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"Stacy isn't he so handsome?!"
"Yes, Candace he is, you already said this exact same thing for the fifth time today. Can you let me enjoy my Slushy dawg in peace?"
Candace huffs at her friend's disinterest and continues to stare at the cute boy standing behind the counter of the Slushy dawg joint they were at. The name on the tag spells Jeremy and she finds the name wonderful. Well she finds everything about him wonderful, but she digresses.
"Can you please think of a way to ask him out already, the staring is becoming creepy. And why are we coming here only on Wednesdays and Sundays? With the way you are obsessed I though you would visit him all the time," Stacy says, making Candace start to feel uncomfortable by Stacy's claims. "Well I did try to think of some plan, but haven't gotten any good one. And the answer to the other question.... is because I am mostly a girl then."
Stacy gives her a look. "You do know this won't work if you hide this from him? He will become suspicious of the way you can only meet him on certain days. The conclusions he will come to won't be good. So just admitting you are genderfluid will probably be good for the both of you." Stacy was as always her voice of reason, but Candace still feels very anxious about confessing something like that. "I do understand that, but I can't do it yet. I am not ready yet."
Her friends takes her hand in solidarity: "And that is completely okay. Just don't keep this too long to yourself. It might hurt both of you that way irreparably." Candace nods in understanding and continues drinking her smoothy in silence.
++++
Kevin sometimes sees Jeremy in the hallways of their high school. Unlike when he is Candace and visits the Slushy dawg, he doesn't greet his crush or even watch him pass by (at least not much). Fortunately they aren't in same classes and grades so Kevin can act like he never even thought about the blond boy beyond his blue eyes.
Unfortunately he is still as clumsy and as distracted in school as everywhere else, so one day he crashes right into his subject of adoration. "Uh, sorry about that. You okay?" the yellow-haired angel asks the entranced human. Kevin luckily blinks out of his strumpor and answers with a quick and stumbling sentences: "Uh, yes of course I am okay! Nothing wrong to see here! Everything fine and dandy! Hunky-dory, hahahahha. Thanks for the help good citizen. I now need.... to quickly go somewhere else, bye!"
He had never in his life ran as fast as he did in that moment. Jeremy stayed standing in the middle of the hallway, finding this whole situation very confusing.
+++
"Hello, Candace. Same order, today?"
"Yes, Jeremy same order today," Candace answers and sighs at the beautiful visage of Jeremy. "Hey, Candace do you have a brother?"
"What, huh? Yeah I have two brothers. I already told you that, at least I think so...."
"No, I know about Phineas and Ferb. I meant do you have another brother? One that goes to our school?"
Candace freezes at that and starts to profusely sweat. "Wha-wha-wha where did you get that from?"
"I saw him in the hall a couple of days ago. He really looks like you! So I thought you were twins or something. Am I wrong?"
"Uhh.... well no of course you are right! I do have a brother of the same age as me! Totally!"
She is doomed. She is so done and over. She really hates all of this.
"Thank you for the burger! I have to go now, bye!" Candace snatched up the bag and runs out, tightly clinging to the bag like her life depended on it.
+++
"Kevin, are you kidding me? Did you really think up an imaginary brother, so you wouldn't have to tell him the truth?"
"I am sorry, okay! I panicked!"
"I understand, but you could have just said it was more complicated than that or ask him out on the date finally and explain it to him then. Or just told him it wasn't any of his business."
"What? I could never say that to Jeremy! What is with you, Stacy? Being so mean isn't like you."
"Sorry, I had bad couple of weeks."
"Is it Ginger again?"
"Yeah, kinda. She is doing something marvelous again, and my parents are losing their minds over it. I am just a bit tired of it lately. I wish anything I did had that kind of impact."
"I am sorry this is happening to you Stacy. I wish I could do something more to help you."
"It's fine. Being with me, and listening to me whine, is enough for now. And you do understand some of what I am feeling am I right? Though in your case, your mother never really sees what incredible things the boys have done, unlike my parents. Wish the mysterious force would work on my family sometimes."
"Be careful of what you wish for Stacy, or you will turn out to be like me."
"What a highly skilled and versatile buster/chaser/detective?"
"No, a whiny incompetent fool, who everyone thinks is out of his mind."
"Don't exaggerate Kevin, you are not any of those things."
"I don't think I am a highly skilled buster either."
"Well maybe, but you are still my best friend who I love very very much."
"I love you too Stacy. Best friends forever."
"Best friends forever," Stacy agreed and we hugged out our complicated feelings towards family and our places in them.
"Speaking of friends. Someone important is coming our way," Stacy whispered in Kevin's ear and raised her head to look at the approaching person. "What, who?"
Before Kevin could finish his question, Jeremy appeared before them. "Hello Stacy," he started and then turned to look at Kevin with a curious gaze. The pronounced blush appeared on his face, and Kevin couldn't do anything to stop it.
"Hiya Jeremy."
"Who is your friend?"
"This is Kevin," Stacy said and Kevin turned around and tried to tell her what to say with his eyes. "A twin brother of Candace," she awkwardly finished, but Jeremy just beamed at them and did not seem to pick up on the tension. "Ah, so you are Candace's brother. Nice to meet you man! Your sister is our regular customer at Slushy dawg."
"Uh, yeah I know she told me," Kevin tried to quickly close off the subject, because talking about him in third person was very weird and he didn't want to know what Jeremy thought of him, especially if it was something bad. Kevin tried to excuse himself and disappear, but before he could, Jeremy asked if they could hang out sometimes. "H-h-hang out?!"
"Yeah you know, you seem like a good dude. And maybe you could even call your sister to hang out too. She seems cool too," Jeremy explained his reasoning, but this whole situation just made him even more confused. "Oh, um sure why not? We will be in touch I suppose. I have to go now, bye!"
Soon enough he left an empty spot behind him, while Jeremy and Stacy were watching the direction he disappeared to. "He sure is busy a lot. Kinda like Candace too. No wonder they are related." Stacy wasn't sure if she should cry or laugh, so she settled on just agreeing: "Yeah, no wonder."
+++
"Please, ask him for his number. He already gave you a go ahead! He already asked you to hang out as both Candace and Kevin, so you should already be making some progress!"
"I know! But...but what if he asked Kevin to hang out, so he could become closer to Candace!"
Stacy was sending her an unimpressed look. It was a very unimpressed look, and Candace felt itchy. "You won't know until you ask him. And maybe he asked Kevin to hang out, because he wants to get to know him better too. Jeremy doesn't seem like an underhanded type of person, although you can never be too sure. But it all boils down to one thing. Just Ask Him."
"Alright, alright I get it already I will," just as Candace said this, it was her turn to order. She said what Stacy and her wanted and tried to settle her nerves and ask what she came here to do. "Jeremy...."
"Yes, Candace? Do you want to order something else?"
"Uh, well no...... I heard from my-my brother that you want to ha-hang out with us."
"Oh, yeah of course! I would love it!"
"Can I maybe, get your number?"
"Yeah of course my number is......"
+++
"I can't believe that worked," Candace was still reeling from all that has happened.
"Of course it did. As I told you it would. It really is not that big of a deal, as you are making it out to be."
"I have his number, Stacy!"
"Yes you do."
"But, wait! What if he asks to hang out with both of them?!"
Stacy sighed in exasperation and bit into her food before answering: "Tell him the other one is busy. And then please tell him the truth. This is really becoming hard to keep up."
"Yeah, I know imagine how I feel."
+++
"Hello, Jeremy."
"Hi, Candace," Jeremy did a little wave and walked toward her. "You look nice."
Candace blushed and thanked him for his words, before stammering out: "Shall we go?"
"We shall."
+++
It really was a nice evening. It even felt like a date, even if none of them actually specified that it was a date. But Candace could hope. And then her lies had to go and ruin it for her.
"It's a shame, Kevin couldn't come. I think he would have probably liked this movie."
"Why do you say that?"
"I think he had a keychain of one of the main characters from this movie."
"Hahhaah, yeah you are probably right. A shame, really what can you do," Candace nervously stuttered and cursed her own inability to appear casual and collected.
"Well we had fun just the two of us didn't we?" Jeremy asked and Candace quickly agreed. Then a great ball of guilt struck her and she clenched her fist and bit her lip in frustration. This really had to stop, she must come clean. She stopped abruptly and took a deep breath, trying to gather as much courage as she could.
"Candace you okay?"
"Yes, I am fine. Jeremy I have to tell you something," she said quickly and averted her gaze, because she knew she would lose her confidence if she looked at his compassioned worried eyes.
"All right, Candace. I am listening."
"You see I don't have a brother. I mean a twin brother. Kevin is...... actually me. I am Kevin. But I am also Candace. You see I am someone who they call genderfluid. I sometimes feel like a boy, and sometimes I feel like a girl. I also got assigned as Carl, by the mysterious force, but that isn't important right now. What is important is that I lied to you and I am sorry about it." There was silence after her monologue, and she was scared to look up and see in what way was Jeremy looking at her now.
"Oh, okay. It's isn't very nice you lied, but I can understand how and why it happened. Sorry about that by the way, I haven't meant to make you come out to me, it wasn't on purpose. "
"Oh, no you haven't done anything wrong, Jeremy! I could have still told you something else and not instantly lied to cover up my identity. But, uh yeah it happened and I am sorry for it. And I forgive you, for whatever perceived thing you did. It's alright," Candace told him and they returned to silence.
"Soooo....... what now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Do I still call you Candace or.....?"
"Wha..... yes of course! Right now I am Candace. Tomorrow I will probably be Kevin."
"And Carl?"
"Oh, no I am Carl in very specific and rare circumstances usually involving busting my brothers so that doesn't count right now."
"I see, okay then. Should I walk you home?"
"Ah, yes thank you!"
+++
"Hey Kevin"
"Hi Jeremy!"
"You free after school? Wanna hang out a bit?"
"Yeah, sure! Let me just text my parents and we can go."
"Okay cool, I will do the same. See ya after class," Jeremy gave him a wave and he waved back.
"Wow, would you look at that," Stacy smugly broke him out of stupor. "Wha-Stacy! What do you mean by that?!"
"Nothing. Just that you two seem awfully close all of a sudden. Was there any new development after your confession?"
"I haven't confessed!"
Stacy gave him a look. "I mean I haven't confessed about my feelings! Just about my gender. It isn't the same."
"I say. It sure isn't. So when are you doing that?"
"Doing what?"
"Confessing your feelings, duh! You should tell him!"
"I can't!!"
"And why not?"
"I.....uh..... I don't know. I don't want to."
"Well I think you should. Sometime this century perhaps."
"Shut up you! What about Coltrane and you?"
"I told him about my feelings, I am just waiting for his reply."
"Really?? You go girl! Why haven't you told me this before?"
"You were a bit preoccupied with Jeremy. You sometimes forget about everything else when a new obsession comes by."
"Sorry about being a bad friend. I will try to change that. Now tell me everything!"
"Well, it was like this...."
+++
"Wow so Stacy and Coltrane could be a thing?"
"Yeah, isn't that awesome! Stacy is so brave! I wish I could be like her sometimes."
"I don't know. I like you just the way you are," Jeremy blurted out and instantly his cheeks reddened. Kevin of course became a tomato too, and mumbled out his shy reply: "Thank you. I appreciate you saying that more than I can say."
The awkwardness didn't dissipate after that, so the whole hangout turned out to be a bit uncomfortable for the both of them. Fortunately they had homework and other obligations to do, so they separated after an hour of their awkward fumbling. However none of them knew, that it was a start of something new.
+++
Their friendship grew exponentially so they almost saw each other every other day. Kevin still couldn't find the right time or the courage to confess, even if Stacy was downright annoying and pestering him. Though she was right to pester.
Even he could feel that there was something between them that could grow into a relationship, but Kevin still wasn't confident enough for that. And Jeremy seemed patient with him, so he hoped the other boy wasn't upset about it.
"Where do you want to go today?"
"I don't have any special wish for today. We can just walk around and see where we end up."
"I like that. Let's do that then," Jeremy agrees and gives him his elbow so he could latch onto it. Blushing at the action, he still takes a hold of it and they start their walk around the neighborhood.
+++
"So you told me, you got the name Carl from the mysterious force, and I gather your parents chose the name Candace. Then what about Kevin?"
"The idea for that name I got from a talking zebra. He called me Kevin and it started my whole questioning journey of my gender identity. Which is pretty funny, when I remember I saw him because I accidentally touched either the blue or the orange moss and started to hallucinate. That whole epiphany I got while on technical drugs. Wild isn't it?"
"It really does sound like it."
"From then on I sometimes dream of him and he still always calls me Kevin."
"It's good he is consistent, I suppose?"
Kevin laughs at that quip and pats Jeremy's shoulder in approval. Before they continue on their walk a fast-walking kid crashes into Kevin and almost makes him lose his coffee. Jeremy notices and quickly grabs both Kevin and his hand before either collapse or fall. When the danger passes he turns around and inquires if Kevin is okay. By the color of his face it wouldn't be obvious, but the orange-haired guy shares his okays and Jeremy lets out a breath in relief. However he still doesn't let go of either his body or his hand, which makes Kevin twitchy with nerves.
"I am okay as I said. You can let me go now," he announces and hopes Jeremy takes pity on him. But the blond guy doesn't. "What if I don't want to let go of you?"
The tension rackets up between them and Kevin blinks up in surprise at the cutting stare of Jeremy's eyes. The closeness becomes even smaller between them and Kevin's thoughts blow out of proportion. The kiss catches him by surprise, but then his thoughts finally quiet and the action of kissing leads them into silence.
"Was that okay?"
When the daze and dizziness passes, Kevin nods in quick succession and blushes even more when realization comes. "More t-than okay. Don't worry."
Jeremy widely smiles at that and gently touches his head. "So do you want to-uh, be my boyfriend now and girlfriend later?"
Kevin returns the smile and says between smiles and happy tears: "Of course. I would love to be your boyfriend now, and your girlfriend later."
And that is how Jeremy and Kevin/Candace/Carl started dating.