(no subject)

[rockabillyboy]

He's at kind of a loose end. Poison's spending so quality time with Dee, which Jack totally gets. They've got rehearsal and then they're going to get food and watch a movie and Jack is making himself scarce. He gets to be Poison's boyfriend, one-hundred percent, and that means he can step away without feeling like he's being side-lined.

Kavinsky's busy, so he texts Cassie.

Dinner? My treat. Somewhere nice.

An hour later, he's standing outside Cassie's building, wearing a shirt and loosely knotted tie, a waistcoat, his shirtsleeves rolled up to his elbows. He's made an effort. He likes Cassie. Being friends is worth it.

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[mynameiscassie]

I'm embarrassed to admit that when Jack offered, I jumped at the chance. I was mostly over my weird crush on him. Instead, it just felt really good to have a no pressure, no saving the world sort of friend to spend time with. I had no idea what to wear, and shyly texted him asking for advice. I didn't really have many clothes. Rachel had always hated that about me. I dressed practically, not prettily, and I hated shopping, so I had only two or three different outfits to get me by.

I ended up meeting him on the stoop, wearing jeans that actually sort of fit me, with work boots that were low enough that I didn't look like a construction worker, and a kind of cute purple top that had some tiny pleats around the collar and sleeves. It made me look just a little bit girly, at least, which was good, because I didn't wear makeup, or do anything special with my short hair, and I didn't have jewelry.

And it was too hot for my morphing suit, so I hoped I didn't get shot again.

I stuffed my key into my pocket as I stepped off the stoop.

"Hi," I said. Wow. He looked really good. "I feel like I should be wearing a dress," I admitted with a laugh.

[rockabillyboy]

Jack makes a soft, dismissive sound and shakes his head. He slips his phone into the pocket of his jeans and then offers her his arm. With shirtsleeves on, you can't see his tattoos - which had always been the aim. He looks one hundred percent respectable. His dad would never have accepted it any other way.

"You look great," he says, smiling, bright and expensive. "If I desperately want to have dinner with someone wearing a dress, I'll just take Poison out on a femme day."

[mynameiscassie]

I blushed a little. "On a, a what day?" I asked, feeling lame. "Like, feminine?" I had no idea that Jack's boyfriend wore dresses, and it made me feel weird and warm to imagine it. "I don't think I've ever known someone that cross-dresses," I admitted. Oh my gosh, why was I even talking? I sounded so lame!

[rockabillyboy]

"Oh, shit, I've never told you about femme days?" He starts to guide her towards the restaurant that he's chosen. "Okay, so Poison is totally, utterly completely comfortable with his sexuality? But he also sometimes likes wearing skirts. Underwear's about half and half."

[mynameiscassie]

I didn't really want to think about Jack's boyfriend's underwear. It was weird enough seeing Jake's face and knowing he was kissing another boy! It made me think of Jake kissing Marco, or Tobias, and that was just— that was weird! But I wanted to be supportive. This was Jack, not Jake, no matter how alike they looked.

"I don't even like wearing skirts and dresses!" I said. "I guess that's just . . . really cool, that a guy feels like he can." I pictured Jake and Marco in their morphing suits, their bike shorts that showed off their legs, and looked up at Jack shyly. "Does he, um. What does he do about his legs? I mean. The hair."

[rockabillyboy]

That question makes Jack laugh and he blushes a little, pushing one hand back through his hair.

"He shaves," he says. "In the shower. Doesn't usually bother with his underarms, though." He gives Cassie a look, waiting for her to react to that new information.

[mynameiscassie]

I definitely made a little face, but I blushed, anyway. "Sorry, I guess that's just kind of weird for me." I had only started shaving my under arms a couple years ago, but I couldn't imagine letting them grow out. It was hard enough letting them go a couple days in between!

"But, if you don't mind, and he doesn't mind, that's really all that matters, right?" I rushed to add.

[rockabillyboy]

"I mean, my attitude is that it's pretty much his body and he can do what he likes? If he's happy, I'm happy." Jack flashes a grin. "But he looks pretty smoking hot in a dress and heels, I'm not going to lie."

[mynameiscassie]

I felt a little embarrassed by that last remark, and also by my own sort of small-town-girl outlook on the entire thing. I nodded. "So, um. Where're we going, anyway?"

[rockabillyboy]

He's embarrassed her and he feels bad about that; he's too well brought up to be badly behaved, and Cassie's his friend. He gives her a little squeeze, his arm dropped around her shoulders for a second.

"Well, there's a choice. Italian or Vietnamese?"

[mynameiscassie]

"Oh, um." I leaned into the hug a little. "I've never had Vietnamese food before," I admitted. "And the only Italian I've ever had is Olive Garden." I grinned up at him. "So, I guess I'll leave it up to you?"

[rockabillyboy]

"Let's do Vietnamese, then," he says, flashing a grin at her and then dropping a kiss into her hair before he pulls away. "San Francisco is really better for Chinese food, but this place is totally amazing."

[mynameiscassie]

"Back home, my friend Marco made great Mexican food, but I only had it once. Mostly, if we all hung out, we went to the food court in the mall."

I didn't talk much about my life outside of Darrow, and I wondered if Jack would push. He was pretty good about it, normally. There was a part of me that wanted him to, though. I hadn't had much of a need to use my morphing powers for fighting the Yeerks, maybe, but that lack of jeopardy also made me start to feel a little stir crazy. I had this secret, and nobody to talk about it with!

"So, either way, this is gonna be an experience for me!" I concluded.

[rockabillyboy]

"There was this really, really great tea house in the Castro. I went there all the time." He sighs mournfully, thinking about that place, just for a moment. "I'm glad to be able to offer that. Speaking of which, when are you coming to class? You've been promising me for months."

[mynameiscassie]

I cringed playfully. "I'm sorry! I just keep forgetting. I've been trying to find a job, so I sort of space on other stuff." It was partially true, anyway. While I was looking for a job, I was usually in morph, also, trying to spot any injured animals that needed help. Sometimes, I brought them to the vet, but they weren't really equipped for, or experienced with, wild animals.

[rockabillyboy]

"Do I need to, like, sling you over my shoulder or something?" says Jack, smirking at her. "Kidnap you so I can coach you on mindfulness and zen?"

[mynameiscassie]

I laughed. "No, no, I'm sorry. I'll try to be better!" I'd just been thinking about other things, and I always forgot to go to his yoga classes until it was too late to go at all.

[rockabillyboy]

"I bet I could lift you," says Jack, looking at her critically as though he's sizing her up, even though they both know he'd never put his hands on her without permission. "Totally."

[mynameiscassie]

I eyed him, pretending to be suspicious. I knew he could lift me, probably really easily. I was small, not just short, but compact, too.

"I don't want to test that theory," I said with a laugh.

[rockabillyboy]

"Spoil-sport," says Jack, flashing her a white, expensive grin. "Jillie would never let me lift her, either, but she's much taller than you are."