//------------------------------// // 06.1 Our Love is God // Story: We Killed the Dinosaurs // by Distaff Pope //------------------------------// “Sunny, we should talk more,” my dad said sprawled out on his recliner, beer in his hand. “You’re always locked up in your room or out on a bike.” I looked at the door, to freedom and school and Starlight, and back at the swamp of his drunken self-loathing. “Did you get any sleep, Dad?” I asked, stepping closer to his orbit. “Enough.” He took another pull of his beer. Muted implosions flashed on the screen. At least he was too drunk to talk for me. “Not to say I’m supporting of you running around with girls, but at least you’re bringing good cutlets home.” Why did he have to ruin everything? “Starlight, right? That’s a damned nice, looking girl. If you were my son, I’d be proud.” “Ok, Dad, I need to get to school.” A honk came from outside. Starlight didn’t want to come in after yesterday. Definitely a genius.. “You can stay and talk to your old man. I’ll drive you.” He grunted, finishing the bottle. “Dad, you’ve been drinking all night, and Starlight’s right out just. Just let me go.” And let get the hell out of here. “Sunny, you’re my little girl.” He climbed up to his feet and lumbered towards me. “We should be spending more time together. Let me drive you to school.” Fuck it, I moved to the door. “Got to go, Dad,” I said as he drunk staggered closer. My hand gripped the knob and I turned. “I’ll see you after school.” Or I’d stay at Starlight’s, if she’d let me. Or maybe his inevitable heart attack would hit him, and I’d be free forever. I felt the weight of my bag pulling on my shoulder. Or maybe I could free myself. “Come back and talk with your old man,” he said, sticking his head out the door as I hopped into Starlight’s car. “Drive.” And she did, hitting the gas before I could finish buckling. “What’s going on?” Starlight asked as we turned a corner too hard, sending me into her. I took a breath, calming down. “Just my dad being an asshole.” And we didn’t need to say anymore about that. “Hope you’re ready for another day of pretending to miss Rose.” Starlight smiled, but not like when she was actually happy. “Yep, it’s like you said, right? Rose going missing was an asteroid, and nothing else really matters.” “Well, stuff from before then doesn’t, but new stuff’s new stuff, and right now, seeds are being planted that will shape the whole post-Rose equilibrium.” She just drove, lips puckered slightly. “Are there any seeds you want to talk about?” “No, no,” she said. She looked at me and flashed an unsteady smile. “Just thinking how lucky we are everyone’s forgotten about that party.” “Ok,” I said, and I let her deception lie. *** The school day passed normally until second period when I heard a couple of girls giggling behind me, giggling at me, while the teacher explained the finer points of quadratic equations for the idiots in back. I looked over my shoulder at them, just in time to catch one of them pointing at me. By the time lunch came around, I’d turned into the most popular girl to ever walk the halls of Westercolt, and heads turned to follow my every step, laughter following soon after. “What’s so fucking funny?” I asked to the closest looking dweeb, giving him a death glare. “Nothing.” He smirked. I didn’t punch him. “Just, have you seen your girlfriend today?” “She drove me to school,” I said. What the hell sort of question was that? “Oh, so you did watch last night. I thought that part sounded like bullshit, but shows what I know?” “Watch what?” More laughter from the other end of the hallway. Starlight walked down the hall, eyes down on her feet. “Score told me there was a big sword fight in her mouth,” A Flower, maybe Lily, said loud enough for me to hear every word. “And after that, Hoops and Score just bent her over while her girlfriend watched!” And everything made sense. “I bet she got off watching, that’s what lesbians do, right? Because they don’t have dicks of their own,” the other girl said, ending the stupidest thought of all time with a vacuous laugh. I took off towards Starlight. She looked up as I blitzed down the hallway towards her. If the school knew, fuck it, we were out. Why make even the pretense of hiding anymore? “Sunset.” This close, I could see the tears in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I swear I didn’t–” Before she could say another word, my arms wrapped around Starlight. “I know,” I said as she pressed her head against my duster. “I know you, and I know them.” Sobs wracked her body. I held her closer. “Hey, baby,” Score said, grey thumbs hooked into the pockets of his varsity jacket. “Been thinking about last night all day.” I turned to him and he winked at me. “You missed a great time last night. Did you know she was such a freak? Bet you did. Probably why you keep that honey so close to you.” He licked his lips. “Get out of here,” I growled. “And stop spreading that bullshit.” “Bullshit?” Scored asked, twisting his face up in mock hurt. “The time Starlight and I shared was very important to me, it’s not just some bullshit. Or… you’re not saying I made the story up, are you?” “You know that’s exactly what happened,” I shouted, Starlight wasn’t clinging to me anymore, but she still looked like a mess. How much worse had the rumors been for her? “If that’s what you have to tell yourself, I get it. Just…” He looked me in the eyes, throwing the gauntlet down. A circle had already formed, everyone in school knowing what was about to happen. “A shame you’ll never know how great she is at giving head.” I launched my fist at him and he leaned out of the way just in time as he punched the air out of my stomach. I stayed on my feet. Surprise blinked across his face that he didn’t immediately bowl me over. I threw another punch at him, following it up fast with a third, barreling into him and backing him against the lockers. No escape for him or his stupid– Something detonated behind my eyes and I imploded onto the ground. I stared up at the ceiling, blinking in fluorescent light. I was supposed to be winning, wasn’t I? I punched and I punched and he was against the wall and now my head throbbed against cold linoleum. Someone laughed above me, a blur of brown. “Boom, not so tough when you’ve got a fair fight on your hands, huh?” Hoops. I rolled onto my stomach and tried to push myself up, before the tip of a shoe slammed into my stomach and I crashed back onto the ground, a beat-up sneaker in my periphery. “Just stay on the ground, we don’t want to beat up a girl, just needed to teach your place.” Another kick in my side and they walked away. Like hell I was staying down. I tried to sit up before crashing back, Starlight catching me. “I’m so sorry, Sunset.” Starlight held me close, tears soaking her face. “I’m sorry for not telling you what happened in the car, and I’m sorry for–” “It’s not your fault.” I tried to smile, and the back of my head roared at me for daring to move anything. “Hoops and Score are jerks. Always will be.” “But it is my fault,” she said, wiping the last few tears away from her eyes. “I should have listened to you yesterday. If I had…” Her eyes hardened. “But, I’m listening to you now.” *** “Hey, Hoops,” Starlight said on the phone. “I wanted to say just how hot watching you and Score today was, and it got me thinking: What if we made all those things you said I did actually happen? Two guys at once has kind of been a guilty fantasy of mine.” She tried not to smirk as I crept up on her, planting a kiss every inch from her hip to her neck. She was already a great liar, but it didn’t hurt to give her a little more motivation. “Mhmm, yeah,” she continued after Hoops said whatever enthusiastic affirmation he thought made him sound cool. “Why don’t you and Score come to the woods next to the train station tomorrow morning at dawn?” She sank her other hand into my hair, guiding me down. “And remember, it’s the two of you or nothing.” I kissed her again, she gripped tighter. “I can’t wait.” Starlight hung up and laughed. “Wow, I thought I’d have to convince Hoops just a little bit, but just hinting at a threesome hooked him.” I looked up at her and her smile. “Now all we need is the note,” I said, pulling away from her and tugging her to the desk. “It won’t need to be too long.” She moved to take her seat; I rested my hands on her shoulders. “Not like Rose’s, one quick goodbye painting them as star-crossed lovers, and then we’re done. What do you think of ‘Hoops and I leave because we can no longer hide our gay, forbidden romance from a misapproving town?’” “Perfect,” I said, and she started writing. I went to my bag resting on the dresser and pulled the camera free. Just a few more hours and 60% of the assholes in school would be gone. The remaining Flowers would have to go too, but then? Westercolt might be an alright place. “After that we should probably get to bed.” Starlight put her pen down and looked back at me, smiling, hungry. We’d be going to bed alright. *** I leafed through one of the copies of Stud Puppy we’d picked up from the 7-11, failing to get the appeal of the naked beefcakes crammed in the pages. But I didn’t need to understand, just take the photo when it came time. Starlight shivered in the morning chill, arms crossed. “We need to do this,” she repeated under her breath. “Of course we do,” I hugged her, dropping the magazine on the ground. “The only thing they can offer the school is date rapes and gay jokes. And if you stand them up now, what new lies are they going to spread? Who else will they hurt?” I whispered in her ear. “Remember, we’re making the school better.” I reached into my bag and pressed the camera in her hands. “Do you want the honor?” “No.” She shook her head. “It will work better if you ambush them.” We waited in the stillness of the forest, early morning fog rising up. “You’re not going to leave me are you?” What? “Where’s that coming from?” I asked, turning around to face her and taking my camera back. “Of course I’m not leaving you.” “Ever?” Uhmm. Not that I planned on? “No,” I said. I kissed her. “Never ever.” I put the camera in the bag. “I’m sorry,” she said, looking away. “I know I shouldn’t be so insecure, I like you so much, and there’s this voice in my head whispering you’re going to abandon me as soon as something better comes along.” “Most people do,” I said. What kind of shit was that to tell my girlfriend when she was in an insecure mood? “But not me. Do you know how many towns I’ve been to? And how many of them had kickass girls with an itch to make the world better?” I guided her chin so she looked me in the eyes. “If something better existed, maybe you’d have to worry, but you don’t.” Heavy footsteps crashed through our moment and work began. I ducked behind the nearest tree, clutching the camera close. “Dude, she better be here,” Score said as they stumbled around. “We beat up her dyke friend and six hours later, she’s calling us to meet in the woods at dawn?” “Yeah, bro, we showed her how alpha we are, and now she wants a real man. Classic psychology,” Hoops said. “Should have heard her on the phone, she sounded super horned up. You can’t fake that.” I smirked. “I’m right here, boys,” Starlight said in her sultriest voice, stepping out of my view. “I thought you might stand me up.” “No, no, we wouldn’t do that, Starlight,” Hoops said. “Right, Score?” “Nope!” I didn’t laugh at their desperation. Like they’d never had a girl who actually wanted to sleep them before, which… they probably hadn’t. “Nope, we’re here. So,do we just whip it out?” “Not so fast, Score,” she said. “Strip for me.” “Ok,” they both said. A minute later, I saw a sock tossed into view. If they weren’t reprehensible assholes, I might feel bad for hurting people so stupid. But they made Starlight cry. I pulled out the camera. “Wait, what about you?” one said. “Oh, well, I was thinking you could tear my clothes off me, sport.” Another chorus of ok’s. “Close your eyes and count to three,” Starlight said. My cue. I stood up. “One…” the two of them said. I stepped out of hiding to see Starlight looking at the two of them, holding a hand over her mouth. I lifted the camera up to eye level and aimed, spotting my targets through the viewfinder. “Two…” I could take the photo now. Just one flash and they’d both be gone. But then they’d never know just who got the better of them, and where was the fun in that? I wanted them to see me triumphant before the camera flashed. “Three,” I said. Both pairs of eyes snapped open and zeroed in on me. Hoops stood there, stupefied, trying to catch up to what was happening, but Score bolted right as I pressed the button. A flash and Hoops was gone, and Score was running into the bushes. “Get their keys,” I said, shoving the photo in my pocket, and pointing at the pile of clothes. “I’ll take care of him.” Legs pumped through the forest, and I did my best to duck out of tree branches, working even harder to get Hoops into view. “I’m sorry about your bike,” he said, crawling through the bushes. “Please let me go!” A sob broke in those last few words. “If you ever want to see your best friend again, you’ll get out here this minute!” I shouted, stomping through the bushes after him, protecting my camera. “Come on, why are you doing this?” I looked around, trying to figure out where he went. Shit. He’d head to the parking lot to escape, right? Or… no, back to Starlight and the keys. “Come on, Score. Are you really going to run from a fair fight?” I asked, heading to where I thought I heard some noise. “Or is a girl and her camera really going to get the better of the toughest jock in Westercolt.” Lean into the machismo. He’d run to save his life, but he’d die to protect his stupid sense of masculinity. “Can you imagine how much Starlight’s going to laugh when she hears the big, strong man begged for his–” The world spun around ninety degrees, and Score’s knee pressed into my kidney. “Give me back my friend!” I brought my hands up to shield myself as his fist came down. Well, I got what I wanted. No more running.. I grabbed his arm as it came down, stopping his fist inches away from my face. I just needed to beat him up, and then– Where was my camera? I tried to find just where it landed in the collision. “You want your friend back?” I asked. “He’s in my pocket.” “What?” he asked, not getting it, which… considering the truth involved magic cameras was a little understandable “Lower left pocket,” I said, acting patient. Acting disarmed. “He’s in the photo I took.” He looked down to my pocket and reached in with his free hand. “My left,” I told him when he came up empty, and he found it on the second stab. Score stood there, transfixed, looking at the last image of his friend. “You put him in the photo?” he asked, focusing entirely on the photo and shifting his knee off me. “Yeah,” I said. “And all you have to do to get him out is tear the photo, not completely, just enough to rip the border.” And then I struck, squeezing out from under him and kicking him in the stomach, sending him stumbling back into a tree. And then the world lit up, blinding. “Impressive,” Starlight said as I pushed myself back up. She was leaning against a tree, camera in one hand, the developing photo in the other. “I was going to get an angle so I could photograph him with you out of frame, but you saved me a step.” She walked over and offered out an arm I pulled myself up with. “Happy to be of service,” I said, brushing some leaves off my duster. “So, do you have the keys?” “Obviously,” she said. She stopped, and I could see her mind going back to our earlier conversation. “Sunset, I’m sorry about earlier. I hate feeling stupid, it’s just so hard to tune that voice in my head out, especially after Hoops and Score–” I took off my duster and handed it to her as we started walking to the parking lot. “Take this,” I said, passing it to her. “Your duster?” she asked, picking it up and tilting her head at it. “Yeah, my most prized possession. The one thing I’d never leave behind. As long as you’ve got it, I can’t leave you, can I?” She smiled at me, passing me the camera as she slid the duster on. The black duster made her blue pop all the harder. “No, you can’t.” We moved from forest to parking lot and she fished the note out of her purse. “You want to plant the mags?” “Hell yeah,” I said, taking the keys from her and opening the back door, immediately getting hit by the stench sweat-stewed shoulder pads and codpieces and whatever else they gave you to try to stave off brain death while playing football. I tossed the magazines into the backseat fast and shut the door, trying to save my poor nostrils as much harm as possible. “How’s it look on your end?” I asked, turning back to Starlight. She smiled, holding the camera to her heart as she inspected the car, our note pinned under the windshield wiper. “Beautiful.”