In this episode: does Jonathan's return bode well for our heroine? Can Lindy win the boy of her dreams? What is the breaking limit of a squid tentacle?

Tune in to find out!

Echoes

By Melanie E.

Chapter 9: A Helping Hand

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WomwomwomwoMWOMSPLAT.

The room went silent. All eyes turned up from their dissection work just in time to catch their Biology teacher, Mrs. Page, peeling the remains of Cary and Jonathan's squid from the lapel of her formerly white lab coat, now featuring an artistic motif of black dots. Miriam thought it looked rather like one of those roar-shock things he'd seen on TV.

"Mr. Little, Mr. Fletcher. WHAT have I told you about playing with the experiments?"

Miriam could see the smirk appear on Cary's face even before he heard the line that the entire class already had memorized. "If you wanna play with dead animals, use roadkill." It was rather grotesque, but then again, so was Mrs. Page. She was the first Goth teacher that Miriam had ever seen, and he suspected the only teacher in the world to have purple and green striped hair. Everyone knew she only got the job because her uncle was on the School Board, but all the kids loved her classes and teaching style.

"That's right. Now we're one squid short for the assignment, though I must admit I'm rather impressed- I didn't know their tentacles could stretch that much before breaking."

"It's the pickling, ma'am. Gives 'em that rubbery quality."

"Yes, I see. Remind me not to let you and Mr. Little work together again." Jonathan was notoriously bad at Biology, and though it was his second year in the class, he was barely managing to pass. "Also, I do believe you owe me a new lab coat. I brought this one from home."

<=====>

*Why did I feel so bad about missing class last week?*

After seeing the amount of homework that Jonathan had to take home to do, he was just happy that he had done all his makeup work over the weekend. It had taken them both Jonathan's bag and Cary's new backpack to collect all his books. "Just shoot me now. At least that way I won't have to do all this work."

"I'll help, if you'd like. I don't mind."

"Lindy, he's in the grade above us. I doubt you'd be able to do much for him."

"Well, I could try." Lindy gave Cary a dirty look for ruining her chance to spend time with Jonathan. Since the day they had met, she had been pursuing him, but had somehow always been shot down. Jonathan was either a brilliant actor or the least observant person in the world, Miriam couldn't decide, but he never seemed to pick up on how she felt.

The saga of Lindy and Jonathan was put on hold, however, when they heard yelling from across the street. Miriam's stomach filled with a terrible dread when he recognized the voice.

"Hey, you little faggot! How was school? Surprised you didn't wear a dress today." Prince and Notts were standing on the opposite sidewalk, with a group of their friends who obviously found their taunts to be hilarious, from all the laughter behind them.

"Just ignore them, Miriam, they're just a buncha assholes." Jonathan's words were spoken forcefully, with extra emphasis on the end to make sure it carried across the road. Looking at Cary, Miriam was almost afraid he was going to start a fight with the daggers he was shooting Prince, but he managed to keep himself in check. "Come on, let's just go." Jonathan made to walk towards Miriam's house again, and Miriam and the others followed.

"Hey, you stupid bitch! You can't just walk away from me!" The sound of incoming footsteps warned Miriam of Prince's approach, but as he turned around to face the bully, Jonathan appeared in front of him again.

"Prince, leave us alone. I guarantee you, if you fight me, you won't win."

"This doesn't concern you, Little man." Prince didn't even attempt to hide the contempt in his voice as he addressed his classmate. "Besides, it's a worthless effort on your side, 'cause it's already Cary's little bitch, anyOOF!"

Miriam couldn't help but cringe at the sight of Prince's blood. The larger teen staggered back, grabbing his face and staring at Jonathan with an expression of shock. Calmly, he wiped his fist off on the sleeve of his shirt as he gave the group of thugs a warning. "You don't mess with my friends. If you do, then next time you'll be wiping blood from more than your nose."

<=====>

After dropping Miriam off at home and parting ways with Lindy at the end of her street, Cary decided it was time to broach the subject of their clash with Prince and his toadies with Jonathan.

"Listen, thanks for standing up for Miriam like that. I mean..."

"Hey, it's nothing. You're my friends. What was up with Prince, anyways? I know he's had it out for Miriam since grade school, but still, DAMN. What did I miss while I was gone?"

*If only you knew.* Cary sighed as he processed everything that had happened in the last few days, but Jonathan's laugh interrupted his introspection. "What?"

"You do realize that you move your lips when you're thinking real deep, right? Almost makes it look like you're talking behind my back." Cary froze as his friend's words sunk in.

"Could you repeat that?"

"Heh, sure. It's nothing really, but when you're thinking really hard you tend ta move your lips with whatever you're saying to yourself. It's pretty funny to look at, actually."

*Shit! Could that be what happened this morning? That would explain a lot...*

"I mean, I figured you'd have realized it by now, but I guess not. Anyways, you're way too smart to need to do that, aren't ya?"

"Yeah, I'll try to watch myself. Hey, you actually should know what's been going on the last few days. Why don't you stop by for a coke or something and I can tell you everything that's happened?"

"Whatever adventure awaits, Sir Quartermain, I am your humble sidekick." Cary shot Jonathan a 'this is serious look', but the only response he received was a smirk.

<=====>

"DAMN."

"Yeah, tell me about it." Cary had just finished the story of what was going on around Miriam, and wasn't too shocked at Jonathan's reaction. "Sheeaaaahhh, heh, he's been pretty upset the last couple of days, and really moody, too."

"Hyeah, I noticed. Ya don't think... nah, that's just too weird." Jonathan swallowed the dregs of his soft drink, and was on his way to get another when Cary stopped him.

"What?"

"Huh? Oh, it was nothing, just a weird idea."

"Come on, tell me."

"Well, I was just gonna say it sounds like he's on the rag, but I figured it'd be too nasty seein' how things're going for 'im." Picking up a fresh can, Jonathan prepared to open it, but stopped halfway through pulling the tab. "You really care about the little squirt, don't ya?"

"Huh?" Cary was caught unawares, and fought to keep from spewing cola through his nose.

"You do! Hey, man, I don't care, ta be honest it ain't that much of a surprise."

"What do you mean?"

"Hey, we've been friends since grade school, almost as long as you and Miriam. There's always been somethin' different about 'im, and the way you two act together, and from what I heard today 'specially, you're more like boyfriend n' girlfriend than half the couples at school."

"Come on, you can't be serious."

"Really, man. Don'cha pay any attention? You defend 'im, eat lunch with the girls 'cause that's where he goes, you two're practically never apart, and when you're separated for more than a day one of you'll usually call the other to talk. Not only that, but you don't date that much, and Miriam's never even TRIED to get a date. People talk, man."

Cary couldn't believe what he was hearing- particularly because he knew it to be true. "Oh, who cares what people think!"

Jonathan snorted. "Whell, obviously you do, from your actions on the way home. Jeez, Prince practic'ly tried to sucker punch Miriam, and you didn't even move! What would've happened if I hadn't been there?"

He was right. *But I wanted to help! But it would have just made it harder on us...*

Jonathan cackled, and Cary glared at him. "You're doing it again."

"Whatever. Hey, let's get some archery practice in while there's still some daylight left."

"Sounds good." Letting out a loud belch, Jonathan threw his second can in the bin on his way out the door.

<=====>

*Well, nobody can say things aren't interesting, at least.* Lindy dropped her school books in her desk chair and flopped into bed, rubbing her eyes. Where was her book? There it was, underneath the tissue box. She picked it up and read the cover again. Fantasy had never really been to her tastes, but Miriam had told her she would like this book, so she had reluctantly agreed to take it home. "'The Colour of Magic', huh? Well, it can't be too bad, I guess."

Opening the book to page one, she began to read, hoping against hope that the book would help distract her from the problems her friend was having.

<=====>

Miriam was bored. Books? He'd already read almost every book in the house. A movie maybe? Same problem. He scratched at his tee shirt, and cursed the material under his breath. The more bored he got, the more he had to think. And the more he had to think...

"Dad! Can I see your guitar?"

<=====>

*At least it's better than nothing.* Miriam's father had attempted to give him lessons several years before, and while he had picked the instrument up quickly, he had eventually lost interest, and stopped practicing. Now, after almost three years having barely touched the thing, he was regretting his lack of practice, and thankful for the concentration that playing took.

*A minor to E, to D minor to D minor sus to G...* It had always been one of his favorite chord progressions, and after only a few minutes of practice he managed to get the strumming pattern and rhythm right. The mournful, almost Spanish sound of the notes filled his ears, and he concentrated upon keeping the sounds alive. Miriam had never liked the electric guitar, but his father's old nylon-stringed acoustic still felt at home in his hands. Without him willing them to, his fingers switched from the comfortable chords to a different progression, before finally settling into a lightly finger-picked version of one of his favorite songs, "Sweet Dreams are Made of This". *Hmm, guess I remember better than I thought.*

He adjusted the guitar across his legs, and winced as the upper body brushed his chest. Settling into a more comfortable position, he continued to play until he felt his fingers turning raw.

*God, what a day.* He couldn't stifle the yawn that arose as he raised himself gingerly from his position on his bed. Checking the clock, he was surprised to realize he had been playing for nearly an hour and a half. Descending the stairs carefully, he returned the guitar to its stand by his father's home office desk, and went to bed.

<=====>

Felicity and Bill held each other as they stared at the stars, drifting lazily in the bench swing on their back porch. Felicity felt hurt that Miriam wouldn't open up to her about his problems, but knew that he was getting to a point in life where Mommy couldn't fix everything.

*Doesn't keep me from wanting to, though.* She snuggled more tightly against her beloved, and pondered.

Chapter 10: An Unexpected Development

Miriam awoke oddly refreshed. He was mildly disturbed that the freakish non-dreams were beginning to seem normal, but at least it meant he wasn't waking up at all hours in a cold sweat. Dragging himself out of bed for another day of drudgery, he caught his reflection in his closet door mirror...

And stopped dead.

The high pitched scream brought his parents to his side almost immediately, and he was glad for his mother's arms around him as he collapsed.

<=====>

"But, WHY! I mean, I'm a boy!"

"I don't know, baby, I'm sorry. Oh, what do we do?"

"How could they grow so *sob* fast? I mean, I was normal yesterday!"

"I remember when I first started to develop. One day I woke up almost a full A cup, just like you."

"But Mom, that's different! I'm not even supposed to have..."

"I know, sweetie, I know."

<=====>

"Hey, we've been waiting for you!"

"Yeah, it's- whoa, what's the matter?"

It had been a big argument, but his parents had won out, and while they were setting up a doctor's appointment for him, he would go to school today. A tight tee shirt under a baggy flannel hid his growth spurt adequately for now, but nothing could hide the pain on his face. "Nothing, I'm fine."

"Come on, we've known you long enough to-"

"I said I'm fine!" *Don't cry, don't cry, don't cry... not again...*

"Alright! Jeez, you don't have to be such a jerk!"

*Great, now I feel bad about that, too.* "I'm sorry, it's just... I don't wanna talk about it, okay?"

"Okay." Lindy came over and gave him a gentle hug, and Cary joined on the other side. "We're your friends, and we worry about you. We just wanna help."

"Yeah. I hate seeing you hurt like that." Miriam glanced up at Cary to see his face glowing red. He couldn't resist the smile that crept across his face. *He looks so cute when-*

This time the tears wouldn't stop, and his two best friends simply held him until they went away.

<=====>

"Do you think it's really..."

"Yes, it is. I just couldn't tell him, though, Bill..."

"Tell him what?"

Felicity sighed. She wasn't in the mood for this. "Bill, this wasn't just overnight. Haven't you noticed his scratching the last few days? He's been growing for a while, I think the reason he just noticed is because of the swelling."

The look Bill gave her would have been priceless if it hadn't been for the situation. "So, you mean, Miriam has breasts?"

*God, for a genius he really is thick headed sometimes.* "Yeah. What's worse is that his scratching's got his chest inflamed, which just makes them that much more obvious. Bill, what are we gonna do?"

He thought for only a moment before answering. "Call Dr. Tucker, and see if you can get him in this afternoon. We'll work this out, okay?"

She clung to him desperately, wondering why this had to happen to her baby.

<=====>

"Sweetheart, I know you're embarrassed. Just be patient, they'll get bigger."

Marina just rolled her eyes at her mom. "But Mom, all the other girls are already way bigger than I am! And George, he, he said that-"An intrusive sound broke through her thoughts as someone seemed to be trying to get her attention.

"Miriam! Miriam, wake up!"

"Hmmn? Who's... oh." Miriam lifted his head enough to let Cary know he was awake, and the bigger boy took the opportunity to grab his arm and drag him from his desk.

"Come on, you slept through class! It's time for Math, and we gotta hurry!"

*Math. George is in that class. Isn't he?* Stumbling and drowzy, Miriam followed his friend to his next class.

<=====>

"MISSter Loksley, get your head up off of that desk and pay attention!"

"Yessir..." Miriam did his best to stay awake, but the more the day progressed, the more difficult it seemed to be to keep from falling asleep on his feet.

*What's wrong with me? THIS time?*

"Miriam!"

"Sorry sir."

<=====>

"Well?"

Bill hung the phone up, and turned back to his wife. "Miriam's got an emergency appointment at five."

"Oh, thank God. That's enough time for Miriam to walk home from school with his friends, and I don't want to scare them by showing up at the school to pick him up."

Bill took his wife's hands, and when she turned up to face him, kissed her lightly on the nose. "Don't worry, sweetheart. Miriam'll be okay- he's a lot tougher than we give him credit for." They embraced each other, and even Bill was crying softly to himself.

<=====>

Miriam sighed with relief as the last bell of the day began to ring, signaling the rush of students to all exits. Nobody had seemed to notice anything different about him, and with only the trip home left, he felt almost comfortable.

"Ready to go home?"

"Definitely. If I fall asleep, will you carry me?" Giving Cary the most sickeningly sweet look he could, Miriam let out a yelp when he was unexpectedly picked up and thrown over someone's shoulder.

"Jonathan, you jerk, let go of me!"

"Aw, but I was just tryin' to help."

Lindy showed up in time to see Jonathan lowering Miriam back to the floor, and Miriam was stunned to hear her say, "You know, there's a lot of us who'd love to have you pick us up." Jonathan and Cary's cackling was enough to make Miriam burst into giggles as well, and the four were much more relaxed as they began the walk home.

<=====>

Cary was glad to see Miriam in a good mood again. It had been a while since he'd really seemed to have been himself, but their walk after school had been a lot of fun, and he could tell from the look on Miriam's face that he was feeling better. His gaze caught Miriam's attention, and he began to blush as Miriam smiled at him. He had to turn quickly to keep from doing anything more embarrassing. *Geez, I've gotta get over this. She's not a girl, she's- HE's my best friend, not girlfriend material in any way.*

*But, why CAN'T she be both?*

Running into Bill and Felicity outside Miriam's house broke his train of thought, and the looks on their faces made him even more nervous. Turning around to look at Miriam, he was hurt to see the expression of pain.

"Cary, Lindy, thanks for walking Miriam home. You too, Jonathan. We've got to go somewhere, so can Miriam see you all later?"

"Yeah, sure, Miss Loksley."

"'Kay. Bye, Miriam!" Lindy gave Miriam a hug before she split off towards her own home, and Jonathan grabbed Cary's shoulder.

"Bye, Cary."

"Uh, yeah, later." He stumbled as the pressure on his shoulder forced him to move, but managed one more quick look back before Miriam was filed into Bill's Blazer.

<=====>

*Hmm, I don't know what's going on, but I've got to talk to Miriam tonight.* She hadn't been sure at first, and during the day it had been hard to get a good look, but after hugging him, she was sure of it. They weren't very big, but Miriam definitely had something he shouldn't have in the form of chest development.

*But how could this happen so fast? Or did it really? God, why haven't I been watching for something like this?* But she already knew.

Why would you watch for one of your best male friends to get boobs? This just made things worse. Unable to concentrate, she laid her pen down and closed her math book as she pondered the problem. She was at least partially prepared for the mental difficulties, and still knew more about what was going on than Miriam did, but couldn't figure out many things. Why hadn't that Gordon guy told Miriam everything from the beginning? Even when they had met him over the weekend, she knew he was trying to keep most of the truth from Miriam- he'd explained more to her when he had pulled her to the side after the show than anything she had heard him tell Miriam to date. But why?

*All this thinking's making my brain hurt.* Rising from her desk, Lindy crossed the room to her stereo. *I need to do some dance practice anyways.*

<=====>

Miriam let out a loud 'whoosh' of breath as he fell into the chair in the waiting room. Doctor Tucker had given him a thorough examination before requesting to speak to his parents, at which time he had been sent from the room. Now, here he was, with nothing to do but worry.

Flipping through magazines gave a brief respite from the boredom, but all too quickly the tiredness he had felt all day began to take over.

Within moments, the grey lights began to fill his consciousness again. *Oh, no. What now?*

#It is begun.#

*Oh, come ON! I don't know who you are, or what you are, but just leave me alone!*

#Your future is set. What has been done cannot be undone. It will not be undone.#

*This is all about those stupid past lives, right? Well, tough luck! I'm not a girl, and I won't let you change me into one!*

#You are who you are. You are who you always have been. This cannot change.#

Miriam couldn't hide the frustration in his thoughts. *Then why do all this to me?!?*

The tone of the voice changed, almost imperceptibly, but Miriam could feel the sternness in the words as they swam through his mind. #Because you must be complete. You shall come to understand in time. You are-#

The hand shaking his shoulder pulled him from the vision, and unconsciously he screamed.

"They're ready for you in the back room, now." The nurse let go, and kindly took his hand to help him up.

With one last nervous breath, he crossed the threshold back into the doctor's office.

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