The Second Date

"So. You and Rose," she said matter-of-factly, over the chatter and noise of the beer pong game going on around us. "You like her?"

"Huh? I, er... I mean... yeah," I finally said, with a nod.

"Well, just so you know, I was there for her through all of her ex's bullshit, and I really don't want to see her get hurt again, so you'd better treat her right. Understood?" I nodded resolutely, and Linsey nodded back before she smacked me on the shoulder lightly and smiled. "Good."

"So, erm... anyway, how long have you known Rose?"

"Since freshman year," she replied, and just like that, the tone of the conversation changed completely. "We did a project together in one of our classes, kept chatting once it was over, and we've been friends ever since."

"Sounds sort of like how Ryan and I became friends," I said, smiling.

"Oh, believe me, I know. Ryan talks about you a lot, too. I met him about a year or so ago, and we've really hit it off since then. He's... a real sweetheart..." she let the sentence trail off as she blushed a bit, but then she frowned a bit and sighed before she finished the sentence: "... buuut he's also a gigantic dumbass most of the time." She cleared her throat before she continued. "A-anyway, the three of us have had a lot of good times together, so I'm glad you could make it out tonight." She leaned in close and dropped her voice low: "And don't tell her I told you this, but Rose is really glad, too. So don't fuck it up." She smirked and winked at me before she leaned away, leaving me blushing and bewildered as Rose came back with another beer for Linsey. The bespectacled brunette impressively played it totally cool as she casually grabbed the bottle from Rose, leaving no trace of our earlier conversation on her face as she spoke. "Thanks a bunch, Rose." I, on the other hand, was playing it... much less cool.

"Oh, no problem," Rose replied, raising her eyebrows as she turned and noticed my flustered state. She looked back at Linsey through narrowed eyes.

"Did you say something to him? Wait, is that why you asked me to get a beer for you? Just so you could fuck with him?" Linsey didn't respond to the question, just tilted her head back and took a giant swig from her beer as her cheeks turned ever so slightly pink; seriously, she had almost downed the whole thing before she finally pulled it away from her lips. She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand before letting out a satisfied exhale. It was only then that she responded with one single, anti-climactic word.

"No," was all she said, though her poker face cracked almost immediately; she started to burst into a fit of giggles as Ryan came back from the bathroom. I saw him hover in the doorframe for a moment and his cheeks turned rosy as he watched Linsey crack up, and then it clicked: these goofballs were absolutely crushing on each other. Ryan caught me staring, and I flashed him a quick thumbs-up and grinned. He looked from Linsey to me and shook his head profusely, turning crimson as he silently slipped into the garage.

It turned out that he had come back at the perfect time, because about a minute later, the group gathered around the table erupted into a cheer as one of the teams made the final shot to end the game. We all jumped a bit at the sudden exultation and glared as they all dispersed from the garage without cleaning up the remnants of their game. There was an open pack of red cups and half a case of shitty beer lying under the table and worked together to clear and set the table for another round, arranging ten fresh cups for each team on either side of the table. There was a bucket on the ground to wash the ping pong balls off in (the garage wasn't exactly the cleanest place, after all) and I grabbed it and emptied the contents into the nearby sink before quickly washing it out and filling it up with some fresh water. That done, we all finished off our own drinks and threw them away. Ryan looked over at Linsey and was the first to speak up.

"You and me vs. the two lovebirds over there?" he asked. The irony was not lost on me, but I knew I really didn't have any room to talk. My eyes flicked over toward Rose, and we were both blushing as Linsey nodded and raised her fist out for Ryan. He bumped against it with his own and they both flashed conspiratorial grins at each other before turning back to us.

"We're gonna kick their asses," she said, just before her eyes locked onto Rose. "And no Polly bullshit, Rose; not all of us were lucky enough to win the genetic lottery." I saw her lower her head and frown a bit as her eyes turned brown but a second later, her eyes were back to being blue and her smile was planted firmly back on her face. She looked over at me and raised her eyebrows.

"You ready for this?"

"As ready as I'll ever be, I suppose," I said, with a shrug. "I know how to play, but I've... never really done it before."

"Oh, boy," Rose said, with a small sigh. "Whelp, just give it your best shot... err, shots, I guess. It's all just for fun, anyway."

"Even better for us," Linsey smugly piped up. "Good luck, you two."

With that, the game began, and our team went first. Rose handily sank a ball into Ryan and Linsey's frontmost cup, and Ryan swiftly drained its contents; his face scrunched up in displeasure as he tossed the empty cup at the trash can. It plunked off the side, and Linsey chuckled at him. My first throw was unsurprisingly a wash, resulting in mocking whistles from the opposite end of the table as the ball went completely wide and bounced onto the ground. I frowned as Linsey and Ryan deftly sank their first two shots, and Rose and I each clinked our cups together before downing our respective beers. The beer tasted like watered-down piss.

Another round went by, but this time it was a full sweep all around as everyone managed to land a shot, so we all had to drink. Frustratingly, the third round was a complete wash for our team; Rose took a shot and missed, and I whiffed mine, as well. Rose grumbled with frustration, and I saw her eyes flash a light shade of gray for a moment as Linsey and Ryan took their turns and managed to land another flawless round. After we had drank from our cups, Rose's face contorted into a look of pure focus as she released her ball. We both watched as it sailed across the table and bounced off the side of one of the cups... before miraculously landing into another one - Rose and I let out a joyful cheer, and Ryan even joined in, much to Linsey's chagrin, since she was the one who had to drink.

"Yes!" Rose exclaimed as she turned toward me and squeezed me tightly once again. My back hated it, but my dick begged to differ - it was a very conflicting hug. I took a moment to settle myself and clear my head before taking a shot, and I somehow managed to sink another one, this time in the cup sitting in the far corner. Ryan grumbled at me as he picked up the cup and drank.

Ryan tossed another ball and missed, drawing a frustrated groan from Linsey. He shot her a glare before he spoke up, his tone impressively even considering the fact that he was staring daggers at her just a moment ago.

"What?" he innocently asked, offering her a shrug in their trying time as he raised his hands up questioningly. "I tried my best." I looked over at Rose, and I could have sworn she was just a wee bit taller than she'd been a moment ago.

"Here, let me show you how it's done," Linsey said, her face lit up by a confident smirk as she tossed her ball overhanded with a little flourish... only to watch it bounce off the side of one of our cups and anticlimactically sail to the ground, where it rolled away.

"Oh, wow. I'm super impressed, Lins," Ryan teased, with a smirk of his own.

"Oh, fuck you!" she said, but the grin she was failing to hide betrayed the toothlessness of the jab. They started to squabble a bit until the sound of Rose's voice pulled their attention back to us.

"We've got a game to finish here, guys, so quit bickering like an old married couple and let us take our turn." Linsey and Ryan immediately turned crimson and shut up at that. I picked a cup and prayed, and thankfully managed to land the shot; Linsey shot me a glare as she knocked back the cup of beer and then wiped her mouth again. Rose also aced her shot with impressive gusto - I did a slight double take as I swore that once again, she looked just a hair taller than she had been a moment ago, maybe half an inch or so. I looked over at Ryan and Linsey and they were too busy simmering at each other to notice. We had taken the lead despite our earlier missteps, and things were heating up with only a few cups left on the table.

Ryan and Linsey recovered their focus and landed yet another perfect round, and their earlier feud was all but forgotten as they jumped up and chest-bumped each other with an exaggerated holler. Rose and I just rolled our eyes at each other, and I literally saw her wink at me as her body creeped upward another half-inch while Linsey and Ryan were distracted. It was 3 to 2 now, with Ryan and Linsey in the lead.

We headed into the next round with a renewed sense of determination, and both Rose and I sank our shots - I was luckily getting the hang of it by now. Ryan and Linsey just had one cup left, but they had an opportunity to win if they both made it in. My heart pounded in my chest as Ryan made his shot. We all hardly dared to breathe as the ball flew across the table in an clean arc... and landed right in our second-to-last cup. Ryan and Linsey cheered and hugged each other for a moment before awkwardly breaking off their embrace, their cheeks burning. Linsey cleared her throat and blew on her ball before tossing it and tracking its trajectory with laser-like focus. We all watched as the ball hit the side of our last cup and immediately fell onto the table.

"God dammit!" Linsey yelled, as she dramatically fell down onto her knees and cursed the universe for betraying her so grievously. Ryan offered his arm for her to pull herself up, and she used it to stand up, quickly regaining her footing. I saw her blush for just a moment as she quickly let go of his arm before pulling it away.

"It's fine, Lins; we still have a chance - Matt's up next, after all."

"Wow, thanks for the vote of confidence, Ryan," I said, with a frown. Linsey nodded at Ryan and looked up at us from across the table.

"Yeah, but that still leaves..." She let the sentence trail off as her eyes fell on Rose from across the table and she stared her down. "... Rose." I could tell she thought something was up, but she didn't know exactly what it was. After a moment, she just shook her head and turned her attention back on me. I tried to calm myself down, but it wasn't doing much good. I felt my heart start to thump in my chest as I prepared to throw. Suddenly, Ryan's stupid voice caught me off guard as he began to chant, the words starting soft but steadily grew louder as they went.

"MVP! MVP! MVP!" Then Linsey joined in too, and even added some rhythmic clapping into the mix. "MVP! MVP! MV-"

"-Can you both shut the hell up, please?" I snapped. "I'm trying to concentrate here."

"P," Ryan weakly finished the chant as the leftover syllable fizzled out of his mouth. Linsey snorted at that.

"Nice," she said, grinning as she looked over at Ryan and held her hand up for a high-five. A loud smack sounded in the garage as they clapped their hands together - God, they really were laying it on thick.

I didn't even bother to dignify their shenanigans with a response, and instead piled all of my mental and physical fortitude into this one, final shot. I closed one eye for maximum accuracy, moving my hand back and forth just so to line up the perfect direction of flight. Mathematical calculations I didn't even understand flitted through my brain, but I still somehow managed to do the math perfectly... probably. I pulled my arm back and tensed my muscles for just the right amount of forward velocity, and... I finally just said fuck it, and went for it, letting the ball go with a slight shrug of my shoulders. We watched as it gracefully sailed toward the final cup sitting at the opposite end of the table, flying in a beautifully maintained arc before hitting the cup. The ball rolled around the rim of the cup, drawing a gasp from the four of us and nearly giving me a goddamn heart attack... but then the wily, cantankerous mistress that is fate chose to mock me as the ball tragically tumbled off the lip of the cup and fell over the edge onto the table.

The fervor of me and Rose's collective groans were matched only by the jubilant cheering that came from across the table. Rose and I looked at each other and sighed, but then the corners of her lips perked up into a devilish smile as I saw her arms start to grow ever-so-slightly longer.

"ROSE!" Linsey shouted, causing our heads to swivel in unison. "I said no Polly shit!"

"God dammit," Rose said, with a huff. "I was hoping you guys would be too busy celebrating to notice." Linsey and Ryan just stared at her with disappointment in their eyes, and Linsey pointed both of her fingers toward her eyes but stopping just short of her glasses.

"These eyes see all, Rose," she said, with a smirk. "You can't pull one over on me."

"Whelp, guess I'll have to shrink my legs back down then, too," Rose said, with a shrug as she shrunk down a couple inches.

"Wait... really?" Linsey asked, but judging by her tone of voice, she really didn't seem to be all that pissed off. "I fucking knew something was off earlier, dammit! Ugh, whatever." She jabbed a finger at both of us and stared us both down. "You two are disqualified, then... because Rose here refused to play by the rules." Rose's cheeks turned crimson, and her smile drooped into a slight frown.

"Alright, alright; you both win. Sorry." Before Linsey could say anything further, a voice Rose and I immediately recognized interrupted our conversation.

"What's all the ruckus in here?" We all looked over to see Dylan standing in the doorframe with a drink in his hand. He took a swig from his cup and walked into the garage, followed close behind by a long-haired Polymorph woman; she had a shapely hourglass figure, and her curves were even more prominent than Rose's enhanced assets. She was stone-faced and apprehensive as she crept into the room, and it looked like she really didn't want to be there. Dylan scanned the room for a second and he smiled when his gaze finally fell on Rose. "Oh, hey, Rose! It's nice to see you again. I guess campus isn't so big after all, huh?" He chuckled as he flicked his gaze over to me and frowned for just a moment before he looked back at her, and then down at the table between us, where the last couple cups waited. "You guys just getting ready to finish your game?" No one really said anything; the carefree atmosphere that had been in the room just moments before had evaporated in an instant.

"Well we were, but we had to call it early, since Rose went and pulled her Polly bullshi-" he shut up as Linsey gently kicked him in the leg. "Ow, what the fuck, Lins?" Linsey silently mouthed the word 'asshole' and Ryan's eyes lit up with recognition. Luckily, Dylan simply ignored both of them and kept his attention focused squarely on Rose.

"So, Rose... did you ever get a chance to look into the info on that card I gave you earlier?"

"I did," she said, flatly.

"And?" he asked, expectantly. "What did you think?"

"I don't agree with it," she said, simply. "Being happy with your appearance is one thing, and I'm all for encouraging people to love themselves, but the whole 'Pure Polly' thing just... isn't for me."

"It's not for you, or it's not for him?" he asked coolly, pointing a finger at me.

"For me," Rose answered firmly, before she looked over at us. "Guys, I've had enough of this. We should go." She started to walk toward the door, but Dylan held up his hands.

"Wait, wait. Would you be willing to hear me out for just a minute? I just want to talk," he said, calmly. Rose looked at him for a second, and I could see her considering it.

"Alright. Fine," she eventually replied. "Talk."

"I just want to know why you feel like you can't be yourself... around your friends... and your boyfriend." Rose let out a huff.

"Again, it's really none of your business. But since you keep riding my ass about it, I just... don't feel comfortable looking that way out in public. That's literally it," she said. My cheeks burned at the fact that Rose didn't correct him about me being her boyfriend. She frowned as her gaze flitted between Dylan and the woman standing next to him. The Polly woman's face turned pink under the weight of Rose's gaze as she shuffled back and forth on her feet, and Dylan put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed; the woman tensed up at his touch.

"Well, you shouldn't be uncomfortable with it. We aren't. Right, babe?"

"Er, n-no," she squeaked as she shook her head. Her wavy white locks danced back and forth from the motion.

"See? That's what the Pure Polly movement is all about - helping you to accept yourself, no matter what society-" He paused and glanced over at the rest of us before his eyes finally locked onto me, "- or the people in your life... think."

"Dylan, this has literally nothing to do with them." Rose said, as she glared at him. "Look, man. I'm just gonna come out and say this bluntly. This Pure Polly stuff? I think it's all bullshit. I'm perfectly happy with how I look. That website says you're fighting for a better future? A better future for who, because it sure as hell isn't for Pollies! You can talk all you want about rejecting change and embracing your purest self, or whatever, but at the end of the day, it's just another form of control. Your little group is no better than the Purists."

"Control? This is about taking back our control, Rose," he said, as he shoved his drink toward the woman standing next to him. She jumped a bit, then took it from him and rolled her eyes. "The Purists fear what they can't control, but they can't control us if we give them no reason to fear us. It's freedom, Rose." He jabbed a finger at me. "Freedom from people like him who treat you like you're an object. Freedom from anyone who's ever made you feel afraid to be you, Rose. The real you - not some... mask you have to put up to make yourself think you're beautiful." I wanted to explode at him, but Rose just stared that asshole down and fucking smirked.

"I don't do this because I feel like I have to; it's my choice, Dylan," Rose said, crossing her arms defiantly. "What don't you understand about that? Not everyone likes their purest fucking self, but you know what? As a Polly, I can actually do something about it; I have the ability, and I have the fucking right. So, if there's something I want to change about myself, I change it - because I just fucking want to. I'm not doing it for you, my friends, or society... I'm doing it for ME, and I'm not going to let you or anyone else tell me what I can and can't do with my body - not ever again." The woman next to Dylan's eyes widened, and I thought I saw the ghost of a smile cross her face, but it faded in an instant as Dylan scoffed and looked over at the table, where the two cups of beer were sitting.

"Oh, yeah. And I'm sure you think that being a Polly gives you the right to bend the rules, too? To take advantage of people just because you have the ability to do so? You think that gives you the right to do whatever you want? It's behavior like that that gives the Purists a platform in the first place, Rose. You may have a choice in the matter for now, but once the Purists get their way, that won't be an option anymore. The writing's on the wall; you might as well just accept it now."