Chapter 4

"You're sure you have a c**k, right?" Rose yelled into the Record's storage room.

"Yes!" Rory shouted back, digging into the boxes.

"You know, you're going through a lot of work to impress him." Rose flew down the stairs and through the metal door. The basement was half the size of the store. The only light came from the hanging lamp in the middle of the room. Boxes of clothing, records and collectibles were stacked against the wall. Piles of clothing littered the floor in the wake of Rory's search. He held up a small black shirt with the name Nightwish scrawled out in a swirl type. "So you found one then?"

"It's for a girl though," Rory said defeated.

"Try it on anyway. It may fit," Rose said stepping over a pile of clothing.

"Is there a changing room?" Rory looked around.

"No... just change here." Rory's eyes widened at Rose's suggestion. "What?"

"Change in front of a girl?" Rory whispered.

"Yeah."

"Isn't that weird?"

"Not if you don't make it out to be. Guys have been shirtless around girls for centuries now." Rose explained, picking up a shirt. "Plus I won't look. I swear!" She rose her right hand.

"I guess..."  Rory breathed deep, and took his shirt off. Rose turned her head slightly to get a peak. Rory had smooth, hairless skin. While he was skinny, his muscles weren't obvious. She smiled slightly, knowing that Izy would enjoy it. She turned her head around when he forced the Nightwish shirt on. "This... is really tight." Rory stretched, trying to make the shirt more comfortable. "What do you think?"

"You look cute," Rose commented, turning around. "So when's the big date?"

"This Saturday!" Rory smiled. "I have to clean this mess now..." Rory looked at the piles of clothing.

"It's cool, I got it." Rose said picking up a pile of clothes.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. If Mike asks, I was bored." Rose folded the shirts into a box.

"Ok." Rory smiled and bounded up the stairs. Rose sighed at the mess, and continued on.

"I found one!" Rory hollered as he bounced into the store front.

"Awesome." Mike threw the guitar magazine on the counter. "You look hot." Mike said as he turned Rory around.

"Yeah?" Rory blushed.

"Totally." Mike smiled. "You can just have the shirt."

"Really?" Rory lit up.

"Yeah!" Mike laughed.

"Thank you!" Rory squealed as he wrapped his arms around Mike.

"Kid, it's only a shirt!" Mike peeled Rory off of him. "Now, go finish cleaning up the storage room."

"Already done," Rose said, walking through the door with a bushel of shirts in her arm.

"Wow... you work fast." Rory stared at Rose.

"It's what I do." Rose smiled as she threw the shirts on the counter. "You want me to buy that for you?" Rose nodded at Rory.

"Nah, Mike gave it to me." Rory smiled and walked over to the counter. 

"Wow... I'm your ex cause you turned gay. Where's my free stuff?" Rose leered at Mike.

"Sorry, I'm a sucker for a cute guy," Mike teased, putting his arm around Rory.

"Sometimes I wish I had a c**k." Rose rolled her eyes. 

The duo left Jeremie's Records, peeling out in the '69 Mustang, and headed for Morgin's Deli. After a few minutes of begging, Rose let Rory play the CD he borrowed. Rose hid the distaste for the music while Rory relished it. She giggled slightly when he started lip syncing. Rory sat back and was silent until they reached the destination.

"You should try something different today," Morgin suggested as the two sat on the counter stools. 

"Like what?' Rose asked.

"For you, a salad." Morgin chided.

"Eww... I had a piece of lettuce last week. That totally counts for my veggies for the month!" Rose teased with an ironic tone.

Morgin rolled his eyes. "Rory, what do you want?"

"You got anything to suggest?" Rory asked.

"Well I'm preparing my summer menu. Want to try my Cajun shrimp and rice?" He asked.

"I've been coming here for years! Why don't I get a preview?" Rose hollered.

"You always eat burgers?" Morgin stated.

"Good point... can I try it to?" Rose smiled sheepishly.

"It has vegetables."

"Gimme!" Rose begged.

"They're red."

"Gimme, gimme, gimme!" Rose started to pant like a puppy.

"OK, Rory you up for it?" Morgin asked looking towards the kid.

"Yeah, I would love to." Rory stared at Mike.

"You have a boyfriend. Stop staring!" Rose covered Rory's eyes.

"He's not my boyfriend yet!" Rory laughed, pulling Rose's hand away.

"Wait you're gay?" Morgin stared in disbelief.

"Yeah... it's not a problem... is it?" Rory shrank back.

"His sister is a dyke. Trust me, you're good." Rose said flatly.

"You can't just give away people's personal information!" Mike shouted at Rose.

"Your sister hit on me, and groped me!"

"That's no reas-"

"She grabbed my left tit!"

"Rose!"

"There was a bruise for a week!" Rose fired back. The two leered at each other, and Rory erupted into laughter.

"What's so funny!" Rose shouted.

"You.... got... groped..." Rory again fell into laughter. Rose tried to remain pissed, but Rory's incessant giggling was infectious. Soon Rose was giggling with her friend. Mike just smiled and went back into the kitchen.

"OK... Ok, we need to stop." Rose gained her composure. After Rory settled down, she put her hand on his shoulder. "I need details!"

"What details?" Rory stared at her.

"Well... what happened in your bedroom?" Rose deviously smiled.

"Nothing."

"You didn't listen to music?"

"Well yeah..."

"How did your parents react?"

"To what?"

"To an insanely hot guy being in your room." Rose explained leaning forward.

"They don't know I'm gay yet." Rory explained, resting his head on the counter. "They didn't think anything of it."

"Oh... so what did you two talk about?"

"Well, we talked about music, TV and video games. He wants me to come over next weekend to play his Xbox."

"All weekend?"

"For a few hours." Rory said flatly.

"Wow, your love life is boring." Rose went behind the counter.

"I don't think so!" Rory defended.

"Well, for you it's amazing. For me, it's boring." Rose explained as she poured them both sodas.

"Yeah, I guess it would be boring for everyone else. For me... my head get's all cloudy any time he speaks." Rory bit his lip, thinking about Izy.

"So, this Saturday."

"This Saturday... it's going to be amazing."

"How are you going to explain to your parents that you're into this guy?"

"Eventually, I'll tell them I'm gay and introduce him."

"This Saturday?"

"I'm going to tell them that I'm hanging out with a friend."

Rose nodded. "You're getting good at the subterfuge."

"Subterfuge?" Rory stared.

"The art of sneaking around." Rose explained.

"I know what it means, I'm just surprised you do." Rory teased.

"I'm not dumb. Just because I'm not as prim as you, doesn't make me stupid!" Rose defended herself.

"I'm sorry... I know you're smart. It's just subterfuge isn't a word you come across a lot."

"True." Rose took a sip of her cola. "So how are you gonna tell your parents?"

"I honestly don't know." Rory sighed.

"You could do a summersault, into a standing spread eagle with a vibrating rainbow flag sticking out of your a*s."  Rose suggested with a smile.

"Too extreme. I think I'll just tell them... would you help me with that?"

"You know I will! You have to be the one to say it. If it comes from me... it won't be right." Rose explained.

"ROSE!" Morgin's voice made her jump. "Get out from the counter!"

"We needed soda!" Rose backed away.

"Your food's ready," Morgin said placing the dishes in front of the duo.

"Thank you." Rory smiled.

Rose laughed when Rory started slamming his soda. After recovering, Rory continued the dish, eating small bites. The three chit chatted about the food, though it soon turned back to Izy. Rose pushed for intimate details, while Morgin warned Rory about the pitfalls. Rory shook off the warnings and said that he would be fine. Morgin sighed, and discontinued his advice. The duo said goodbye to Morgin and left for Rory's home.

"You know, Morgin is right." Rose said, breaking Rory out of his daydream.

"What do you mean?" Rory asked. 

"I mean... you should follow his advice and not fall too hard."

"Rose... he's perfect."

"Every first boyfriend seems that way. You don't know this guy all that well. He could just be a freak!"

"You're just jealous."

"Rory!"

"You want him and you know it!" Rory shouted at Rose.

"I don't want him! Hell, I'm not ready for a relationship. My ex turned gay on me!" Rose fired back. "You have any idea how much that f*****g hurts!"

"You two seem so close." Rory looked down.

"We are. It wasn't like that though. For the first month I didn't even talk to him. Eventually he showed up at my window, crying. I couldn't help but feel sad for him," Rose said quietly. "After that, we slowly started talking again."

"So you hated him?"

"Yeah... I wanted to kill him. I mean, I gave a lot to that boy, and then he decided he wanted to be with boys instead." Rose fell silent for a few moments. "Alright... I want Ice cream."

Author's Note

as always, grammar and voice.

Reviews

[Chris]

Pretty funny chapter. The opening dialogue was funny lol. Story-wise, I didn't notice anything wrong. Maybe you could have created a scene with Morgin and Rose talking about Izy with Rory, but I guess it's fine as it is now. As for grammar:

"It's for a girl though," Rory said defeated.
Put a comma after "said."

"Try it on anyway. It may fit," Rose said stepping over a pile of clothing.
Comma after "said."

"Not if you don't make it out to be. Guys have been shirtless around girls for centuries now." Rose explained, picking up a shirt. "Plus I won't look. I swear!" She rose her right hand.
The period after "centuries now" needs to be a comma. OR you can shorten the line of narration to "Rose picked up a shirt."

"I guess..." Rory breathed deep, and took his shirt off. Rose turned her head slightly to get a peak.
"Deep" is describing breathed, but that's grammatically incorrect. Deep is an adjective. Adjectives don't describe verbs, but adverbs do, so you want to change "deep" to "deeply" to make it an adverb. Also, "peak" should be "peek."

"It's cool, I got it." Rose said picking up a pile of clothes.
The period after "it" should be a comma. There should be a comma after "said." Also, I think the comma after "cool" should be a period."

"You look hot." Mike said as he turned Rory around.
The period after "hot" should be a comma.

"Wow... I'm your ex cause you turned gay. Where's my free stuff?" Rose leered at Mike.
I'm assuming "cause" is shortened from because. If this is the case, then you need an apostrophe in front of "cause" in order to denote that.

Rose hid the distaste for the music while Rory relished it.
I think "her distaste" would be better.

"For you, a salad." Morgin chided.
The period after "salad" should be a comma.

"Well I'm preparing my summer menu. Want to try my Cajun shrimp and rice?" He asked.
There should be a comma after "Well," and "he" should be lowercase.

"For a few hours." Rory said flatly.
I'm going to let you figure out what's grammatically wrong with this. I'll give you a hint: there's only one error.

"The art of sneaking around." Rose explained.
"I know what it means, I'm just surprised you do." Rory teased.
"I'm not dumb. Just because I'm not as prim as you, doesn't make me stupid!" Rose defended herself.
The comma after "means" should be a period, and the comma after "you" should be deleted. There are two other grammar errors in this passage. I'll give you a hint: they're the same as the one in the line of dialogue I pointed out right above this passage.

"You could do a summersault, into a standing spread eagle with a vibrating rainbow flag sticking out of your a*s." Rose suggested with a smile.
The period after "a*s" should be a comma. Also, on a side note, funny lol.

"You know I will! You have to be the one to say it. If it comes from me... it won't be right." Rose explained.
I'll let you find the 1 error in this one, too.

"You know, Morgin is right." Rose said, breaking Rory out of his daydream.
I'll let you find the 1 error in this one also.

Hope this helps. :)