Haircut

I knew that she was watching. Kyra's always watching. And smoking. Yeah, I'm pretty sure that she's smoking.

"I just, really love you haircut."

No she doesn't. She just loves the fact that I might be getting published. Not school published. Real published. No one would even know if it wasn't for Cal. Kyra said that no one at this hellhole deserved to know but Cal has a big mouth. Schemata got girls to notice me, this is getting them to try and hook up with me.

Kyra stops that. Every time. Not that I want to sleep with any of them. Why would I? Okay, so maybe I did kind of but then I'd have to face the wrath of Kyra and that's scarier than dying a virgin.

"Thanks," I said, glancing behind me. Yep, there she is with her friends. They were all smoking too. God, I should be like physic or something. She was watching me, like a hawk.

Cal smiled at the girl, getting ready to speak in his uneducated, false speech. "Ya' kno' girl, my man 'ere has a book comin' out soon. Should check it out."

"I will," she said, smiling at me before walking away.

"Cal, you're going to get me killed by Kyra one day," I told him after the girl was gone. My friend just smiled.

"Who was that?"

I turned a little. It was Kyra's friend, the slutty one. Kyra stood behind Simone, her normal, bored expression on her face. Kyra's other friend was texting on her phone.

I shrugged. "I don't know."

"You don't?"

"No."

"Why you always all up in my boy's business?" Cal asked. He and Simone had slept together two months ago. It didn't end well.

Simone just rolled her eyes. Kyra says that Simone wants to have sex with Cal again but I wasn't allowed to say anything. Like I was going to anyways…

Kyra took a long suck on her cigarette before throwing it on the ground and squishing it with her foot. "Eff this. Come on, Fanboy. You don't want to be late, do you?"

Cal went off to do something and Simone followed him, yelling about something. The one on the phone followed us but never looked up.

"Are you coming over after school?" I asked her.

"I could."

She always said this when she was. If she actually was busy, she'd tell me.

"Alright."

She glanced at me. "What are we doing?"

"I need to finish work on…you know." I didn't want to say anything in front of the texting girl. No one knew what the title of the comic I was getting published except for Kyra. I wouldn't even tell Cal that. It still wasn't a sure thing and I didn't want to get excited about something if it doesn't happen.

Kyra rolled her eyes. "Fun."

Jecca turned off and went down another hallway without ever saying anything to us. Her and Kyra are probably fighting. Once she was gone, Kyra took my hand. We had homeroom together but no other classes except lunch.

"I like your hair."

She was growing it out the past two months and now had it spiked up. She would periodically shave it off and then grow it back out. Cal asked me why I let her go bald for weeks and then have to deal with the fuzz as it grows back. I told him I didn't know and I was telling the truth. Honestly, what she looks like doesn't really matter. Being able to do things like that is just what makes her Kyra, to me.

"Yeah…yours is fine too, I guess."

That was the best compliment I was going to get out of her. Here at least. Maybe when we're in my room, alone, I can get something out of her.

"Thanks."

She glanced down at our hands but said nothing. When we walked into homeroom, no one really noticed us. Kyra was in her all black again, her blue lipstick on. We sat down across from each other.

"I heard about your new manga," some girl said to me.

"Comic," I corrected, looking at Kyra. She was texting on her phone. I knew she was mad at me but I can't do anything. It's not my fault that all these girls follow me.

The girl, Sandra, I think, laughed as if I were funny. While Kyra tried to cover her boobs, this girl was showing me hers. Everyone thinks that just because I might get published that I'm loaded. I'm not. Trust me, I'm not.

The bell rang and I was saved. I looked at Kyra the whole time, wanting her to at least look at me. She wouldn't. Sighing, I leaned back in my chair. When the bell rang for class to end, I followed behind her out of the room.

"Are you mad at me?"

"About?" She asked.

"I don't know," I said, following her, even though my class was the other way.

"Don't walk with me."

"Why not?"

"I don't need you walking me to class."

"Who said I was?" I asked, still walking next to her. "So after school-"

"I'll help you with your effing comic, alright?"

I just gave her a smile. "You're cute when you're annoyed."

"God! Just leave me alone, Fanboy."

I tried to take her hand but she pulled away. "Kyra-"

"You're late," she said as the bell rang. "Now leave."

I groaned. Before I met Kyra, I was never tardy. Now I am all the time.

"You're late," my teacher said as I walked into the classroom. Simone was in this class with me and made a face at me as I sat down.

"Busy with your girlfriends?"

Ooh, she changed the word to plural. Let me be afraid. I slid into my seat next to her. "No, just one."

The day dragged on until lunch. I didn't have lunch with Cal so Kyra was my only hope. Then she didn't sit by me. She sat next to her gothic friends. Which is fine, I guess… I mean, I'm not sitting alone. There are these two freshmen that follow me around now and a few girls too. Kyra hates it but I don't care all that much. I think she's just jealous.

After school, I waited in my car for her for ten minutes. I was about to give up and leave when she came walking up.

"Hey," she said, getting in.

"What made you think that I would just wait for you?"

"What else do you have to do?"

"My new-"

"Shut up about it, alright?"

I started the car. "My house or yours?"

"Yours."

Kyra turned up the music, letting me know that she didn't want to talk on the way to my house. When we got to the house, my little sister was waiting, just like everyday.

"Hi!" She was at my feet, wanting me to pick her up. "Woof!"

I picked her up. "Hey, Betta."

She made me kiss her stuffed dog before I could put her down.

"Kay-rawr," she said, jumping up and down. Us coming home from school was the best part of the day for her. "Hi."

Kyra mumbled something, following me down to my room. Betta followed us to the top of the stairs.

"Up?" She looked at Kyra.

"No, go do something else," Kyra told her. Those words were gibberish to the one and a half year old.

"Kay-rawr," she seemed to scold. "Up!"

"Let's just take her," I said, picking her up. Kyra rolled her eyes.

"Fine, whatever," she said, following me to my bedroom. I put Betta on the floor before sitting at the computer. Kyra took her mandatory spot on my bed.

"Thanksgiving is coming up."

"So I've heard," she said, pulling out her cell. "You're going to your dad's this year, huh?"

"He invited me. I don't know."

"It's a week away."

"I know that, Kyra."

"I'm just telling you," she said, not looking up.

"What are you doing?"

"I don't know, Fanboy. My grandmother might come down. I don't think so though."

"You want to come with me?"

"Come with you where?"

"To my father's."

She finally looked at me. "What?"

"Yeah. He's got a new girlfriend now and-"

"And what? Why would I want to go with you?"

"Well…you've never really met him."

"So?"

I groaned. "Never mind, Kyra."

It was quiet for awhile, save Betta and her noises.

"You used to visit him every month."

"What?" I turned to look at her.

"Yeah. You used to. Now you don't."

"So?"

"Why?"

"Kyra-"

"Don't tell me that it's none of my business because it is."

"How?"

"You know how."

"No, I don't."

"Yes you do. I'm your girlfriend and have been for the past year."

"So?"

"So, I deserve to know things."

I sighed, turning to look at her. "He just…I'm not a little kid. I don't need him."

Kyra considered this before shrugged. "Okay."

"That's it? That's all you're going to say?"

"Yeah," she told me, laying down. "You're the one that was making such a big deal about it. That's all I wanted to know."

I went back to work on my new comic. Schemata isn't dead. It's my senior year but I'm working on finding a new place to publish it. I was going to leave it with a cliff hanger the last week of school, so that they'll have to buy it.

"How's the new one going?" Kyra asked after a few minutes. She was looking over the next issue of Schemata, checking for any flaws.

"The next issue of Schemata?"

"No, stupid. Your new comic."

"Good."

"When's that rough draft due?"

"I've got until the Wednesday before Thanksgiving."

"So one week?"

"Yeah."

Betta started whining. "Kay-rawr."

"What?"

"Up."

She picked her up, setting the toddler in her lap. "I really don't like you."

"Kyra, play nice."

"Shut up," she said as Betta pushed the stuffed dog's nose to her cheek.

"Hi," the baby told her. "Woof."

"Yeah, whatever."

"Woof!"

"Okay, just shut up," Kyra said, looking at her. Elizabeth giggled, leaning against her. Kyra says that she doesn't like my sister but she sure does spend a lot of time with her. I voiced this opinion to her.

"What other choice do I have?" She frowned at me. "I have to come over here."

"No you don't," I told her. "I always ask to go to your house."

"Every time we do, Roger's there."

"So? You like him better now."

"In comparison to when?"

"Before we started dating."

She moved some of Betta's hair out of her eyes. "You should tie her hair back."

"Changing the subject much?"

Betta patted Kyra's…chest area, giggling. Kyra looked at me. "Your sister's a creep."

"What are you doing, Betta?" I called over to her. She giggled louder before laying her head against Kyra.

"Hi, Kay-rawr."

"Hi," she said, looking back down at the pages. "Fanboy?"

"What?"

"…Maybe I'll go with your to your dad's. Maybe."

I smiled a little. "Alright."

"It's just a maybe. I could get busy."

"I know," I said, turning back to my computer. "Trust me, I know."

Kyra was silent again for a minute or two. "Oh, and by the way, Simone thinks that you're cheating."

"She's always said that."

"I know," Kyra said, still looking at the pages. "I think it's funny."

"What?"

"Yeah," she continued. "Like you have the balls to sleep with someone else."

"What makes you think I don't?"

She looked up, laughing a little. "Alright, so maybe you do. But you definitely wouldn't have them afterwards."

More incentive never to cheat…

"Well…If you ever cheated on me-"

"Now why would I do that?"

I smiled. She was going to compliment me. "Explain."

"If I wanted to sleep with someone, I'd just break up with you."

"…I'd break up with you too, if I wanted to." I was hoping to get a rise out of her.

"Good."

"Good?"

"Yeah. That takes a lot of balls too, to break up with me."

"Let me guess, you'd cut off them then too?"

"Oh no, then I'd cut off your dick."

Someone cleared their throat, making me jump.

"Daddy!" Betta clapped her hands. Toney walked into my room and took the girl from Kyra, who readily offered her up.

"Just came for the kid," he said before leaving. Kyra rolled her eyes at my look. It was silent again for a few minutes before Kyra stood up.

"It's good, Fanboy. Turn it in," she said, going to put the next issue of Schemata in its place. Only Kyra could understand the chaos in my room like I do.

"You didn't even really look at it," I said, staring at the computer screen.

"Yes I did," she said, thumping me in the back of the head.

"Ow, Kyra."

Laying back down, she said, "Come over here."

"I need to finish this."

"Do it when I leave."

"No."

She laid down, pulling the covers up around her. We talked for awhile. That's what we did sometimes. We never talked about anything important. Never. Just about Schemata, my new comic, our friends. Just random things. Around six, I got off the computer. Stretching, I went to go get into bed with her.

She kissed me before cuddling against me. This is one of the rare times she really talked to me, when we were in bed together. It was nice.

"Don't you just hate kids?" She asked.

"No. That is my little sister, you know."

"I just meant kids in general."

"No, I like them I guess."

She leaned up and kissed me again. "I really do like your hair, Fanboy."

"You do?"

"Yeah."

"So, you really think that it'll make it big?" I asked her.

"Goth Girl vs. the World?" She asked. "Yeah. Schemata is still better though."

I just laughed.