Love and Fandoms by CJ Zane

head.
"I won't even tell Kareem."
    She lifted his
hand to her lips and kissed his fingers. It ripped the breath from his lungs, even
more so than Allyssa's kiss to his head a minute ago, and he felt light-headed
for a second. It took every ounce of concentration and self-control to snap out
of it and focus on what she said.
    "The Pigs are
a horrible influence on Alex, but they're not the real problem. That started this
summer when he was in Michigan for a week without me."
    "What
happened?"
    She shook her
head. "I didn't even realize there was anything wrong until a couple of
days ago. Once I did, though, I traced it back to when he came home. Tonight,
someone offered him drugs, and when I tried to stop him, he brushed me off and
took them. The worst part is, before we walked into the party, he gave me a big
kiss, basically to show off to the Pigs, but I couldn't get enough. My mind is
a bit unsure of him right now, but my body is still totally into him. It's
frustrating."
    Wyatt's stomach
dropped at that last statement. He'd never used his geekdom as wish
fulfillment, using it instead as escapism and mere entertainment, but at the
moment, he really did wish he had some sort of superpower so he could beat the
crap out of Alex for how he was treating Mandy, the most wonderful, most
perfect girl in the world. Spidey's strength and agility would work, or he
could dream big and go full Superman.
    Mandy discretely
disengaged her hand from his, and, seconds later, smiled up over his head.
Allyssa's hands dropped to his shoulders and caressed them, and she said,
"I'm going to buy another bottled water. Do you want one? Or something
else?"
    "Sure, water
sounds great." He grabbed his wallet and fished out five bucks. She tried
to protest, saying he already bought the ice cream, but he insisted. That
earned him a kiss on the cheek, and another moment of him trying to remember
how to breathe, and she headed back inside.
    "She's
great," Mandy said. "I'm glad you asked her out. I can already tell
you two will make an awesome couple." Out of nowhere, she ducked her head.
"I have to admit, though, I'm jealous of her. Like, a lot." She then
leapt to her feet. "I'm going to check on the ice cream." And then
she was gone.
    Wyatt sat alone at
the table, staring down at his hands. Everything inside and out was numb. What
had just happened?

CHAPTER ELEVEN
    MANDY
     
    Three weeks had
passed since that night at Creamy's where she'd basically admitted to Wyatt
that she liked him. God, had she really said it? You wouldn't be able to tell
by their conversations since. Not that they'd had any chance to be alone. If he
wasn't with Kareem, Allyssa was there. Basically every talk they had centered
on school or different types of sci-fi, fantasy, and comic book fandoms. They
still did their Tuesday-Thursday study sessions after school, and those were
her favorite times of the week by far. She got plenty of homework done while
learning about all things geek simply by following along with the
conversations. She couldn't believe she'd let Alex and Luci keep her from all
this entertainment goodness for so long. Though Luci would probably be joining
in the geek parade sooner rather than later.
    Luci and Kareem
hit it off quite well and were now officially a couple. Her being off sixth
period was the only thing keeping her from joining the study group. She instead
did her homework with Johnny, who she reported was still on his best behavior,
and Ricky, who completed his homeschool work. Luci's mom confided in her how
proud and happy she was that Luci was making time for her brothers.
    Now all five of
them sat on the far side of the bleachers, the "geek seats" as Kareem
dubbed them. Both Luci and Allyssa sat next to Kareem and Wyatt, respectively,
and both so close they might as well have been in their guys' laps.
    She was thrilled about
Luci and Kareem. Despite being so pretty, and having such a great personality,
Luci rarely dated. She'd been given the