Colby walked up to the door of Constellation house, to find a pair of young men dressed as vampires handing out orange and black wristbands to everyone with a costume – in lieu of a cover charge, she supposed.  She took one when proffered, and slipped it on.

 

                “Nice costume, miss!”  One of the male vamps said.  “Who’re you supposed to be?”

 

                Colby smiled.  “I’m the Scarlet Scream and this here,” she said, motioning to Darryl, “Is ‘The Spirit.’  Our third is Doctor Sin.”

 

                “Cool.  I’m Mitch.”  The vamp said.  “Head on inside.  Beer’s in the fridge, and just find someplace to sit.”  The vampire ushered us inside, and we moved past the front door into a foyer.  Off to one side is what looked to be a large living room full of people, and on the other side was a kitchen, where at least a dozen people were playing beer-pong with a ping-pong ball and some plastic beer cups.  Straight ahead was a set of stairs to the upper floors of the dorm, and a hallway to a few rooms, including a few bathrooms.

 

                Darryl noticed some people in the living room, and waved.  “C’mon, guys.  Robert and Yvonne are over there.”  Robert Ramsay and Yvonne Cobb were two other friends of Kayden/Colby and Laurie and Darryl – part of the coterie of Darryl’s friends that Kayden kind of fell into when he met Darryl.  Robert was taking business, and Yvonne was taking Early Childhood education. 

 

                “Think they’ll be able to tell?”  Colby asked, a bit nervously.

 

                “Probably not.  Maybe?  You don’t look like you did, you know.”  Darryl said, trying to reassure her.

 

                “She does act like Kayden, though.”  Laurie reminded them.  “You know, which makes perfect sense cause of obvious reasons.  Let’s just go and see.  Even if they figure it out, we all know we can trust them, don’t we?”

 

                “I just don’t want to ‘come out’ at a Halloween party with a hundred people here!” Colby whispered.

 

                “It’ll be fine.  I’ll introduce you!”  Laurie whispered back.

 

The trio walked into the living room of the frat house, and a dozen or more heads turned.  Some were looking at Darryl, who looked fine as the Spirit, and some were looking at Laurie as Dr. Sin – but by far the majority of heads were staring at Colby as the Scarlet Scream.  She walked in on Darryl’s arm, looking like a million bucks combined with sex personified, and everyone couldn’t help but stare.

 

                “Hey, Robbie, Yvonne!  Have you met Darryl’s new girlfriend?”  Laurie began.  Robbie was dressed as a Terminator robot, complete with metal bits showing, and Yvonne was dressed as the stereotypical “naughty nurse”.

 

                “No!”  said Yvonne, smiling.  “When did you two meet?”

 

                Darryl coughed.  “Actually, it was a couple of days ago – we went to lunch at the pizza hut where Carnage and Shrapnel crashed the party.  Guys, I’d like you to meet Colby.”

 

                “Hi Colby!”  Robert said, offering his hand to shake.  Colby took it and shook, then gave Yvonne a “hello hug” or what she thought passed for one.  Pleasantries were exchanged all around.

 

                “Were you guys scared at the Pizza Hut?”  Yvonne asked.

 

                “Yeah, a little. The whole place looked like a wall caved in.  Some people would have gotten hurt if it wasn’t for a new heroine showing up.”  Darryl replied.

 

                “Virus, right?”  Yvonne asked.  “The new girl who can heal?”

 

                “Yeah – that’s her.  I think she saved a lot of people that day – us included!”  Darryl said.

 

                “That’s so cool.”  Robert replied.  “It’s not like we have a lot of heroes to go around in this town…  Fathom and Tesseract, for sure – but I’m still on the fence as to whether Revenant is a hero or monster.”

 

                A few of the friends nodded.  The Revenant employed such brutal tactics in dealing with crime and criminals that it was sometimes debatable whether he or she was worse than the problem he or she tried to fight.  Since the Revenant looked like a Flaming Skeleton dressed like a biker, it was hard to tell what gender it was – if it even had a gender and wasn’t just some sort of undead construct. 

 

                Yvonne looked concerned for a moment.  “I don’t mean to segue with ‘speaking of monsters’ – but has anyone heard from Kayden recently?  I heard the news was saying he’d killed someone and been turned into something called the Waxman?  I’m worried about him.  He’s a nice guy.”

 

                “Yeah.”  Rob continued.  “He’s a good guy.  He didn’t deserve to get changed into whatever happened to him.”

 

                Darryl looked uncomfortable.  “I haven’t seen him since I visited him at Trasks’ Clinic. I think he’s left town.”

 

                Rob and Yvonne nodded, looking thoughtful, absorbing the news.  A few seconds later, Laurie tried to break them out of it.  “Hey, guys – gals!  Let’s not mope!  We’re at a party!  I’ll grab us some drinks, and we’ll join you – unless Darryl and Colby want to mingle?”

 

                Darryl nodded.  “I’ve got a few people I’d like to introduce Colby to.  We’ll be back soon!”

 

                Laurie nodded, and wended her way towards the kitchen to grab three cold beers – one for each of them  (Yvonne and Rob were already working on drinks of their own).  Robert and Yvonne waved to Darryl and Colby, knowing they’d be back soon.

 

                “That was awkward.”  Colby said. 

 

                “Well, they care about you, doofus.  What did you expect?  Of course they were going to ask about Kayden.”  Darryl replied.  “I didn’t feel great lying to them, either – but a secret identity is a secret for a reason.”

 

                “Yeah.”  Colby agreed.  “It just kinda sucks sometimes.  Who are we meeting?”

 

                “A couple of friends of mine from Media Arts and Journalism.  I’ve been bragging about you all week and they want to meet you.”

 

                “Bragging?  All week?”  Colby said, grinning.  “I haven’t been Colby for a whole week.”

 

                “So I’m exaggerating a bit.  I really have been talking about you.  You’re all that’s been on my mind.”

 

                Colby smiled, and couldn’t help but feel a nice fluttery sensation in her tummy, sort of like a pleasant type of butterflies.  It made her feel good in a way she hadn’t felt before.  She decided she kind of liked the feeling.  “Thanks, Darryl.”

 

                Darryl smiled.  “For what, Colby?  It’s the truth.”  He led her over to the back of the large rec room, and spied his friend Martin and a few other friends from class.  All right Darryl, for god’s sakes don’t accidentally out Martin – that would be totally bad.

 

                “Hey, guys!”  Darryl said, waving.  “I’d like you to meet the girl I’ve been talking about.  Colby Sheppard, these reprobates and miscreants are Martin Driscoll, Susanne Jones, his girlfriend and partner in crime, and Donny Marsh.  These are the peeps I hang with in Journalism class.”  Martin was dressed as an ancient Knight in armor, and Susanne was dressed as a medieval princess.  Donny was dressed like the Joker – Heath Ledger’s Joker, not the new guy, Jared Leto.

 

                “Hey!  Nice to meet the mystery woman!”  Martin replied, holding out his hand to shake.  “Darryl’s been talking about you non stop.”

 

                “Well, he does stop to breathe.”  Suzanne added, grinning.  “Call me Sue.”  She patted the couch next to her, motioning for Colby and Darryl to sit down.

 

                “Will do.”  Colby replied, shaking Martin’s hand and then sitting next to Sue.  As she touched Martin’s hand a host of genetic information flooded her – as it did every time she touched someone now… Normally she’d gotten used to filtering it out – but she was struck by the fact his DNA said he was female – but he looked and acted male, and she could detect synthetic testosterone in his system.  Is he Trans?  She wondered.  Wow!

 

                “So what do you do, Colby?”  Donny asked.  “You in University too?”

 

                “Nope.”  She said a little sadly.  “I need to find some work.  I’m between jobs, and I don’t really have the cash to go to university as yet.  I’d love to, frankly – but I can’t afford it at the moment.”

 

                “What would you take?”  Sue asked.

 

                “Probably medicine or something.  I’d like to be a GP one day.”  Colby answered.  “I like helping people – but I’m definitely not looking forward to the student debt.  Still, that’s what I’d take if I could.”

 

                “Cool.”  Martin replied.  “I understand you had some problems with your folks.  Living on your own must be hard.”

 

                “Darryl told you that?” Colby asked, surprised.  “Yeah – my folks don’t want to have anything to do with me.  I haven’t even heard from them in two or three years.  It has been pretty hard.  I’m between apartments at the moment – Darryl’s put me up on his couch.”

 

                “From the sounds of it, he’d like to put you up to more!”  Donny snorted, and then yelped as he got smacked by both Darryl and Sue. 

 

                “Dude!  She’s right here in front of you!  Have some fucking manners!”

 

                Colby smirked.  They kid around just like I used to.  These are pretty good people – they’re not phonies.  I like that.  “Actually, I was planning on moving off the couch tonight, if you know what I mean.”  She leaned over and gave Darryl a kiss on the cheek, and a quick hug.  “Not that you’ll ever see it, Donny!”

 

                Sue laughed!  “Good one, Colby!”  She giggled.  “She got you, Donny!”

 

                Donny smirked and hung his head.  “I guess you did.  Nice one.”

               

                Colby nodded, and took a sip of her beer.  At least beer still tastes like beer, she thought.  It does taste a little stronger and a little different.  Maybe my tastebuds are different?

 

                “So you guys hang out a lot?”  She asked.

 

                “Yeah.”  Martin replied.  “We hang out a bunch after school, and sometimes study sessions during a weeknight.  Darryl keeps his weekends free for his other friends mostly.”

 

                “Hey, you guys want to go meet them?  We could all hang together!  It’s better than sitting in the corner, avoiding everyone.”  Darryl looked excited to have the two groups merge. 

 

Martin looked a bit wary, but Susanne seemed to be okay with it.  Donny didn’t care.  Darryl gave Colby a hug, and said “I’ll be right back, honey… It’ll just be a moment.”

 

“But…?!”  Colby began.  I thought he said he would stick close?  

 

“She’ll be fine, dude.”  Marten said.  “Go get your friends – we’ll be right here.”

 

Darryl nodded and left to find the others, leaving Colby alone with Darryl’s other friends. 

 

“Have you known Darryl long, Colby?”  Martin asked.

 

“It feels like practically forever.”  Colby responded.  “But it’s been less than a week.  I can’t believe how fast things have happened.”

 

“And you two are happy?”

 

“Yeah, I think so.  We’re still working some stuff out, but I think we’re good.  Why?”

 

Martin smiled wryly.  “Just asking.”  

 

Sue broke in.  “We just know what it’s like being at the mercy of your friends, with little or no support network.  It can be rough, and sometimes you don’t feel safe.”

 

“I guess I can understand that, Sue.  It’s okay.  I feel safe with Darryl.  I think we’ll be fine.”  Colby realized that once again, people she had just met were concerned for her safety, and how she felt – just cause she was friends with one of their pals.  It felt nice to be accepted, but at the same time, Colby couldn’t help but realize a few things.  Sue and Martin were probably talking from experience – and Sue probably knew Martin was trans.  Colby didn’t know if Donny or Darryl knew, so she didn’t mention it – but she couldn’t help but wonder how Darryl described her to his friends.  It made her think.

 

“Any of you have problems with your folks?”  She asked. 

 

“Not for me.”  Said Sue.  “But Martin’s parents kicked him to the curb when he was 16 years old.  He’s putting himself through college, and I’m really proud of him being able to do it.”  She smiled and kissed Martin on the cheek, who smiled back.

 

“It’s been rough.”  Martin said.  “But a friend of Sue’s dad has this bar across town, and she let me work as a bartender when I can spare time from school.  It helps pay the bills – and I promised to work for him for at least a full year of full-time before I put my degree to work, you know – so he can get some work out of me.  Being a bartender is pretty fun – and you meet and talk to a lot of people.  It doesn’t pay too badly, either.”

 

“Cool!”  Colby was really interested.  Bartending was something she’d have liked to have tried as a part time job.  I guess I was never confident enough to get jobs like that before.  I was always brooding, or just struggling to make it through the damn day.  I guess I’m lucky I’m still here in some ways.  “What about you, Donny?”

 

“Nah, my folks are cool.  They’d rather I was here at school than hanging at home anyway. Why’d you get kicked out?”

 

Colby shifted and looked uncomfortable at the question.  “I… I’d rather not talk about it.”

 

Sue and Martin shared a look, and Martin put his hand on Colbys’.  “It’s okay.  You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

 

                “Thanks.”  Colby answered.   Where the hell is Darryl!?

 

                A few seconds later, she saw Darryl, Laurie, Robert and Yvonne threading their way through the crowd.  “Sorry it took so long.”  Darryl called.  “Yvonne got a call from her grandma, and we decided to wait till the call was over.”

 

                “Yeah.  Grandma still thinks I need to find a good boyfriend.  I don’t think she’s realized I’m gay yet.”  Yvonne said, joking.  “Still, she’s sweet even if she’s not always there.  She called and let me know she’s making candy apples again this year.  I’ll probably go and see her this weekend.”

 

                “How is she doing?”  Susanne asked.

 

                “Not bad – but the doctors think she might need to be moved to a full care retirement home soon.  She’s got some serious mobility issues, and she’s starting to get a bit forgetful.  I hope it’s not dementia.”

 

                “Yeah.  I hope so too.”  Susanne said.  “I’m Sue – and the gentle knight here is Martin, my boyfriend.  This doofus is Donny.”

 

                “Cool.  I’m Yvonne, and this is Laurie and Robert – and I guess you’ve met Colby and Darryl.”  Yvonne said, looking for a place for her and Robert to sit. 

 

                “Sorry, Yvonne.  I should have done the introductions.”  Darryl said, abashedly.  “My bad.”

 

                “Don’t worry about it – this time.” Yvonne joked.

 

                Darryl sat down next to Colby, who looked a little miffed, and Laurie sat down on a large ottoman nearby. 

 

                They chatted for a while, occasionally refreshing their drinks, and got to know each other.  Donny hit it off with Yvonne – her weird sense of humor matched his perfectly, and Robert, Darryl and Martin got deeply involved in discussing the latest rumors of Heroes and Heroines.  Colby wasn’t interested – she dealt with it too much in normal life – so she ended up chatting with Sue and Laurie, and they all had a good time. 

 

A few hours passed – and Colby began to notice something odd.  First, everyone seemed to be at least a little bit tipsy (and some were definitely drunk), but she was stone cold sober.  She also noticed that the number of people in the room had dropped a little over half – so many of the partygoers must have gone, or headed out somewhere else.  She also realized that after 6 beers, she really had to pee…

 

“Excuse me?”  She asked.  “Where’s the bathroom?”

 

Donny pointed to the back hallway.  “There’s one over there, and if its full, there’s two upstairs – one on each floor.  Just help yourself.”

 

“Thanks, Donny.”  Colby replied, getting up carefully.  “I’ll be back in a sec.”

 

Laurie noticed her getting up.  “Need some company, Colby?”

 

“Nah.  I’ll be fine.  I’ll be right back.”

 

“Okay.”  Laurie nodded, and turned back to the groups conversations. 

 

Colby headed off towards the front foyer so she could take the hallway to the bathroom.  There were five or six jocks in the kitchen trying to chug beer through a funnel, and Colby smirked.  At least Hollywood didn’t totally lie to me about frat houses, she thought.  So far this evening has been arms and legs away from what I expected.  I suppose I have the TV and Media to thank for that.  She turned and headed down to the bathroom – and one look inside told her there was no way she was going in there.  Someone had vomited – prodigiously – all over the walls, floor, and somehow even the ceiling.  No one was going in there without a hazmat suit.  Yuck!

 

Backtracking, she headed upstairs, starting to get a little worried.  The pressure in her bladder wasn’t about to go away anytime soon, and it lent a feeling of urgency to her search.  Like many of the places on campus, the room was lit with the ever-present lights of wireless signals, but she tried to avoid tapping into them – she didn’t want to butt into a phone call or see what some frat boy was downloading… Eww.   She headed upstairs. 

 

The second floor was pretty quiet – most of the doors were shut, and Colby could hear people making sounds of lovemaking behind some of them.  She wasn’t surprised, much – but she didn’t want to accidentally barge in on some people when looking for a bathroom.  Finally, she found what she was looking for.  She slipped inside, and looked around.  The bathroom was pretty standard – it had two showers, two stalls, two urinals, and two sinks.  A young man was passed out in one of the bathtubs, drunk – and it looked like he had had an accident.  Eww.  She quickly went into an empty stall, and did her business.  Well, Hollywood didn’t completely lie about Frat Houses, she thought.  Some of it seems to be accurate.  Oh my god, that feels better!  She cleaned herself up – which after two days was still a new and unusual experience – and washed up in the sink.  The sink to her left was empty, but there was some white powder on the sink.  Better not to ask what it was, she thought.

 

Colby left the bathroom, and had to look twice to reorient herself, so she knew how to get back downstairs.  Suddenly, somebody bumped into her, and grabbed her for support.  She tried to see who it was – and she didn’t recognize the guy.  He was big, broad shouldered, and muscular – and drunk as all hell. He was dressed up like Captain Patriot.

 

“Hey sexy,” he slurred. “I’ve been watching you all night.  Why do you hang out with those losers?”

 

“I happen to like those ‘losers’.” Colby answered.  “Please let go of me.  I’m not interested.”

 

“C’mon, baby.  Just a kiss first?”  he said, leaning in trying to drunken slobber all over her, while his hands moved to grab her breasts and squeeze.

 

What the FUCK!?  Colby thought, and lashed out, punching with all her strength – which didn’t seem to faze the drunk jock.  Enough of this, she thought.  She grabbed him back, and he grinned, thinking she was coming around.  She wasn’t.  “Listen to me you piece of rapist shit.” She said. “I’m giving you one chance to turn your life around.  Let go of me.  Now.”

 

He laughed at her, but totally ignored her.  “You’re feisty!”

 

Colby snarled, and caused his muscles to lock up with paralysis.  The jocks face twisted with fear, and then he passed out.  He fell to the floor with a thump.  “Asshole.”  She looked down at him and realized he needed a stern lesson.  She touched him on the neck, and tinkered with his body chemistry and the cervical nerves in his spine a bit.  Maybe he’ll think twice when he can’t feel or move anything below his neck for three or four days.  It should give him some time to sober up and think about what he almost did.  What an asshole.  Now I know why girls go to the bathroom in groups – to avoid problems like this.  Fuck!

 

Colby’s mood had soured; where before she was happy and having fun, now she just felt gross and wanted to go home.  She headed downstairs.  As she got to the bottom of the stairs, she realized she was starting to shake, and felt queasy and unsteady on her feet.  Am I going into shock?  It wasn’t a fight!  Why am I so affected?  She couldn’t explain why she felt so badly, so she just went over to Laurie and Darryl, and touched him on the shoulder.  “Darryl…  I’m not feeling well.  Can we go?” 

 

Darryl looked up from his conversation, and noticed how pale and shaky Colby looked.  “Sure hon.  Is everything all right?”

 

“Yeah.” Colby said.  “I’m just not feeling great.” 

 

Laurie stood up to go, too.  “Hey guys, gals.  Looks like we’ve gotta go.  Why don’t you two say your goodbyes, and I’ll go call us a cab?”

 

“Thanks, Laurie.”  Colby stuttered.  “I appreciate it.”   She turned to Martin and Suzanne, Robert and Yvonne, and nodded.  “It’s been nice meeting you all.  I’d love to get together again sometime.” 

 

“It’s been nice meeting you, too.”  Martin replied.  “I’ll get Darryl to exchange out numbers with you and vice versa once you’re feeling better.  Have a nice night.”

 

The others shared their goodbyes as well, and Colby returned them along with Darryl and they headed outside.  The crisp October air helped recharge Colby a bit, and she took a few breathes. 

 

                “Okay, hon.”  Darryl began.  “Something happened, didn’t it?  Is everything okay?” 

 

                Colby knew she could lie, but she felt like it would be wrong.  She and Darryl had something special growing between them, and she didn’t want to screw it up with lies, just to avoid talking about it.  “When I was upstairs looking for a bathroom, some jock came out of nowhere and grabbed me.  I told him to let me go, and he started grabbing my breasts, so I… I knocked him out and taught him a lesson.  He’s having a nap now.”

 

                Darryl looked furious.  “I’m so sorry Colby!  Are you okay?!”

 

                “Yeah, I’m fine – a little shaken up, but fine.  He didn’t hurt me – it just scared me.”  Colby answered.  “Please don’t go back inside to do anything.”  Darryl looked frustrated – and Colby knew that’s exactly what he’d been planning on doing. 

 

                “What’s wrong?”  Laurie called from the end of the lane, as she quickly hustled over to see what was going on.  “Is Colby okay?”

 

                “I’m okay.  I just had a problem with a drunk jock outside the second floor bathroom.”

 

                “Oh shit!  I knew I should have gone to the bathroom with you.”  Laurie looked mortified.  “You sure you’re okay?”

 

                Colby groaned.  “I just want to go home, okay?  I’m not hurt – just a bit scared.  If I didn’t have my powers, this evening might have had a lot worse of an ending, and that’s all I’m going to say about it.  He’s napping it off, and I feel really shaky and sick.”

 

                Laurie nodded, and Darryl held her close.  “The cab will be here pretty soon.”  She replied, and came over to hold Colby’s hand, who returned the squeeze with some relief.  The cab arrived a few minutes later, and the three of them climbed in to go home. 

 

                Darryl and Colby got back to Darryl’s apartment about 40 minutes later – they had already dropped off Laurie at her apartment, with a promise to call her in the morning to tell her if everything was okay or not.  Darryl paid the cab fare, and the two lovers headed quietly inside.  Darryl unlocked the door to his apartment, and hung up both their coats in his front hall closet. 

He sat down on the couch, and patted for Colby to sit next to him.

 

                “Want to talk about it?” he asked.

 

                Colby sat, and rested her head on Dar’s shoulder.  “Not much to talk about.  I was lucky I had my powers, or I might have had a really bad evening.  He was drunk – and I know that’s not an excuse, but I’m not sure he’s even going to remember what happened in the morning.”

 

                “Shit.”  Darryl answered.  “And you’re sure you’re okay?”

 

                “Yeah, honey.”  She said, trying the word out.  It felt good.  “He just scared me a bit, which is weird since I can get shot like six times and barely feel it.  I guess I just got a taste of what it’s like being a girl on a normal American campus and I’m a bit scared.”  She felt a few tears forming on her eyes.  “I’m not sure I’m ready for this.  I don’t know what I don’t know.  I’m a total stranger to how girls think and act – or why they do things they do.  I can’t protect myself without my abilities.  I have no clue what I’m doing at all…”  Colby couldn’t help it – the tears came unbidden, and wouldn’t stop.

 

                Darryl just held her, and stroked her hair.  “Hush…  It’ll all be okay.  You don’t have to learn everything in a day.”

 

                Colby cried for a while, letting Darryl hold her and stroke her hair.  It felt comforting – not just the stroking, but also him understanding – that and knowing she didn’t have to learn everything in one day.  That no one expected her to learn it all instantly. She turned and hugged him close.  “Thank you, Dar.” 

 

                “It’s okay, Colby.  You don’t have to thank me.”  He said, looking down into her eyes, he placed his finger under her chin and lifted her face up towards him.  “I think you’re a special girl, Colby Hayden Sheppard.”  He leaned down, and brought her face up towards his.  “I think I’m falling for you.”  He whispered.

 

                Colby looked up into her friends face, and felt that butterfly sensation in her stomach again.  Her brain was squealing with joy, but she didn’t follow suit.  All she felt was that she needed him – not just for the night, but for always.  “I think I might be falling for you too, Dar.”  She reached up, and kissed him, and her heart raced when she felt him kiss her back.  What surprised her  was how much she wanted him… It was like an ache she couldn’t salve, or a hole in her heart.  “I think I love you.”

 

                She didn’t protest even a bit when he gently picked her up and carried her to his room.