Twelve and a Half Hours

/* Author's Note: I realize that it's been a while since I've posted anything or been active on the site, but hey, what can I say? I've this and one other to leave for your perusal. No promises of when, but I'll have more again, sometime. Everyone's over eighteen and the story is entirely fictional. Thanks for reading - Tyzmartar */

*****

Mark ran across his sister on the stairs. For once, she was in a dress and actually looked presentable. "What's up? Is there some kind of nerd convention tonight that you've been asked to speak at?"

"Don't be an ass. For your information, there's a dance tonight and I have a date and he's going to be here any minute," she retorted, quite proud of herself.

"Well, congratulations. I never thought I'd see the day. Do you want any advice, or do you think you've read enough trashy romances to get you through the night?"

"Didn't I already say not to be an ass? It's none of your business what I read for fun, and I don't think that I'd ever want any of your advice. What are you doing home on a Saturday night, anyway? Did Amy finally come to her senses and dump you?" Heather asked.

"Fine, take your chances. I don't have time to explain the birds and the bees, anyway. I'm heading over to Amy's right now, and unlike you, I expect more action tonight than a slow dance."

When Mark left the house, Heather was on the front porch swing and it was just becoming dark outside. When he came back home, it was past one in the morning and Heather was on the front porch swing. He enjoyed picking on her about being a nerd and having more interest in fictional men than actually dating a real one, but he really hoped that she hadn't been sitting there the whole time, waiting for a date that never came. He parked and walked up the steps to the porch.

"So, you tear it up on the dance floor tonight?"

"Keep walking, Mark, I'm not in the mood." She didn't sound all that upset, but her answer told Mark about all that he needed to know. He sat down beside her on the swing. Heather didn't bother to turn her head to look at him. "Please just leave me alone."

"I'm not saying anything. I'm just gonna sit here."

"Fine. Just sit there, then. I don't want to hear you tell me how no boy will ever want to go out with me because I care more about books than I do people. I don't want to hear about all of the 'action' that you get and the best that I can do is a slow dance. I didn't even get that, Mark. Are you happy? He never came. I never danced with anybody. Ever." Her tone was flat and hollow. Mark didn't like it at all.

"I'm sorry."

"I bet. I got a text from Anne. David was at the dance with Sabrina. My best friend, Sabrina. Got a couple of pictures, too. Looked like they were having fun. Everybody knew that I was going with David. Or at least thought that I was going with David. They're going to laugh at me. They're all going to laugh at me, Mark."

"Some of them might laugh at you, but they're assholes. They'd just laugh at someone else if they weren't laughing at you. This David must be a real douche-bag to do something like that. He doesn't deserve to go out with you, anyway. I don't know what to tell you about Sabrina, maybe he tricked her or something."

Heather scoffed. So much for her brother just sitting there being quiet. He at least was trying to be nice. "If anything, she probably tricked him. She's slept with half the guys in our class, why couldn't she at least leave me a chance with the only one that has ever shown any interest in me?"

"And she's your best friend?"

"Not any more. I can't believe that she would do something like this to me. He probably would have gone with me if I promised to spread my legs for him."

"Sometimes you just get fooled. It hurts like a bitch, but it doesn't last forever. I know I've said a lot of rotten shit to you, but you know I never really mean any of it. You've got to believe me when I say don't do that. Don't sleep with a guy for any other reason than you really like him and you think that it's the right thing to do. All guys are horny, you know that just as well as anyone else. It's not like you couldn't get laid if you wanted to. You've obviously been waiting for the right guy. There's nothing wrong with that at all. Don't go turning into a slut just because you got stood up. If this guy was idiotic enough not to want you for who you are, then you need to leave him alone. High school might seem like your whole life right now, but in a couple of months it will be over. Then, like the rest of the world is your whole life. Sure, there's plenty of guys like David out there, but there's also a lot of guys out there that would be right for you. Just be who you are or you'll end up feeling a whole lot worse than you do right now."

Heather didn't respond right away. She finally turned to look at her brother. "Are you sure that's you in there, Mark? I could swear that you actually made a little bit of sense. I'm not fully convinced that you really know what you're talking about, but I think that I might feel a little better."

"Imagine that. Want to come inside with me? Mom and Dad are probably flipping out wondering why you aren't home." Heather and Mark rose from the swing and he opened the door for her.

"Oh please, Mom and Dad haven't stayed up past eleven since I was still riding a tricycle. How was Amy?" she asked.

"Heh, I'm guessing a little pissed. We ordered a pizza and a movie. I fell asleep right after it started, so I really didn't talk to her all that much. She was her bedroom by the time I woke up, with the door locked, so I just came home." Heather looked at her brother with an incredulous sideways glance. "I know, not real smooth, but what can I say? It was a terrible movie. Vampires put me to sleep."

"That's not what I expect to hear from Mr. Action. Vampires are getting a bit tiresome these days, though." Mark kicked off his shoes onto the mat while Heather removed hers and picked them up before they began climbing the stairs to their respective rooms.

"Yeah right. If a new Twilight book came out tomorrow you'd be on your knees begging me to take you to the book store."

Heather grinned. "Like you even know where that is."

"I've driven by it a few times. Try and get some sleep and I'll see you in the morning, okay? Maybe we can hang out. You can explain to me why all dorks wear glasses or why classical music is so lame or something." Heather had played the violin since she was a little girl and had long been used to her brother complaining about it. Tonight, it didn't bother her at all.

"Sure." Heather opened the door to her room and looked back over her shoulder at her brother who was entering his on the other side of the hall. "Thanks, Mark. " He just smiled at her and slipped into his old bedroom.

Heather closed her door behind her and removed her dress. Part of her wanted to rip it to pieces, but she thought better of it. It was expensive and no one except Mark had actually seen her in it; it was still possible that she would be able to wear it again if she ever got a fancy date. Her conversation with her brother left her feeling like it could still happen one of these days.

She hung it up in her closet and checked herself out in the mirror before putting on her pajamas. Nothing special there. She was neither tall nor short, fat nor skinny, her hair was dark and straight, not full, not thin. Her breasts were barely large enough to fill out her training bra. She couldn't see a single characteristic that would make her stand out among any of the other girls. Average at best. Definitely nothing like any of those tarts she saw prancing around on television. She sighed as she slipped on her PJ's and crawled into bed. It was tough to try and keep the sadness from creeping back into her thoughts as she flipped out the lights.

*****

Heather was a little late making it to the breakfast table the next morning, but the rest of her family was still there. She had a feeling that Mark may have mentioned something about being stood up because neither of her parents said anything about the dance. Or, it was just as likely that they had forgotten that she had planned on going to one. Just as well either way, she didn't feel like explaining what had happened. Pity from her parents would only make her feel worse.

"I got a phone call this morning that I'm sure will make you all happy. The landlord said that my apartment's ready," Mark announced. He had only been staying back at home for a few weeks since there was a fire in his building. He had been kicked out temporarily while the damage was repaired and a bunch of new wiring was installed throughout the structure. He wasn't there at the time that the fire had broken out and as luck would have it, none of his possessions were affected by it.

"That is good news. I'm sure the refrigerator will appreciate it," his father remarked.

"Nonsense, Bill. Mark, you're welcome to come home and eat any time," his mother said.

"Thanks Mom, glad to hear that one of you cares."

"I thought we were going to hang out today," Heather said. Her mother gave her a skeptical look.

"You're going to hang out with your brother?"

"We still can. You like to carry things don't you? You can come back to the apartment with me and help set the place back up. I'll show you how a real man lives," Mark said.

"I don't know about that, but you can show me how you live. I'll help." Heather replied. She had never actually been inside of her brother's apartment. She knew where it was but that was about it.

"Brave girl," Bill said.

"Oh, don't let him scare you. My place is awesome."

"When it's not on fire. Or when the gang members aren't shooting at each other," his mother commented. She clearly did not like Mark's building.

"What do you say, Heather? There's hardly ever a gang war on Sundays. If my T.V. is still there we can watch some football."

Lucky for Heather, her brother didn't have all that much to move back. Just a couple of boxes and a few bags of clothing. They had his car loaded and were soon walking up the stairs to Mark's apartment. Despite what their mother had said, the place didn't appear to be that bad, from the outside at least.

"So what exactly happened here, anyway?" she asked.

"There was some sort of a short circuit in the basement that started a fire in the walls. The city made the landlord rewire the whole place."

"'So what did they do to yours?"

"Well, we're about to find out. I was told that they were going to have tear the walls apart in places, maybe replace some of the fixtures. Things like that," Mark said, putting his key in the lock. They went inside and he flipped on the lights. "Hey, the lights work."

Heather set the bags that she was carrying down. "This isn't bad, Mark. It's kind of nice, actually."

It did look pretty good. It wasn't a large apartment, single bedroom, living area, kitchen, and bathroom. The walls and ceiling had fresh coats of paint and looked professionally done. All of his furniture and things that he had left behind were in the center of each room and covered with plastic.

"Looks better than it did before, that's for sure."

They spent the rest of the morning putting the place back together. Heather felt a little weird at first, going through all of her brother's things. When they were younger he would always throw such a fit whenever she even stepped foot into his room that it felt sort of forbidden.

"I'm not going to find something I don't want to in here, am I? Like a box of pornos or girl's underwear or anything like that?" she asked.

"Naw, I keep all my porn in my bedroom closet. I am missing a bottle of lube, though. Stuff's expensive. Keep an eye out for that," he replied while reconnecting his entertainment center.

"That's gross, Mark. You're kidding right?"

"Yeah, I'm kidding. It's not really that expensive. Let me know if you find it."

Heather just shook her head and resumed putting her brother's stuff back more or less where it belonged. She had long ago grown accustomed to his crudeness. Before the morning was over, most everything that had to be done was done and they were carrying wads of plastic out to the dumpster.

"Do you think you've worked hard enough to earn lunch yet? I know I have. Do you have to get back home or can I take you out to get something to eat?" he asked.

"I don't have any plans. I thought you might be wanting to invite Amy over for your grand reopening, though."

"I just spent like every day last month with Amy. We deserve a day off once in a while or we'd probably end up killing each other."

They went to a little diner that wasn't far away from the apartment. After ordering, Heather decided to continue the discussion about Mark and his girlfriend.

"So how did you know that you first liked Amy?" she asked.

"Well, I met her at a party that one of my friends were having. We ended up being partners in a game of pool and just kind of hit it off."

"Did you think that she was prettier than all of the other girls? I mean, what made you pick her?"

Mark was being as patient as he could with his sister, realizing that relationships were something foreign to her. Not to mention a sore subject. "Of course I thought she was pretty. I wouldn't say that she was the prettiest of them all, I just liked her. She was easy to talk to and seemed to like me."

"Do you think that you'll get married?"

Mark took a bite of his newly arrived burger. "Maybe, but I doubt it."

"Why not? Don't you love each other?"

"Heather, it's complicated, okay?" He was becoming a bit frustrated at the line of questioning.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so personal."

Mark could see the disappointment come across her face. She was obviously more than a little interested in his love life. "All right, I'll tell you, for purely educational purposes. This is just between you and me, though. Don't go blabbing to Mom and Dad."

She immediately brightened. "I won't tell, they don't talk to me much, anyway." Sadly, what little she knew of first-hand romance she had learned from her friend Sabrina, and she doubted that she would be talking to that slut any time soon.

"Okay. Amy and I are really close but I think that we're more what you would call 'comfortable with each other' than actually in love. I thought that we were in love once, or close to it, anyway. These days I kind of get the feeling that we're more or less just keeping each other company until something else comes along. If I had to guess, I'd say that we probably aren't going to last much longer. I mean, I love her, but I don't think she really feels the same way any more."

"I'm sorry, Mark. How do you know if you're in love or not?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "That's a tough one. I don't have a good answer for that. I think that I'm in love with Amy, but I don't know if I'm totally in love with her or not. I always thought that when it happens, then I would just know. I know that I haven't ever been more in love with anyone than I am with her right now. And I know that I just did a terrible job of trying to explain it to you."

"But you've come close to being totally in love, though. That's more than what I can say," she said.

"Whoa, now. You've got to start out with a couple of dates first before you go falling head over heals. And don't go thinking that you're in love with someone just because some boy makes your panties tingle."

"Mark!" she exclaimed with a giggle.

"I'm serious. Sex is a powerful motivator, it really messes with your feelings, not to mention your common sense. You can get a guy to do or say just about anything if he thinks he's gonna get laid. Just because you have sex with someone doesn't mean that they love you, hell, it doesn't even mean that they'll call you back the next day."

"I get it, guys like sex. Girls like sex, too, you know."

"Oh I know. Don't get me wrong, sex is a wonderful thing. You don't have to marry somebody to enjoy it. It's great if both people know that they want it. I just don't want to see you get tricked into sleeping with someone because they promise you the world. Just keep your eyes open and know what you're getting into. Once you start going to college in the fall you're gonna run into some guys that really know how to charm a girl's pants off."

Heather thought that the idea getting her pants charmed off seemed rather pleasant. Casual sex wasn't something that she was afraid of. She was more afraid that the opportunity may never present itself. "I don't think I'll have to worry about getting tricked into having sex. It wouldn't take much, really."

"Heh, I know how you must feel. It'll happen, Heather. Whether you believe it or not, you're a beautiful girl. You're probably just a little under the radar because you've been hiding behind the honor roll and don't dress like a whore. And I'm not saying that because I think you need to change the way you dress, please don't."

She smiled a little at the 'beautiful' comment. She wasn't sure that he really meant it, but she appreciated it, nonetheless. "You can be sweet when you get serious. So,when did you, you know, do it the first time?"

Mark sighed. He figured that he might as well tell her since they were already mired deep in the whole sex conversation. He just never would have dreamed that he'd be sharing the information with his little sister. "It was back when I was hanging out with Justin. I suppose you want to know who with, right?"

Heather raised an eyebrow comically. "Do go on."

"Justin's older sister." Justin was his buddy that he knew and hung out with all during high school. "His parents were out of town and she got us a bunch of beer. One thing lead to another and Justin had passed out, so it was only Candy and I. She, uh, showed me the ropes, so to speak."

"How romantic. You lost your virginity to a drunken friend's sister. Wasn't Justin pissed?"

"We never told Justin, and hey, she was drunk, too. It was the best night of my life, are you kidding me?"

"You're terrible."

"I was sweet a second ago, what happened to that?" he asked.

"It seems to come and go," she replied. "I thought you didn't drink," she added.

"It's not like I never drank before, you know that. In fact, I did an awful lot of it in high school. That's one of the reasons that I don't now. Got it out of my system."

Heather knew that a couple of her brother's friends died in a car accident where alcohol was involved. Even though he wasn't in the crash, it had scared Mark enough to where he swore that he'd never touch the stuff again. Must be the night with his buddy's sister happened before all that.

After lunch was finished Mark drove them back to their parent's house to drop his sister off. "Are you going to come in?" she asked.

"Naw, I'm gonna head back home. Thanks for all your help."

"No problem. Thanks for lunch."

"Hey, if you need...anything, just give me a call. Have patience, remember?"

"See you later, Mark."

*****

Heather was somewhat surprised at how much better that she felt after talking to her brother. It wasn't that he provided any particular advice that she hadn't heard before in one form or another, it was that he gave her some insight into his life. She felt a lot closer to him after that. For the first time in her life she actually wanted to see him again just to hang out.

The following week at school wasn't nearly as bad as she thought it was going to be. No one was laughing at her like she feared, the opposite of that, really. There was somewhat of a backlash against Sabrina and David once word got out about the dance situation. It didn't get her a date, but she didn't feel like a complete idiot, either. David actually apologized to her in a lame attempt to win her good graces but she swiftly let it be known that she wanted nothing to do with him.