Being There: The Journal of Allison Schraptoski By: Zac Goldstein NOTE: The following is a work of fiction. It contains elements of infantilism, and mild vulgarity. If this offends you, don't read. The character of Alex is based loosely on the author. Part I Background I initially didn't know where to start, so I figured the best place would just be to tell you a bit about me and my life. I'm Allison Schraptoski (pronounced shrap-taw-skee, Ally or Scraps to my friends), and I entered the world on April 23, 1983. Of course, I don't remember a whole lot from my early years, but I do remember this. When I was around 5, my parents tried to have another baby. Although I didn't know what the word miscarriage meant then, I do now. Anyway, it was a pretty bad experience for my mom. However, she was determined to have another kid, so she adopted my brother Kevin when I was around 10 or so. Kevin was 2 going on 3 and was put up for adoption shortly after he was born. He spent all of his life up until then in an orphanage. My parents were overjoyed to have him. I recall having mixed reactions at the time. On one side, it'd be kinda cool to have a little brother, but on the other hand, it could really suck. Anyway, I grew to love him and now despite the fact that he could be such a brat, I wouldn't give him up for anything. Kevin had a few problems. He was a little on the slow side, although definitely not retarded. He had a brain, it just took awhile for him to get it to work. That, and Kevin was never adequately potty trained. My mom tried to train him when he was 4, but he just didn't take to it. So from then until now, he has always worn diapers. I know, that's weird. An 8 1/2 year old kid wearing diapers, but hey, it's not his fault. Anyway, I'm cool with it. I help with some of the diaper changing. At first, it was totally disgusting, but now I'm used to it. I can't explain it, but somehow it makes me feel closer to Kevin. Kevin enjoys wearing them too. He likes the attention, and he likes not having to worry about using the bathroom. Nobody in my family minds, as long as he's happy. One day out of sheer curiosity, I took one of Kevin's diapers and put it on. It didn't feel bad at all. Next, I poured some water on it to simulate wetness. Yuck. How can anybody sit there feeling like that? Eh, must be a guy thing. At any rate, I wasn't going to try that again. My dad works in a big office building that's a little far from here. He is part of a very large company that prints labels and makes boxes. Imagine that, it takes a couple of expensive printers to print labels and makes boxes but it takes like 2 million people to do the rest. My dad's working on becoming vice president there, and he's doing a pretty good job. Unfortunately, he's like never home. My mom recently got a part time job as an assistant interior decorator, and I baby-sit from time to time, so we're pretty well off financially. My life is 'normal' for a teenager, even though I don't like to use the word normal. It kills individuality. Anyway, I'm into alternative music, talking on the phone, going to the mall, and guys. Unfortunately, I haven't found one yet:(. Unlike a lot of people my age, I also like reading and the out doors. I'm a very open minded and compassionate person, or so people say. I'm just happy being me. That about brings us up to where we are now. I'm about to be 16, and I'm in the 10th grade. I've managed to make second honor roll, I'm in a few clubs, and I'm on the school volleyball team. Despite a lack of bonding, my family is still together, and my parents aren't fighting and getting divorces (I've seen quite a few people do that, unfortunately). And Kevin is still in diapers. Part II March Madness It's sometime around mid to late March, I forget the day. Anyway, as usual, I get up at around 6:30 and eat breakfast. Breakfast for me is usually like some toast with jelly on it and some juice, occasionally coffee. Kevin wakes up at around the same time I do, and after were both done with breakfast, I take him up to his room so he can get changed. First, I set him down on his changing pad and slide down his plastic pants. He doesn't bother wearing pajamas unless its really cold, so this makes my job a lot easier. Next, I unpin his wet diapers and toss them in a pail. I then take a disposable diaper and slide it under him. He lifts his butt up automatically, and I sprinkle baby powder on it. Then, I lift up the front of the diaper and tape it shut. He finishes getting dressed, and I take a shower and then get dressed. I spend awhile making sure I look okay. Like all teenage girls, I'm conscious about my appearance, but not to the degree that one blemish or imperfection would make me want to hang myself. At around 7:25, I grab my purse and my backpack and a jacket and head out the door. I have to be in homeroom by 8. Kevin has until 9. Lucky him. I wait at my corner. I'm not waiting for a bus, but I'm waiting for my friends to show up. They always come in the same order. First, Stacy, then Mackenzie, then Amy and lastly Alex. We talk a few things over on our way to school. It's been the same way seemingly forever. Stacy is my best friend. She's slightly heavyset (but don't call her fat), and she has curly red hair. She's very funny. Mackenzie and Amy are both tall and thin, only Mackenzie has darker hair. They are best friends with each other, and are both nice and fun to talk to. Lastly, there's Alex. He's my best friend that's of the opposite sex. Alex is only 15, and is pretty skinny. He too is funny, but in a different way from Stacy. He can be really off the wall sometimes, but he's very smart and knows when to stop. I don't know what I'd do without my friends. That day, Mackenzie and Amy were talking about Dawson's Creek and obsessing over how hot the guys on the show were. Stacy had begun to talk about something she did over the weekend, but Alex interrupted her with a sarcastic comment. Stacy then said something mean, and as usual, I had to step in. When we got to school, we said goodbye to Mackenzie and Amy and we all walked to our lockers (which were no more then 2 feet apart from one another). In high school, everyone usually has a memento or two inside their locker, and mine was no exception. I had a mirror, a peace sign, and a picture of Matt Damon. I was staring at Matt when somebody called my name. I turned around and saw Scott Mitchell, one of the most sought-after guys in school. "Hi," he said. "Hey," I replied. "What's up?" "Oh, not much." I couldn't think of anything better to say. "You?" "Not to much. We're in the Basketball State Championships." "Oh, cool. Good luck." Just as I was going to say something worthwhile, the bell rang. "Well, talk to you later sometimes," said Scott. "Yeah, bye." After he walked away, Stacy went ballistic on me. "I don't believe you," she said. "There goes the hottest guy in school, and you can't think of anything to say!" "I don't think he likes em anyway." "Only one way to find out," said Alex. "Talk to him." "Yeah, you'd better," said Stacy. "Umm, I dunno." "Look, me and Scott are cool," said Alex. "I mean, we're not friends, but he'd believe what I told him. You want me to tell him to talk to you?" "No." "Aright, fine, Just trying to help. Later, Scraps." "Peace." Alex had invented the nickname Scraps for me, and all though I used to hate it I know began to like it. Stacy kept on bugging me about not talking to him all through home room. During the first few classes, I talked with some more of my friends. I had a quiz in chemistry, but it wasn't too hard. Then came English, and Stacy started to bug me again. Luckily, Alex was in this class, and he usually did something interesting to distract everyone. "You should just go on up to honors," said Stacy. "Well, thanks, but according to Mrs. Davis last year, I'm not 'honors material.' Besides, I'd much rather stay here and annoy you guys." Before Stacy could think of an adequate response, the teacher walked in and class began. "I've got gym next," Alex said at the end of class. "I'll go talk to Scott." I had to wait until lunch to find out what Scott said. Even then, despite the four of us harassing him about it, Alex was a bit reluctant to talk. He could be quite annoying sometimes. "Well," he said calmly. "He said that you were really nice." "And?" "Oh, and, let me see...." he added an intentional pause. "Oh yeah, and he'd definitely go out with you if you asked him." "You for real?" "Yeah that's the truth." "Oh my god, your going to be going out with Scott Mitchell!" exclaimed Stacy. "That is like totally cool," said Mackenzie. "Totally," mimicked Amy. I still wasn't so sure whether Scott or Alex were telling the truth during their conversation, so I didn't talk much about it. Nonetheless, the anxiety was killing me for the rest of the day. When the bell rang, I took off for my locker and waited. No, no sign of him at first. Oh my God, there he comes. Yup, right over here. Wait a minute, some of his dumb friends are with him. not a good sign. Never mind, their leaving. Yup, here he... "Hi." "Hi again," I said. "Listen, I really like you and if your not doing anything, maybe you'd like to go out this Friday night." "Yeah, sure I'd like that." "Aright, cool. Your a nice girl and I'm lookin forward to it. Cya around." "Bye." After he left, I felt like a whole new person. It had been several months since I had a date, and even then it wasn't with somebody I truly liked. I hoped this time it'd be different. My friends started to ask me questions right away, and taking a cue from Alex I fed them information slowly. It was a little fun watching them freak out. "Yeah, he asked me out." "When you going out?" asked Stacy. "This Friday." "Cool. Remind me to make sure you look okay, cuz girl, you have no fashion sense." "Yeah, and it's my lack of that got me this date." "Lack of fashion sense and having me as your friend," said Alex. "I almost forgot, thanks." "Welcome." "I went out with Scott once," said Amy. "Well, a couple of times. The first time was totally cool, but after that it got kinda played. You know, the same thing. This was like years ago and I wasn't ready for like sex yet, so, you know, it didn't last too long." "Yeah, I remember that," said Mackenzie. "That was like cool, then like not." "Anything I should know about him?" I asked. "Well, you'd better leave him alone if his team loses. He gets really pissed." "I found that out earlier," said Alex. "My shoulder will probably never feel the same." We continued this conversation all the way home. As usual, I got home before Kevin, because he took the bus. I drank some ice tea and relaxed for a little bit before my brother came in. "Hi," I said. "Have a nice day?" "Yeah it was OK. I know you must have otherwise you wouldn't ask." I was a bit thrown back. Kevin, on occasion, could be very perceptive. "As a matter of fact, I did. This really cute guy asked me out. The rest is none of your business." "Okay, whatever. I need to be changed." "I know." I changed him out of his disposable and put him in thicker cloth diapers and left him to go about his pre- adolescent life. I washed my hands, and began my homework. Not that I was able to get a whole lot done, with me thinking about Scott and all. When at last I was able to finish most of it, I called Stacy, and we talked for awhile. Kevin was bugging em to get off the phone so he could get on the Internet. I told him to wait, and I finished my conversation. I knew one of Kevin's hobbies was looking at diaper related pages, but he'd be very upset if I told him that I knew. By this time, my mom was home, so I decided to see what kind of mood she was in. Fortunately, she wasn't very upset. I was in such a good mood myself that I volunteered to cook dinner. Normally, I didn't enjoy cooking too much. I was nice to everybody for the rest of the day. When we were gathered around the TV to watch the Simpsons, my dad at last asked me what I was so happy about. Before I could answer, Kevin told them. "She's got a new boyfriend," he said. "Oh," said my mom. "Is he nice?" "Ya, really nice," I said. I wasn't about to get into the details with my parents. At around 8:30, I got Kevin ready for bed. I changed his diaper, which was loaded, and put him in his extra thick night time diapers. "Good night, Kevin" I said. "Good night, Ally" he answered. I watched for a few minutes as he drifted off to sleep. I don't know if he realizes this or not, but he sucks his thumb in his sleep. Oh well, I guess it's one of those things that I just can't figure out about him. I watched TV until 10, the read for awhile before going to sleep. I couldn't help but thinking about Scott again. I was so scared things wouldn't work out. Part III Scott I was very excited that Friday. I wasn't able to concentrate on anything in school. Fortunately, I didn't have any tests, and I didn't learn anything really important. I talked to Scott, and he was looking almost as forward as I was to our date. It was like heaven on earth. "Imminization of the Escaton" as Alex told me it was called. Walking home, everyone was talking about Scott. "So, what are you going to wear?" asked Mackenzie. "I was thinking that dress I got at the mall," I said. "You can do better then that," said Stacy. "Well, I don't want to look like a cheap whore, but maybe I can." "Definitely," said Amy. "remember, makeup and the hair are just as important." "Totally," said Mackenzie. "Yeah, I'll remember that." It pissed me off how my friends thought I didn't know a thing about dating. If Scott really liked me, he wouldn't care if I looked perfect or not. Nonetheless, I wanted to look nice. When I got home (a little later then normal), Kevin walked in the door about a minute after me. I changed him, grabbed a quick snack. Since it was Friday, I didn't get much homework. I decided to go online and chat for a little while. When I got to the computer, I noticed Kevin left one of his stories by the computer. They were about kids wearing diapers. He got them from the net, and printed them out, then read them. Sometimes, he would forget to take them. The first time I saw one, I thought it was a little perverted, and threatened to tell mom and dad about it. He pleaded with me not too, and showed me a more pleasant one. It wasn't bad at all, and was beginning to see how he got his enthusiasm over diapers, only it would be something I'd never share. "Kevin, you left a story here," I called. Kevin came waddling upstairs in his thick diapers to retrieve his story. He never wore pants around the house. When he got there, I could tell he was a little nervous. "You didn't read it, did you?" "No." "You sure?" "Yes, now take it before I change my mind." He snatched it out of my hand and retreated with it into his room. I went to AOL and checked my mail. Chain letters and advertisements mostly, but there was one survey and a collection of jokes. I chatted with Alex for a little bit, checked out some cool web sites, then signed off and listened to some music. After checking the time, I realized I'd better get moving. I got dressed, did my hair, put on some make-up, and looked at myself in the mirror. I'm not a conceited person, but I had to admit I looked pretty good. I only hoped Scott thought so. Scott was old enough to drive, and even had his own car. Although it was old (and according to Alex not worth the $800 he spent on it), it was still his and I thought that was pretty cool. I felt suddenly anxious when I saw it pull up to my house at around 7:00. I got in and we drove to a pizza place, talking a little bit along the way. While splitting a pepperoni pizza and drinking Cokes, I was able to find out a lot about Scott. He was a star athlete and played 3 sports (football, basketball, and baseball). He also had an older brother who was a college sports star, and a dog named Champ. When he wasn't with friends or on the field, he wrote a little. Essays on what sports mean to him, and tales of the rise and fall of sports stars. "Wow, you write?" I asked. "Yeah. I always have, just not a lot. I didn't think I was any good until Alex helped me out a bit." "Cool." I was amazed by the fact he wrote It was what separated him from all the other dumb jocks, and proved that his whole life wasn't sports (well, even if the writing was, it was still something). It was going fine until he started asking em questions. "So, you got any brothers or sisters?" "Yeah. My brother Kevin. He's 8 1/2, and he's adopted." "Cool." I knew Scott would freak out if I told him Kevin was still acting like a baby, so I didn't mention it. "OK, I have a question for you," I said. "What is your all time favorite movie?" I knew this to be a good question to ask. If he was a jerk, he'd answer with something like "Die Hard" with the reason being that it had a lot of shooting. If he was a good guy, then maybe he'd pick something with a bit more substance. Of course, any guy could just answer "The Joy Luck Club" to appear as sweet and sensitive. I knew it was a flawed way to try and judge people, but it's prevented me from going further with a lot of potential losers. "Well, let me see," he said. "I really liked `Varsity Blues,' but my favorite movie of all time would have to be `Brian's Song.' It was pretty sad, and even my dad cried during it. And he's like really tough." Wow, I was impressed. "Well, what's yours?" "Mine?" I said. "Oh I don't know. I thought `Fried Green Tomatoes' was good, but I also really liked `Working Girl.'" "Yeah, I remember that." "You liked it?" "No, I hated it." At least he was honest. "But I thought Melanie Griffith was a pretty hot chic back then. Just like you." He reached across the table and kissed me. I kissed him back, on the mouth. It felt really good. There was nobody around to tell us to cut it out, so we kissed each other some more, and he put his hands on me. I had definitely picked the right guy. Regrettably, it was getting late, and I had to go home. Scott gave me a ride and kissed me goodbye. "That was fun," he said. "I hope we can do it again some time." "Ya, me too. Bye." I walked in, and my parents asked me how it went. "Good," I told them. "Really good." We dated for awhile after that. I also hung out with him more and followed him around both in school and out of it. Some of his friends were jerks, but they didn't give me a hard time. My friends got along just fine with him, and they still thought it was really cool that we were dating. Though it was no fault of mine, I inadvertently made myself enemies with a lot of jealous sluts who thought it was their turn. I remember after his team won the state basketball championships, he partied with his friends for awhile. I was getting pissed off and had worried he'd forget about me or something, but he walked in later on and we were soon all over each other. I'm not going to say what went on, but it was great. Of course I knew that all good things must come to an end, but I didn't want to think about that then. It was too perfect. Part IV April Angst I was born in April, and it was supposed to be my good month. I don't know if it has anything to do with me being a Taurus or not, but it was far from good. The first thing that started to slide were my grades. They dropped from B's to C's, and my parents were a little pissed. They warned me to bring them back up or I'd be grounded. I also began to gradually notice that Scott wasn't as perfect as I imagined he'd be. He began to play baseball, and liked all sports, he went in with a can do can't lose attitude. Well, one day his team lost a game, and he got drunk with his friends. After taking one look at him, I decided to leave him alone and let him sober up. The problem was, his team hit a losing streak and he became drunk more and more often. Fortunately, he was sober and well behaved when he met my parents. I could tell he was a little uncomfortable with Kevin wearing diapers, and in the back of his mind might have thought he was a retard, but as long as he didn't hurt Kevin, I didn't care. Overall, my parents approved of him. Then again, they didn't see him when he was drunk. One day he was suppose so meet me some place, and he showed up an hour late and drunk as hell. I usually wouldn't provoke him, but I was a bit angry at him myself, and communication was always supposed to be healthy. "Where the hell were you?" I asked. "Why you gotta ask?" "Well, gee Scott, your only an hour late and smell like beer. That all but gives it away, but I'm askin so I can hear you say it." "I was drunk okay! You happy bitch!" "Yeah, you've been drunk a lot lately, and you've been treating me really bad. You think I'm happy?" "Look, I'm sorry, but I don't like to lose. As soon as we start winning, I'll cut back a bit. It's not like I'm addicted. Until then, shut the fuck up and leave me alone." "Why don't you take that bottle and shove it up your ass. It's probably healthier!" At first I thought he was going to hit me. Hell, he probably should have. At least that way he'd realize how fucked up he was. Instead, he just kept on insulting me. "You're the pathetic one, not me. Your friends are sluts, and your brother is a diaper-wearing retard." I then got really angry and started to cry. I kicked Scott as hard as I could in his shins, and screamed "I hate you!" It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if it didn't happen on my birthday. "Yeah, well happy birthday, bitch!" I walked home, slowly and still very upset. The walking helped me feel better a bit, but I was still upset. How could that happen? How could that possibly happen? When I got there, I saw that both of my parents' cars were gone, meaning that Kevin was the only one home. I walked in and slammed the door closed. "You look sad," said Kevin. "Yeah, well I am!" I shouted. I then realized I shouldn't take it out on him, and calmed down a bit. "Sorry, I'm really upset, that's all." "Did Scott do anything mean to you?" he asked. "Yeah," I said, sobbing a bit. How could he possibly know that? "But your too young to understand." "That must really suck," he said. Mom would tell him to watch his mouth, but I didn't care. "Yeah, it does suck. Hey, where are mom and dad?" "They went out." "You home alone?" "No Alex is here, he's just went outside to get something, that's all." "Oh great," I said. I wasn't quite ready to tell my fiends, but I guess I had too now. Alex would understand. "Surprise," said Alex, coming in through the other door. "Hi," I said. "Ally, what's wrong he asked me?" I almost started crying again, and then just managed to say it was Scott. "Want to talk about it?" he asked. I nodded and we walked upstairs to my room. I told Alex about Scott, and he got pretty upset. "That son of a bitch, I'll kill him," he said. "Not your fault, don't get involved," I said. "Actually, it is my fault. He asked em some stuff about you so he could impress you and I helped him out." "You mean he lied to me?" "No, he didn't lie. He probably meant what he was saying, but half of what he was saying were my words. I'm sorry." "That's OK. I just didn't wish this had to happen on my birthday." "It could be worse," he said, handing me a tissue. "Here, happy birthday." He gave me a birthday card with a hilarious joke on it. Inside was a really nice poem and a gift certificate to a store I liked. "Awe, thanks," I said. "No problem." "I'd better call Stacy." "You sure you want to do that?" "I have to." "OK, I'll go see how Kevin's doing." If there was one thing about Alex I really liked, it was that he got along with Kevin better then any other of my friends. Stacy was nice to him, but she sometimes bullied him (in fun of course), and Mackenzie and Amy just sort of pitied him. Alex actually treated him like a person. I called up Stacy and told her what happened. She sounded really angry. "That little prick!" she screamed into the phone. "Oh well, you don't need him. Come on, we'll all go to the mall tomorrow, get you a lot of new stuff and when you come back, you'll really able to make him regret doing that." "I dunno about that." "Ally, face it, your going. Now just try to relax until then, and we'll have some fun." "OK, but please don't tell anybody about what happened." "Even Amy and Mack?" "You can tell them, but just don't twist it around." "OK. Bye, and happy birthday." "Bye." "So, was she as pissed as I was?" Alex asked. "Even more," I said. "She considers going to the mall to be therapeutic." "Actually, that's not a bad idea. I'll see you tomorrow." "Bye Alex." "Bye Scraps." Shortly after he left, my parents came home. We went out for dinner, as it was my birthday. I didn't talk to them about it but it came up somehow during dinner. "That's awful," said my mom. "And a damn shame," added my dad. "You know, that boy might have had a bright future. Instead, he wastes it by getting drunk and insulting people. People like that don't get very far." "Yeah, I know." "Well, don't let that get you down honey," said my mom. "There are other boys, and it is your birthday." When we got home, my mom gave me a sweater (a pretty nice looking one at that), and my dad gave me a check (he knew I liked to handle my own money). Kevin gave me a book on nature and a stuffed fox to add to my collection of stuffed animals. "I had to save up for it," he said. "Happy birthday." "Thanks," I said, giving him a hug. While my arms were around him, I slipped a finger down his plastic pants and checked his diapers. They were in need of changing. "I'll take care of it," said my mom. I decided to watch "Working Girl" again, even though I had seen it many times. Every time I saw Alec Baldwin, I kept on seeing Scott. And every time I saw Harrison Ford, I saw Alex. That didn't mean much, I thought. Scott is a bastard, and Alex is my friend. Makes sense, right. The next day, a Saturday, I wore my new sweater and some black pants. My mom gave me and my friends a ride to the mall and wished us happy spending. "If this doesn't cheer you up, nothing will," said Stacy. She handed me a box that contained a little talking robot that could be programmed to repeat what you say (like a parrot). "Happy birthday, Ally," it said in a mechanical voice. "Oh cool," I said. "Thanks a lot." "This is totally you," said Mackenzie, handing me a new fleece pullover. "Like, this too," said Amy, giving me a bottle of Tommy girl perfume. "Thanks a lot," I said. "You didn't get her anything, you loser," Stacy said, smacking Alex in the back of his head. "Yes I did, and I gave it to her yesterday," said Alex, smacking her back. I dreaded the day when a serious fight broke out between the two of them. "Now enough of this and lets go spend money. We toured the mall looking at some stuff, and buying others. I wound up with some new CD's, some shoes (can never have enough), another stuffed animal, some clothes, and a few other items. Alex got himself a really nice looking hockey jersey to add to his collection. It was Anaheim, I think, and it was like jade and purple, and it had a duck on it. I was tempted to get one myself, but I knew Stacy would laugh at me non-stop if I did. Just as we were having a good time, I looked a few feet in front of me and who should I see but Scott and his friends. "Let's go tell him," said Stacy. "No, I think we should keep walking," I said. "Allison!" Scott called. "Can we talk?" "She doesn't want to talk to you," Alex said. "Shutup, loser," said one of Scott's friends. "Look, I know I said a lot of stuff," said Scott. "And I'm really sorry. So can we please just talk this over?" I was vaguely tempted to, but I was also flooded with memories from yesterday. "I know you were drunk," I said. "And might not have meant most of what you said. But you still said it. I don't hate you, I didn't meant that. But I don't love you either. Goodbye, Scott." We walked away without another word said. I almost started to cry again, but then I realized my friends were there for me, who needs him. We waited for my mom to pick us up, and she didn't take to long. "Have a nice time?" she asked. "Yeah," I said. When I got home, Kevin asked me the same question. I gave him the same answer, and he began to initiate a play fight with me. I held him down, and told him to stop before something happens. "Something already did happen," he said grinning. I knew he was referring to his diapers. "OK, I'll change you in a minute." I had Kevin cleaned up and re-diapered in no time flat. "You know what I want for my birthday?" he asked me. "What?" I answered. "A crib," he said. I laughed a lot at this. It was the first time I had really laughed all day. Part V Alex Life got better a bit after breaking up with Scott. A few nasty rumors went on about me, but a lot of girls admired that I was strong enough to stand up for myself against somebody like that. Also, I was single again and I knew a lot of guys that might like me, but I was in no rush to go on a date. I noticed some tension occurring between some of Scott's friends and Alex. Some of the nasty comments directed at him were for him sticking up for me, and some of them were out of sheer jealous hatred. Alex was able to supply his own insults and ignored most of the threats. This went on until it all turned very serious on Friday. I was in History when I heard this kid Jeff bragging about how he and a few of his friends were going to jump some kid after school. I was a bit afraid that this kid might be Alex. My suspicion was confirmed when David, who worked in my lab group in chemistry told me he heard another kid named Ted talking about the same thing and mentioned Alex's name. At lunch, I decided to update my friend on the situation. I didn't want to see him get hurt. "Alex, I've been hearing stuff, and it sounds like a couple of kids really want you dead." "I want to see them motherfuckers try," he said, almost proudly. "Don't tell me your actually going to fight them. Please, don't do that." "Look, they are a couple of white athletes. They aren't going to be using knives. I know a lot about fighting, and if they really piss me off I'll go psycho on their ass. So don't worry about it." "That kid is impossible," said Stacy. She didn't quite realize how serious this was. After school, I told Stacy that I'd stick around and see what was going to happen. I found Alex in the gym waiting. "What are you doing here?" he asked. "Don't fight them," I said, as bluntly as I could. "Look, I appreciate that you're watching my back, but if I don't fight them they'll never leave me alone. Getting beat is the only thing these kids will understand as defeat. They don't see that they are losers until they lose." I couldn't really argue that. "I'm going to stick around anyway." "Good, I could use an audience," he said with a laugh. "Seriously though, this is my fight, Scraps, so don't get involved." I watched from the gym teacher's office as the aggressors entered. There were 5 of them: Jeff, Ted, Kenny, Eric, and Troy. I noticed Scott wasn't there. "You dumb punk, you actually showed up?" asked Kenny. "Like I would miss an opportunity to whip your ass?" "Fuck you." "Right back at you. Let's get this on. But I'm warning you, you'd better fight fair. So who's first?" Kenny stepped up and began to swing away. Alex threw an uppercut to his chin and delivered a soccer-style kick to his shins. Kenny began to curse at him and let his friends take over. Alex beat up Ted and Troy, but then Jeff and Eric really pounded him. While he was down, all 5 of them began to hit him again and again and again. It was painful to watch. He just didn't give up. he kept on cursing at them until they finally kicked him a few times and left him there. When I was sure they were gone, I emerged. Alex was on the floor. He was bleeding in several places, and he looked like he was in really bad shape. His jeans were torn and frayed. He wasn't crying, but he was pretty upset. I tried to prevent myself from panicking and helped him up. "They cheated!" he grumbled angrily. "The motherfuckers cheated!" "Your lucky you didn't get killed." "Yeah, well I'm as good as dead when my parents find out. And this hurts like hell." "Alex, do you trust me?" "Yeah I trust you." "Then come here." He put his arm around me to help keep himself up and we slowly set out for my house. Neither of said much, accept for him occasionally cursing himself for allowing this to happen. As fate would have it, it started to rain as well. Nonetheless, we made it there in one piece. I opened the door and we walked inside. Fortunately, my parents weren't around. "Getting home a little late?" asked Kevin. Then he saw Alex and said, "Wow, what happened to you?" "Kevin, shut up and don't say a word about this!" I scolded him. We walked upstairs and into the bathroom. The upstairs bathroom was essentially mine, and Kevin only used it to take a bath and brush his teeth. While in camp, I had taken a course in first aid, and it was about to come in handy. "Okay, I need to see how bad this is," I said somewhat firmly. He nodded and began to strip. Despite being thin, he was still somewhat muscular and despite being so badly messed up, he still had a fairly nice body. I wasn't thinking about it much. Instead, I was looking for signs of injury. He had bruises all over the place, as well as a few cuts. There was also a wet spot on his boxers, but I didn't want to embarrass him by bringing it up. "I'll go wash your clothes. Here, go ahead and wash yourself off and I'll be right back," I said. I took his clothes and put them in the washing machine, and went about looking for something he could wear in the meantime. I had a long T-shirt and a pair of sweat pants that I hadn't worn in a long time. As far as underwear went, however, he was out of luck. I decided to improvise a bit. I hoped he wouldn't mind wearing one of Kevin's diapers. I returned to the bathroom and set down the clothes. "One more thing," I said. I opened the medicine cabinet and took out a bottle of isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab. "Oh, hell no," he said. "I know it stings, but it's better then getting an infection," I said. I applied a bit of the stuff to a swab and began to put it on some of his wounds. He didn't scream or cry like Kevin did, and pretty soon it was over. "There, that wasn't so bad. I got you some clothes. I hope you won't mind wearing one of Kevin's diapers while your clothes are in the laundry." "Better then nothing," he said, and I left him alone awhile. I just prayed he didn't get into trouble for this. Part of the reason he was fighting was because he stuck up for me, so I figured I owed it to him to help him out as much as I could. A few minutes later, he joined me on the couch and we watched TV. He still didn't say much. "You aright?" I asked, expecting a sarcastic answer. "Not particularly," he replied. I looked down at him again, and I noticed a damp spot beginning to spread across his crotch. Apparently he noticed it too, and got quite upset. "Fuck, I don't believe this. I'm really sorry," he said. "That's aright," I said trying to calm him down a bit. "It washes off. Your probably just a bit upset, that's all." He nodded, and I motioned for him to follow me. This time, we went up to Kevin's room. "Lie down," I said, pointing to the changing pad. He looked at me little startled, but complied. I took off my sweatshirt and tossed it aside. Then I kneeled down and took off the wet sweatpants. The cloth diaper he was wearing was soaked. I took that off and tossed it in the pail. He looked a little embarrassed, as he was now naked from the waste down. I took a disposable diaper and slid it under him. Next, I sprinkled baby powder on him just like I did Kevin. I could see he was starting to get an erection for all this attention and was embarrassed about it, so I tried to ignore it. I taped the diaper shut, and it fit (though just barely). He sat up and looked at me with a combination of confusion and fear. I sat down next to him and put my arm around him. A single tear dripped down his cheek. "It's all right," I said softly, and began to run my fingers through his hair. I always admired Alex's hair. He didn't ruin it by dying it, or getting his head shaved. He kept it neatly combed, and was very particular about it. "Scraps, why are you doing this?" he asked, his voice trembling. "Because we're friends and we're there to help each other," I said. I tried to smile, but looking at him, I just couldn't. He still looked very angry, at those kids, at himself, and at everyone. I held out my hand and he grabbed it. "Do you trust me?" he asked. "Sure," I said, unsure of what he was going to do next. He took my thumb and put it in his mouth and slowly began to suck on it. It felt really weird, but it also felt pretty good. The anger seemed to fade away at last. "Thanks," he said. Then after a pause, he added, "so what now?" "We wait until my parents get back. I'll explain this to them and they'll talk to your parents, and you won't get in any trouble." "I sure hope that works," he said. "In the meantime, try to relax." I gave him a pair of shorts to wear over his diaper, and we went back downstairs and watched a little more TV. I also explained briefly to Kevin what was going on, and got him changed as well. "Want something to drink?" I asked. "Coke, please," said Alex. "Could you get me one, too?" asked Kevin. "OK, 2 Cokes coming right up." I got 2 cans of soda and a 3rd for myself and dispensed them. Kevin began to ask Alex questions about the fight. I felt like smacking him, but Alex didn't seem too upset. He answered most of them, and Kevin was impressed with how he handled kids that big. I noticed Alex squirming and looking a bit uncomfortable. "It's OK to go when you have a diaper on," I told him. He nodded, and began to wet his diaper. "Much better," he said. "Do you want me to change you?" I asked. "No, I don't even feel wet. This is kinda cool." "It gets better," Kevin said. "Well," Alex said. "It could be a lot worse." We spent some time chatting about typical teenage stuff. Alex for the most part had returned to his normal sarcastic self. In fact, there wasn't any noticeable difference in him at all except for what he was wearing. It was a welcome recovery. After he had wet the diaper a second time, he very quietly asked me if I could change him. It was clear he was embarrassed about it, but who wouldn't be. Besides, I wasn't going to say no. The kid was emotionally shaken up, and he couldn't help it. He needed me to look after him for the time being. I took him upstairs to Kevin's room and changed him. In the meantime, I heard my parent's cars pulling up to the house (it wasn't unusual for them to arrive home at the same time). I got downstairs to inform them of what was going on before they started to ask Kevin. Luckily, he didn't tell them already. "Hi, honey, what's going on?" my dad asked me. "A lot," I said. "And not all of it's good." I told them the whole story and initially they didn't react to it. "Well," said my dad. "That is definitely not a very good situation to be in. I don't condone fighting, but if what you said was true, and I wouldn't accuse you of lying, then Alex did something quite commendable. On the other hand, it was very stupid. And now he's hurt because of it." "We both know how his parents can be," said my mom. "Dear, I think we should help him out on this one." "Please," I said, my eyes begging. "I'll see what I can do," said my dad. "But in the meantime, I'd like to talk to him. To make sure he's OK." I went upstairs and told him it was safe to come down. He crept downstairs slowly and cautiously, and the crinkling sound his diaper made was audible. I couldn't do much more for him, it was up to him to convince my parents. They asked him a few questions, and he answered them with the truth. At last my parents seemed satisfied and agreed to make sure no further harm became of him (his parents were nice people most of the time, but totally flipped out whenever Alex got into trouble). My dad was on the phone with Alex's dad for awhile, and the conversation got quite heated at some points. While this was going on, I got his clothes form the wash and transferred them to the dryer. He spent some time entertaining Kevin and I watched as they played together. I wished that I was able to bond like that to my brother, but there was some degree of distrust and sibling rivalry instilled, and no matter what I did, I couldn't remove it. When at last Alex's parents came, there was a brief exchange of words between his parents and mine, and then he was off. "Thanks a lot," he said on his way out. "No problem," I called after him. Hopefully, he'd be OK. Part VI Secrets Revealed The next day was Saturday. I was able to sleep in until about 8:00. I have never really been one for sleeping in late. Kevin got up about a half hour after me. "Good morning, Kev," I said. "Good morning, Ally," he answered. "Want some pancakes?" I asked him. "Yeah!" he responded enthusiastically. Kevin has always complimented me on my pancakes, and most of the time I made them just for him. "OK, but you have to go get the paper." "No problem," he answered. Our house had a fence around it, so nobody would be able to see him in just his diapers when he went out. When he brought the paper in, we both looked at the front page. He then took the sports section, while I grabbed the today section. No good movies playing and not much interesting. I cooked pancakes with chocolate chips in them. I took one for myself and gave the rest to Kevin. He said they were very good, and I had to agree with him. After breakfast, I took him up to his room and changed him out of his wet diapers. I then showered and got dressed. My parents, in the meantime, were just getting up. Kevin had made plans to go over a friend's house, and my parents were having lunch with friends of theirs, leaving me in an awkward situation. I'm 16 and female. I'm supposed to be the one with all of the plans. I really didn't have much of anything to do that day, so I called up my friends and invited them over to hang out for a little bit. We didn't do much more then talk, but the topics of conversation were pretty interesting. We shared the latest gossip with one another, and then got into a debate about which was cuter: Backstreet Boys or n Sync. Stacy and I both thought they looked gay while Mackenzie and Amy adored them. Eventually, we got around to talking about Alex. "So, what happened?" asked Stacy. "Did he fight?" "Yeah, he fought." "I'll bet he got his ass kicked." "Yup." "What a dork. I told him not to fight." "He got hurt pretty bad." "That sucks," said Amy. "Totally," said Mack. I didn't really want to tell them exactly how messed up he was yesterday, and I didn't want Stacy teasing him in his absence either, so I changed the topic. "Want to go out for pizza later?" "Sure." "Ya-huh." "All right." "So, I'll see you guys at like 6:30, OK?" "Fine." About 15 minutes after they left, who should show up but Alex himself. He looked a lot better then he did yesterday, but he was still scarred. "Feeling better?" I asked him. "Yeah," he answered, then added. "Some stuff I have to tell you." "OK, come on in and we'll talk about it." He entered and said hello to Kevin, who had since returned. then we sat down in my room and I waited to hear what he had to say. "Well, after I left here yesterday, I went to the hospital. I didn't break anything, but I tore a muscle here." He pointed to the bandage around his hand. "So it's not too bad." "It gets worse. My parents were pretty pissed at me, but they gave me a chance to explain what happened. I told them, and they got even more pissed. But then I also told them why I took those kids on, and they were a little more understanding. They kept on asking me questions and stuff, and I was telling them some things that I knew I'd live to regret talking about. Surprisingly, they didn't get too mad and we worked something out." "What's the verdict?" "Well, the next time I have a problem, they want me to tell them whatever it is. I was stupid enough to agree to that." "That's not stupid at all." "Yeah, well you don't know half of what my problems are." "Care to share some?" "According to a psychiatric examination I got about an hour or 2 ago, I suffer from depression." "I knew about that one already. You never smile." "I also have repressed violent tendencies." "I didn't know that....." "Maybe I shouldn't say any more." "No, it's OK, go ahead. Some times it's good to talk about this stuff." "I seem to have an obsession with death and I'm on track to experience some of it very soon." "You're not going to kill anybody, right?" "I hope not, but sometimes it's hard to resist thinking about doing it. Furthermore, the only way I can experience any degree of happiness at all is through regressive tendencies." "What?" "By pretending that I'm like a little kid again." "OK. You're right, you do have a lot of problems, but everyone has problems." "Not like this, I'm a freak!" "You are not a freak. Your just an individual." "What's that supposed to mean?" "Look, I see you doing all kinds of crazy stuff that looks like fun, but I'm too afraid to try it." "Don't envy me, I'm not worth it." "Yeah you are. Your smart, your funny, and your not afraid to be yourself." "Thanks, but answer me this. If all of that is true, then why do I feel like I'm cut off from the rest of the world half the time?" "Because your shy and sometimes afraid, I guess. But I still think your great." "Yeah?" By this time what I was saying had gone beyond me just being a good friend. As I was talking, I realized I'd been making a big mistake for quite some time. I went out with Scott and a few others before him because he was popular and attractive. And while those were good qualities to have, he also had a lot of bad ones as well. The guy I should have gone out with was sitting right next to me. He wasn't as popular as Scott or the others were, but I knew he would never get drunk and hurt me. I once heard that love ruins friendships. It was a risk I was willing to take. "Yeah," I answered. I then kissed him on the lips. "What was that for?" he asked. I then got very nervous. Maybe he didn't like me. "You had it coming to you," I managed to reply. "I've thought about the idea of us before. I never thought it would work." "Want to find out?" "Hell yeah." He kissed me back and we put our arms all over each other. We were interrupted when I sensed he was slowly wetting himself. He let go and looked down at his crotch. "Fuck! I'm sorry." "It's OK, it happens," I answered. "Maybe I'm just nervous," I said. "That was the first time I've ever kissed anybody." "You did a pretty good job then." "Thanks, so did you." We were again interrupted, this time by Kevin entering my room. I could tell he needed a change. "Be right back," I told Alex. I took Kevin into his room and changed him. While I was there, I asked him how he felt about wearing diapers. "I love them," he answered. "They feel all soft and warm. It's like wearing a pillow." I laughed then asked him if he thought Alex would like wearing them. "He told me he might." "When was this?" I asked. "Awhile ago," he answered. "I wasn't supposed to tell." "Well, I'm glad you did," I told him and patted his head. "Hey Alex, come here for a minute." "Yeah?" "Would you like wearing diapers?" "What?" "Well, you said you feel happier when you act younger, and Kevin said you might." He gave Kevin an angry stare. "She forced it out of me," Kevin said, then walked away. "Yes, I would like wearing them. You weren't supposed to find out about that, though." "Why?" "Cuz it's weird." "It's OK to be weird. Come here and I'll put some on you." He cautiously approached the changing pad and at last lied down on it. He looked really nervous. "You OK?" "Yeah, this just kind of reminds me of when I visited the doctor's for a check-up a while ago. It was all cold and the guy kept on looking at me. Made me feel scared. I know doctors save lives and help people, but I hate the medical profession. Death's supposed to be part of life and their screwing with natural selection." "I don't agree with you there, but you have nothing to be scared about." I untied his shoes and took them off. Next, I stripped him off his slightly wet pants. He began to feel more relaxed, but the tension returned when I took off his boxers. He had a pretty big erection. At least now I was sure he liked me. "You want disposable or cloth?" I asked him "Disposable," he answered. I took a disposable diaper and set it out under him. Next, I put powder on him like I did for Kevin. I taped the diaper up. It was a snug fit, but it did the trick. I then took his wet pants and put some water on them. They'd dry off pretty quick. "Thanks," he answered. He was actually smiling. "Don't mention it," I told him. We walked downstairs and sat on the couch and joined Kevin in watching a movie. "Now we match," Alex told him. "Your not angry at em for telling, are you?" "No, not at all. I'm glad you did, cuz I don't think I would have been able to. You're not angry at me for going out with your sister are you?" "You're going out? Cool." "Yup. And it just keeps on getting cooler, right, Ally?" "Sure." "Hey, since you've done a lot for me so far, let me do something for you," Alex said. "Anything bothering you?" "Not really." "You're sure." "Well, OK. Sometimes I get really scary dreams." "Not scarier then mine. I had one that lasted 5 hours once and it..." "OK, not that scary, but still pretty bad." "More, por favor." "It's like everyone I know is on a bus, and we're headed for a cliff, and I'm shouting that we're going to go off the edge and nobody's listening." "Well, then they're assholes. Screw them." "No, but it'd be really bad if that happened." "Yes it would, but it won't. Besides, people will listen to you if your right, and even if your wrong sometimes." "You think so." "Yup." I put one of my arms around Alex and the other around Kevin. I could have stayed there for ever, had I not remembered that I was supposed to be elsewhere. "Shit. I promised I'd meet Stacy, Amy and Mack for pizza in a few minutes." "So go." "But I'd rather be here." "So don't go." "But that'd be a mean thing to do to my friends." "So the 2 of us will go." "But I'm really not supposed to leave Kevin alone like this." "So all of us will go." "OK." "Wait a minute, I can't go around wearing this." "So what if people see you wearing diapers," said Kevin. "Most of them can't even tell and the ones that do don't do anything." "Aright, then let's bounce." "Wait, before we go, anyone need a change?" I asked. "No." "No." "OK then." As we headed out the door, I found myself wondering how people would react to Alex and me. They had enough trouble reacting to just Alex alone. Oh well, I'm going to have fun no matter what. Chapter VII May Mayhem The three of us walked into the pizzeria a little after 6:30. Well stocked with quarters, Kevin took off to play some video games almost right away. Alex and I found the rest of our group already waiting for us. "Hey what took you so long," Stacy said. "Hi Alex." "Sup?" he answered. "So are you like feeling better?" asked Amy. "Yeah, lots." "Well Ted and the rest of them are total assholes," said Mackenzie. She used to date Ted back in 8th grade and could make that statement quite honestly. "Yeah, well me and Brent will get them back." "Just don't get hurt doing it," I said. "Revenge isn't worth it." "Sure it is, but I'll debate that later. Let's get some food." We all agreed to that and got 2 large pies. Kevin returned from his gaming escapades to eat with us. Stacy kept teasing him by asking him she wanted her to feed him, and he kept coming back with smart-ass answers. It had been this way for awhile. Honestly, now that I think about it, if they were alone, I believe Kevin would have let Stacy feed him. Alex and I couldn't seem to take our eyes off of each other, and they were beginning to notice. I wasn't quite sure how to tell them yet, and I knew I'd have to be the one to do so. Fortunately, Kevin gave me the perfect opportunity. "Hey Alex, you have any quarters?" he asked. "Yeah." "I want to play you in Marvel vs. Capcom." "Your on, kid." As soon as he left, everyone shifted from receptive friend mode into gossip mode. "All right, what the hell's going on?" asked Stacy. "Like enlighten us," said Amy. "Ya, up the information exchange," said Mack. "Well, OK, I was saving this for later, but me and Alex are going out." "What?!" said Stacy, loud enough for everyone in the place to hear. "No offense, but are you out of your fuckin' mind?" "No. He's a really great guy. It's just kinda hard to see that, but it's there if you look hard enough." "Are we talking about that same person here?" "No, Alex is nice," said Amy. "I remember when I was 11 he fixed my bike for me." "Yeah, and he helped me pass science," said Mack. "I'll tell you more later," I said. I took some pleasure in keeping my friends waiting. They were usually vultures for any kind of information, and I felt special knowing that I had it for once and they didn't. Usually, I was amongst the last to hear about anything. Alex and Kevin returned and Kevin had the telltale sign of worry on his face. He had used his diaper, and unfortunately, I didn't bring any extras. "We've got to get going," I said abruptly. "Cya Monday." "Bye," they said unanimously. "Later," said Alex. We walked back to my house, and I checked Kevin's diaper. He pooped in it and wet it, but he was diapered up thickly enough so that I wouldn't have to change him for a little bit, I always powdered him well enough so that he wouldn't get a rash. Besides, as disgusting as it sounds, I think he might actually enjoy a wet and messy diaper as opposed to a dry one. "How about you, you need changing?" I asked Alex. "No," he answered. I didn't exactly believe him, and pulled down his pants. His diaper looked to be dry from the outside. I put my fingers in and checked from the inside. He had dampened a little, but not much. I could tell he was excited when I placed my fingers there. "Well, I've got to be going," he said. "Cya." "Bye," I said. I gave him a kiss on the cheek before he left. He smiled and almost blushed, then walked out the door. He was getting better at it. Monday proved to be a very interesting day. The word got around about me and Alex, and people responded with mixed results. A lot of people said we were an interesting couple, a few more said they were glad that Alex finally found somebody, and a couple of people asked me if I was getting paid to go out with him. In all honesty, I didn't care what I thought. I was happy, and it was that which counted. Alex and his gang began to plot revenge against the jocks. He wouldn't tell me what he was up to, but he told me he was sure it'd be good. Though I really wanted to know, I decided to trust him on that one. Something really weird also happened. As I was walking to my 2nd period class, I saw this kid walking in the hallways. He must have been around 16 or so, my age. He was wearing really baggy clothing, but his pants seemed to bulge out a bit. I began to wonder if he wore diapers. Stacy told me she saw the same kid and was beginning to think the same thing. We saw him again during lunch, and we tried to talk to him, but he kept avoiding us. "I'll talk to him," said Alex. "He's probably just really shy, and I know what that's like." I watched Alex as he approached the kids. He looked like he was going to depart again, but he had nowhere else to go. "What do you want?" he finally asked. "Just to talk. Hi, my name's Alex." "Jerry." "That's my friend Amy, and that's Mackenzie. Their virtual twins. That's Stacy, you've got to watch out for her. And that's my girlfriend Ally. She's hot isn't she?" I began to giggle. "They've been following me around all day. Why don't you just leave me alone?" "Cuz I want to ask you something." "What?" he asked. He was starting to get nervous. "Here, I'll write it down." He wrote 'do you wear diapers' on a piece of paper and gave it to Jerry. Jerry looked at the paper and became angry. He looked around him and saw a lot of strange, unfriendly kids. At least this one was willing to talk to him, so he felt maybe he could trust him. "Yes," he said solemnly. "So do I." "What? You wear...." "Shh. Yup." "What about your friends? Do they?" "No. You and me are probably the only kids in the school that do, but they know and their still my friends. They can be your friends, too, if you talk to them." "Cool. And we're not the only ones. I go to the nurse to get changed, and I see at least 4 other kids." "Damn, I didn't know that." Meanwhile, Brent came over to our table. He has a habit of showing up from time to time uninvited. "Hey, how's it going? Where's Alex at?" I pointed in the direction of Jerry, and Brent looked none to pleased. "What's he talking to that retarded kid for? He Alex, over here!" "Just a minute," he yelled back. "That's my friend Brent. He can be a pain in the ass, but he's cool." The two of them then walked back and Alex introduced Jerry to all of us. Brent and Jerry then both sat down and lunch got under way. "So, i heard you and her are going together," he said to Alex. "Yup." "Damn, you're lucky." "He's a lot more then lucky," I said. "So, Jerry, you wear diapers," Stacy said in a low voice. Brent burst out laughing until Alex told him to shut up. Jerry nodded. "So does my brother Kevin," I added. "So, your new here or something?" asked Brent. "Yeah. We moved here about a month ago. In my old school, I was really popular but I've had problems finding friends here." "Where's you old school?" asked Mackenzie. "In Orange. It was a special school. Everyone there took regular classes in stuff, but at least half the kids wore diapers. We also did a lot of arts and crafts." "I read about that place, but I wasn't sure if it was real or not," said Alex. "You're lucky to have gone there." "Yeah, I miss it a lot. It was great." "You do anything besides wear diapers?" asked Stacy. "Yeah, I make comic books." "Aright, so your an artist?" asked Brent. "I do the words, too." "Cool." We were able to learn a lot about Jerry during lunch, and while we all agreed that he has lived a very, umm, unique life, we thought it was pretty cool. My own life kept getting better in the meantime. I was able to get a summer job as an assistant to this lady who happens to be a zoologist. It seemed perfect for me. My parents also said I would get $50 if I finished with an A average. With Alex's help it looked plausible (a new word I learned that meant capable of being done but not yet actually done). Speaking of Alex, we developed a nice little routine. Ever day after school, he'd hang out at my house for a little bit. I'd change his diaper and sometimes he'd play like a baby. It was so cute. He could also be very much a man, and that too was fun. We were both really happy together. As the month came to a close, I learned Stacy was going out with Brent (and I thought me and Alex would be a shocker)! I also went to a Sweet 16 party or 2, and played in our school's Multicultural Volleyball game (being part Italian and part Polish qualifies me as multicultural all right). By the time May was over, we were already making plans for the summer. It was agreed that we'd have a party sometime shortly after school ended. Alex also revealed his revenge plan and one of Kevin's friends turned out to be in a lot of trouble. Of course, all that is next month. Chapter VIII Neil It was a bright, sunny Spring day. I had just arrived home, minus Alex because he was sick. I poured myself a glass of iced tea and looked out my window and at the great big maple tree outside. Dr. Rosenbaum would probably appreciate it if I was somehow able to find some sap with an insect intact from that tree. Very narrow chance of that happening. Kevin walked in and I gave him a sisterly hug. I noticed he seemed a little pale. I hoped he wasn't getting sick. "Anything wrong?" I asked him. "No," he said. I sensed that something indeed was bothering him, but I didn't want to push it. "Let's get you changed," I said. I took him up to his room and pulled down his pants and removed his disposable diaper. It must have weighed 5 pounds. I wiped his stinky butt up and put plenty of powder on him. "Can you diaper me really thick?" he asked. "Sure," I answered. I took around 6 or 7 diapers and slid them under him. I used a lot of pins to get them securely on him, and his plastic pants barely fit over them, but he got what he wanted. I washed my hands and left him to play as usual. After I finished my homework, I noticed he was still in his room, playing with a toy car unenthusiastically, same as before. "OK, what's' going on?" I asked. "I had a bad day." "What happened?" "I don't want to tell anybody." "Is it something really really bad?" "I don't think so." "OK. Anything I can do to make it better?" "Can you read me a story?" "Sure." I just finished a 500 page book, so a story or 2 was no big deal. "You want one at bed too?" "Yeah." "Come here," I said. I had an old rocking chair in my room that used to belong to my grandmother. I sat down in it and Kevin sat on my lap. "What do you want to hear?" "I don't know." "How about The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe?" "Yeah." I read him part of the Narinia chronicles, and he seemed to calm down a bit. Whatever was bothering him was slowly going away. It also felt good to be holding him there, and having him sit on my lap like a toddler. With Alex, it had a sexual connotation, but when I babied Kevin, it felt emotionally good. I wanted a child of my own some day, but I was in no rush to get pregnant. My parents got home a short while later, and I helped to cook dinner. I also called my friends up and we exchanged gossip as usual. Stacy kept on complaining about a few of Brent's bad habits while at the same time complimenting him on his body, and Amy and Mack ranted on about their experiences at a carnival. I didn't have too much to share. Lastly, I called Alex to see how he was feeling. He said he was better and would regrettably be back in school tomorrow. He also said his mom changed his diapers while he was sick and treated him just like a baby. I could see why he would regret returning. Come bed time, I changed Kevin's diapers and tucked him in. Then I continued reading him the story. He looked perfectly content as he lie there half listening and half asleep. Kevin was okay for a few more days, but eventually he came home all upset again. This time, he was more upset then previously. Worse yet, he was tight-lipped about it. I was able to gently coerce him into telling me what was wrong, and I was really shocked when I found out. It turned out that Kevin's friend Neil was suffering abuse at the hands of his father. I had seen Neil once before and he looked like your typical, happy kid. According to Kevin, he was until a few weeks ago. Then, for no apparent reason, Neil's father started giving him really bad spankings and yelling at him. Neil was also a bedwetter, and while he previously used a plastic sheet for protection, his parents now forcibly diapered him 24/7. He wasn't allowed to take off his diapers and he was left unchanged for long periods of time. Neil had come to school today with bruises all over the place, and they called the police. This really upset Kevin and me as well. I just couldn't believe anybody would treat their kid like that. I talked about it with my friends and they were likewise shocked and appalled. Alex and Brent thought about going over their and giving the culprits a taste of their own medicine with a baseball bat, but we talked him out of it. When my parents got home, I told them as well. My dad got really pissed and gave this big speech about how ignorant and irresponsibly some people are, and my mom agreed with him. I agreed to, but all of that wasn't doing anything. I wondered if they had taken the parents away. As I later found out, they hadn't. The next day, Kevin came home a bit later then usual. Following him was Neil. He was out of breath and looked like he'd been crying recently. There were also fresh bruise marks on him. Luckily, he wasn't bleeding anywhere. Though I sympathized with the kid, I didn't want to scare him off with attention. "That's my sister Allison," said Kevin, introducing me to him. "And that's Alex." "Hi," we both said. "Hi," he said nervously. "Come over here," I said. He walked over to me awkwardly and I looked him over. He had no open cuts, but was still beaten. From the smell, his diapers were long overdue for a change. How anybody could live like that was beyond me. I gave him a big hug. "What are you going to do?" he asked me. "Well change your diapers for one thing," I said. "You can't," he replied. "There's a lock on them." "Let me see," I responded. I unzipped his worn jeans and pulled them down. He was wearing an enormously large amount of diapers, covered by a thick pair of plastic pants which did have a locking mechanism of some sort. He was actually stuck in his diapers. Even Kevin admitted that he wouldn't want that to happen to him. My dad came home from work early, and I explained the situation to him. Initially, he was fuming, but eventually he calmed down. He made up his mind he'd call the police right away. He thanked me for telling him and told me to make sure that Neil was okay. In the meantime, Alex tried desperately to get Neil's diapers off of him. He had no success, so he called Jerry. "Do you know anything about locking plastic pants?" "Yeah. My mommy makes me wear them when I'm bad. Why?" Alex explained what was going on and Jerry was willing to help. "I think the key for them is universal." "I hope so." "What's going to happen to me?" Neil asked. I didn't know how to break it to him. He'd definitely be in shock. Fortunately, Kevin already had an explanation ready. "My dad called the police and they're going to take your mom and dad away." "Why?" "Cuz they did bad stuff. But it's only for a little bit. It's until they get better, I guess." "Where am I going to live?" "You can live here," said Kevin amiably. I agreed that it might not be a bad idea. Jerry finally arrived, key to his locking plastic pants in hand. Surprisingly enough, he and Neil knew each other and struck up some conversation. Jerry was able to cheer him up a bit. We tried the key and it worked. Now I was faced with the task of changing him. I took Neil up to Kevin's room and set him down on the changing pad. I removed his now unlocked plastic pants, and took all the pins out of his diapers, and at last removed them. Oh God what a mess. If I wasn't so used to changing Kevin by now, I was sure I would have puked. I wiped him clean with several baby wipes and used a lot of powder on him. I then put him in some relatively light diapers and washed my hands. He was still a bit overwhelmed. I changed Kevin as well while I was at it. My mom came home next and we explained everything to her. She agreed with my dad on his decision, but was a bit hesitant when we suggested Neil stay here for the time being. Upon seeing he had nowhere else to go, she agreed. A policeman showed up 15 minutes later. It was Officer Jenkins, who taught drug education in school. He was pretty cool. "Hi, how are you all doing?" he asked. "Is Neil here?" I brought him forward and Officer Jenkins asked him a lot of questions. "well, we're going to have to take him and have him checked out. Since he doesn't have anywhere else to go, I'm sure he can stay with you folks for the time being." "Thanks Officer Jenkins," I said. The next day, a Saturday, Kevin and I both got up nice and early. I called the police station to see what was going on. I was informed that they had arrested Neil's parents and they were being held on child abuse charges. Neil himself was doing OK, and was having a few tests done on him. Later on, all of us a family took a trip down there. Neil came running up and hugged all of us. "Thanks a lot," he said. "Can I go talk to his parents?" I asked. "Allison, that's not a good idea," said my dad. "Let her express herself, dear," said my mom. "As long as you don't instigate anything, go ahead," my dad relented. I got a chance to visit Mr. and Mrs. Jordan. They weren't overly mean looking people, but after a minute or two it became bitterly clear that they were in fact very harsh. "What do you want?" asked Mr. Jordan. "I just want to know why you did it," I said. "I mean, Neil is your son, don't you love him?" "Sure we do," answered Mrs. Jordan. "But we raise our kid our way, and your family raises you another way." "Yeah, and does you raising your kid call for putting all those bruises on him." "Why you little whore!" began Mr. Jordan. His wife clamed him and gave a more plausible answer. "It's not that simple. You see, most of today's kids get into all kinds of trouble. Drugs, drinking, sex. Their really not nice, and they're a far cry from our generation. So we take an extra step or two to make sure Neil doesn't turn out that way. Plus, Louis just lost his job not too long ago, so it's put a lot of additional stress in our family. We never really meant to hurt Neil." "Oh, okay," I said. I didn't believe a word of what she said. She made it sound like the two of them were fucking perfect and the rest of us were just white trash. As angry as I was, I was willing to let it go when Mrs. Jordan continued with something even more offensive. "Take you, for example. Your a nice, normal girl, right?" "Yeah, I'd like to think so." "You do any drugs?" "No." "Good for you." "Hey, look at the way you dress," said Mr. Jordan. "If those pants could get any tighter..." "And let's not forget the attitude," said Mrs. Jordan. "How dare you come in here and harass us on parenting, young lady!" I couldn't take it anymore. I ran out of there nearly crying. I hoped both of them got sent behind bars. On the way out, Kevin gave them both the middle finger, and my dad gave them a very stern look. None of us wanted to see them ever again. We took Neil home with us, and for 2 weeks, he was a member of the family. I treated him pretty much the same way I treated Kevin, which was nice most of the time. Neil and Kevin formed a very close bond and were in fact a lot like brothers. He was able to get Neil's confidence back up, and the emotional scars healed in line with the physical. Of course, it was a bit of extra work for me to change two diapered boys, but it was worth it if it made them happy. It was sad when we had to say good by to Neil. He had a custody hearing. Apparently, the state had found somebody who really wanted to adopt him. That somebody turned out to be Patricia Lions, a senior at my school! It was good knowing that Neil was going to having a nice, caring person look after him, and that he'd be able to remain friends with Kevin. And by the way, Neil's parents and their insane views on parenting got sent up to the pen. So much for them and their perfect generation. Chapter IX Revenge, Sort of It was another boring Sunday. Worse yet, it was pretty damn hot, like at around 90ish. It was also pretty uncomfortable. As bad as it was for me, it was probably worse for Kevin. I saw him sitting there, probably drenched in urine and sweat and all of it trapped beneath several layers of tightly fitting thick cloth. He never did complain about his diapers, even when it was hotter then this, and I didn't expect him to start now. I was sitting on the porch staring idly outside and looking for any signs of life when Alex and Brent showed up. They were both out of breath and sweating profusely. Oddly enough, they were also both smiling. "What's going on?" I asked. "You are not going to believe what we did to those guys," said Alex. By those guys, I knew he was referring to Jeff, Kenny, Ted, Troy and the others. "Yeah, it was sweet," said Brent. "Well, what did you do?" I asked. I didn't like being kept in suspense. "Here we go," said Alex. "All of them and a couple of girls they were with went golfing. So we followed them there. They were being total jerkoffs as usual. Anyway, Ricky Lekets works at the snack bar. And he owed em a favor for doing Spanish homework for him all last year. So when I saw our targets were getting kinda thirsty and about to buy Cokes, I spiked their drinks a bit." "A bit?" asked Brent. "You put enough fuckin' chemicals...." "What did you put in there?" I asked. "Some fast-acting diuretics, Ex Lax, food coloring so their tongues will turn green, something that will make them very drowsy, lots of salt so they'll have seconds, and lastly a little saliva to top it off." "Eww, and they drank it?" "Yup." "It didn't work right away. But after everyone's second drink, it kicked in." "So, what happened?" I asked. It was an unnecessary question, as I had a pretty clear picture of what happened. Alex's actual account was nearly an exact match, to my astonishment. I pictured all of them hanging out by the pool, collecting a tan. They were probably laughing about something or other, most likely Alex. "So, didn't he like get really mad?" asked Cindy. "Yeah, he said he'd get his revenge," said Kenny. "We're all fuckin' terrified," Jeff said sarcastically. Ted laughed, then found himself getting a little queasy. So did Troy. He knew he was about to puke or mess himself or both, so he took off for a bathroom post haste. His friends weren't as swift thinkers as he was and the results were hazardous. "Hey, I'm not feeling too good," said Jeff. "I'm feeling great," said Kenny. He dove back into the water. "Come on in, the water's great," he said to Pamela. No sooner had he finished his sentence then he released a big smelly fart right in the middle of the pool. Everyone else began moving away from him and a few were laughing. "That wasn't funny," said Pamela. Kenny looked at her red-faced. How did he allow that to happen?" Suddenly, he ripped another one. "You should really control yourself, man," said Jeff. Something he ate or drank caught up with him and before he could finish his wisecrack, he vomited right on Marisa's new shoes. "My shoes!" she shrieked. Jeff looked up at her fearfully. "I'm so fuckin' sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't feel it coming." "Let's see if you feel this coming!" she said, and punched him in the jaw. "Bitch!" She then kicked him in the balls and he fell to the ground moaning. Ted stood there motionless. Suddenly, he felt a hot rush of pee escape him. He tried to make it stop, but he found himself unable to control the flow. He was wetting himself just like a 2-year old. Worse yet, a couple of drops of urine splashed and hit Cindy in the face. "Did you just pee on me?" she said, looking at Ted angrily. The mighty varsity basketball team center flushed bright red and began bawling. "I couldn't help it!" he said. "The hell you couldn't!" She picked up a towel and slapped him in the face with it several times. He backed away and sat shamefully in his sopping wet Speedos. She then turned to Marisa and Pamela, and the three of them began whispering something to each other. They then turned around and looked upon their male comrades with malicious glee. Cindy spread out the towel and told Ted to lie down on it. He nervously approached and she grabbed his hand and planted him there. "What are you doing?" he asked when she reached for his swimming trunks. "Since you can't seem to control yourself like a baby, you should wear a diaper like a baby." "Now way you're putting a diaper on me," he said. As he was about to get up, he found himself getting very tired and sluggish. Before he could react any further, Pamela grabbed his other arm and held him there. Cindy then pulled down his soaked garment, exposing him in front of everyone. Ted blushed uncontrollably. People were now staring, and they could clearly see him. Cindy smacked him 5 times on one of his buttocks and Pamela 5 times on the other. Ted was crying at this point, but he got no sympathy from anyone. Everyone was staring and laughing. The final humiliation came when Cindy brought the folded cloth over him and tied it shut. Ted couldn't believe it, he was wearing a diaper! "You're next!" Marisa told Jeff. "Hell no," he said. "There ain't no way your putting that shit on me." He got up and started to make a stand when Marisa kicked him in his shin and he fell back down. The 3 girls then stripped him naked as well. Much to Jeff's chagrin, everyone saw that his equipment did not live up to his reputation. He got a firm spanking and was diapered as well. Kenny saw what became of his friends and was terrified. He was still in the pool at that point and began to swim to the other side so he could escape his punishment. "Just where do you think your going?" asked Pam. She grabbed him by his waistband and pulled him in. He got the same treatment as his friends and was soon wearing a diaper, too. "We're not done yet," said Pam. She dragged the embarrassed boys up by their ears and hauled them off to the women's locker room. "All right," Jeff thought to himself. "If there are going to be naked chicks, then maybe it's worth it." As if she read his mind, Marisa slapped him across the face. They walked up to the bathroom and into the baby changing area. "What the hell?" Jeff began to wonder. There was a woman their changing her 3 year old son's diaper. She talked to him pleasingly as she changed him, as if he was a newborn. The boy's 9 year old sister stood by, as did his 8 year old brother. "Mom, can you please take this off," said the older boy. "It itches and I feel dumb wearing it." "Well you wouldn't have to if you didn't pee in the pool!" said his sister. "Tiffany!" admonished her mother. "Vern, I'll change your diaper as soon as I'm done with Joey here." She wiped up Joey's bottom and put a fresh Huggies on him and set him down. She then hoisted Vern onto the table and pulled down his swim trunks revealing some very soaked diapers beneath a plastic outer covering. She pulled down the plastic pants and Vern's soaked diapers. She wiped him up as she did Joey, only unlike Joey Vern got a very obvious erection when she did so. Next, she took out a big disposable diaper, like an oversized version of Joey's Huggies and slid it under him. "Mom, why do I have to wear one home!" "Well, you can't wear your wet swimsuit or your wet diapers, you'll get the car wet. And I didn't bring any underwear for you." He and his sister continued to argue, as the mother put all of the diapers in a plastic bag. They were about to leave when Cindy interrupted her. The mother turned around and was a bit shocked at what she saw. There were 3 teenage girls, smiling and accompanied by three teenage boys. The boys were all red-faced and had been crying recently. They also each had a towel wrapped about them like a diaper. "Can I help you?" asked the mother, whose name was Nancy. "Yeah. We were going to ask you if we could borrow a couple of diapers form you. These boys have been naughty and they have to be punished." "I swear I'll (yawn)....." Jeff began. He found himself nearly falling asleep. "Why certainly," said Nancy. "Thanks. This must seem really weird," said Marisa. "Not that weird. Why Vern is 8 years old and he still has to wear diapers sometimes." "Mom!" "Hey wait a minute, doesn't Ally Schraptoski's little brother also wear diapers?" asked Pam. "Yeah and he's like the same age." "See, I told you that you weren't the only boy in diapers," said Tiffany. "Let's get going," said Nancy. The girls then set the boys down and took off their towels. They then put some authentic diapers on them and taped them up tightly. They took the towels and used them to tie the boys hands behind their backs so they wouldn't be able to take them off. They then marched out of their, girls laughing, boys complaining, back to their original spots boy the pool and waited. Troy, in the meantime, had been crapping up a storm and puking is guts out. He just made it to the stall before his fudge factory began working double time. He had a flashback to when he was 7 or so and he had a really bad virus. He got to miss school for a couple of days, but he was really sick. To make things easier, his mommy kept him in diapers the entire time. Tory somehow found himself enjoying wearing diapers, using them at will and getting changed. By the final day when he was feeling much better, he wore the diapers anyway. Then Jeff and Ted and Kenny and Scott all came over to see if he was feeling better. As a sign of support, all of them put on diapers as well and played and had a lot of fun. "Those were the days," thought Troy. "Oh well, fuck that." He wiped his ass, washed his hands and returned to the pool to try to impress those sluts he let tag along. When he got there and saw his 3 friends sitting their tied up and wearing diapers and the 3 girls standing over them smiling, he was pretty damn confused. "What'd I miss?" he asked. "Hello Troy," said Cindy. She pulled out a disposable diaper and a towel. "We've got a little surprise for you." I swear that's how it happened," said Alex, concluding his narrative. "It was mad funny," said Brent. "You definitely should have been there." "Wow," I said. That was quite an incident. Poor guys. Oh well, it must have been a lot of fun for Cindy, Marisa, and Pam. I wonder if Kevin knows that kid Vern. "Well, peace, I'm out of here," said Brent. "I've got to tell people about this." "Take care, man," said Alex. "Yeah, now your not the only one wearing diapers." "Fuck off." "Bye Brent," I said. "Bye Ally." "So, what do you think of my plan?" he asked me. "This is what I think," I said, looking into each others eyes. We kissed each other passionately for what seemed like a blissful eternity. "I've got to get going soon," he said at last. "How about I change you first?" "Thanks. You wouldn't believe how much sweat builds up inside of there. I think I'm sticking to regular underwear for the rest of the day." "Diaper, underwear, no underwear, any way's fine by me as long as your happy." "Glad you care." I had him lie down on Kevin's changing pad and pulled off his shorts and then untaped his diaper. The thing was totally drenched, but judging form the discoloration, not all of it was sweat. I tossed it the pail, and made sure to put on a lot of powder before re-diapering him. Maybe if it was a bit cooler down there he'd decide to keep it on. "See you tomorrow," he said, and kissed me goodbye. I later told Kevin the story and he thought it was especially cool. "I'll check up on that Vern kid," he said, sounding like a 30's private eye. He never ceased to be amusing. I hugged him and checked his diaper. Surely enough, it was dirty and wet. Chapter X Maybe it's the Heat? I'd been waiting about all year for it to happen, but school finally ended! As soon as that final bell rang on the last day of school, every kid darted from the building. I went out to lunch with my friends so that we could celebrate. It would be the last time we'd be together for quite awhile. Mackenzie and Amy were going to the beach and then off to camp as counselors. I would be going on a little trip myself during the summer, and Stacy would probably be right here and being a real pain in the ass to whoever she happened to be around at the time. I actually pitied Brent Aunger. Well, at least I still had Alex. He wasn't going any place that I knew of, and wouldn't be plotting any more schemes. He didn't react to well to the heat and humidity. For once, we'd have plenty of time to spend together. Upon arriving home, I noticed there was a bit of a surprise waiting for me. Kevin apparently had invited a few of his friends over and they were assaulting each other with Super Soakers and water balloons in the backyard. I walked right past them and they didn't even notice me. There was a large sub sandwich waiting for me inside. Courtesy of Geno Traviso, Jr., one of Kevin's friends whose father happens to own a delicatessen. The kid's got connection, I thought. I had myself a little snack (I'd regret it later when the weight started to come on). The noise outside suddenly stopped, and I got curious. I made the mistake of asking why. The moment I stepped out the door, about 6 Super Soakers, pumped and pressurized, and many water balloons hit me. I wasn't as mad as I was scared. It felt like a tidal wave swept me over instead of water from a few squirt guns. I shrieked and shrieked until they stopped their assault. They were on the floor laughing while I was standing there soaking wet. There was an awkward moment of silence before I was able to respond. These kids were just having fun and I could see how this might look like fun , but it definitely wasn't fun for me. They had crossed the line. I shook the excess water off of me and gave Kevin my meanest glare. "You are going to get it!" I told him. His friends laughed even more, and he just stood there with a dumb smile, and his hand on the hose. There was nothing I could do and that pissed me off. Kevin, in the meantime finally lost it and began giggling insanely. "You got soaked and there's nothin' you can do about it," he said in his childish mocking tone. "But there's plenty I can do," said Alex, who was standing right by the fence. He reached on over and grabbed Kevin. Kevin dropped the hose and started screaming and laughing some more as Alex lifted him in the air. "He's going to put the Stone Cold Stunner on you!" warned Geno. "Hit him with the balloons!" Kevin shouted. I looked around and noticed they had more balloons left and were scrambling to pick them up. That left me with plenty of time to pick up the hose. Everyone stopped when they saw me with the hose. "What do you want to do with this one?" asked Alex, talking like a prison warden. "Set him down," I replied. Alex released his grip on Kevin and he dropped back to his feet. He was about to run, but I reached out and grabbed his arm and pulled him close to me. "What are you doing?" he asked. "Oh, just getting a little payback," I said sweetly. I had him lying down on his stomach. With my free hand, I pulled back on the waistbands of his shorts and plastic pants. Then I lowered the hose inside of his diapers. Kevin was now looking distressed, but not yet panicking. "Awe come on, it was just a joke," he pleaded. "I'm sorry." "You had your joke, now here's mine." "No!" I took a deep breath and squeezed the handle. A rush of cold water shot out and Kevin started screaming as it flooded his diapers and his butt. His friends at first looked confused, but then started laughing when they saw what I had done to him. "Cut it out," he pleaded. He then looked up at Alex and begged him to make me stop. "Sorry, but I'm afraid to. She'll probably hit me with the hose if I do." I smiled at him and released my grip on the hose. Kevin breathed a sign of relief. His friends were cracking up beyond belief. "Come on, let's go inside and get changed," I whispered in his ear. "I'm not done playing yet!" he snapped. "Kevin, you're soaked and not all of it is water." I said that line a bit louder. All of his friends knew he wore diapers, and they didn't seem to care. "OK, fine," he said, resigned. I helped him up and told him to go inside and wait for me. I also made the mistake of putting down the hose. Kevin took it and shot water right at my ass, then took off running into the direction of the house. Water flew off of him and he made a distinct sloshing sound as he ran. He would have made it had not Alex reached out and grabbed him for the second time today. He started to apologize frantically. "I'm sorry," he said. "I'll go in and get changed." "You'll get changed all right," I said. "But not inside." He gulped. "You can't do that!" "Sure I can. Alex, would you mind getting the stuff." "OK." His friends still didn't quite comprehend what was going on fully. They weren't prepared for the concept of me changing Kevin outside right in front of them. It was a bit cruel I know, but they weren't going to mock him to death, and it'd be fun to see the look on his face. Alex returned with a disposable diaper, some powder and some wipes. It took both of us to hold Kevin down he was struggling so hard. Finally, Alex got him secure and I began to change him. I peeled off his wet shorts and his friends got a full view of his soaked diapers. They started making wisecracks until I told them to cut it out. Kevin was whining and protesting, so I took a wipe (non-toxic) and shoved it in his mouth. I proceeded to take down his plastic pants and diapers, then powdered him and wiped him down. His friends had turned away by that point. I taped the diaper securely in place and put his shorts aside. He was now standing there wearing nothing but a disposable diaper and a shirt in full view of everyone. "Now, if you still want to play, go ahead." Alex and I both backed away from him, and he rushed over to a corner and began to cry. Damn, now maybe I had overdone it. As I was going over to talk to him, he turned around and pelted me with another water balloon. No, I guess not. "Let's get 'em!" he shouted. His friends began collecting their weapons, and Alex took hold of the hose. "Run!" I told him, and there was a chase all over the backyard and the lawn. There was a lot of shouting and laughing and everyone was having a good time, even if we were all getting soaked. Then they finally ran out of water balloons. "Got you now," Alex said with faux-menace. "And we've got you!" called Brent from an approaching car. He threw a beer can at Alex's head. "You dumb fuck, what are you doing?" Alex shot back. "I just got my permit," said Brent. "We're going for a little joy ride, wanna come?" He began to think him over. I gave him a look that told him that he'd better not go. "Nah," Alex said. "I'll pass." "Your loss. This is going to kick ass!" "Tell your friends to chill with the beer consumption before somebody gets killed." Brent gave him the finger then drove off. Alex and I were now both a bit worried. During that brief lapse, they had re-loaded on water balloons and the war began again for a short while. At last they were out of balloons and we shut the hose off. A truce was called, as everyone was very tired and drenched from head to toe. "I'm totally soaked," I said. "We're all wet," said Alex. "Yeah, and Kevin's poopy too," said Geno. "Shut up!" Kevin replied. He then walked over to em so that I could check him. He had definitely messed in it all right. "It's getting kind of late, and all your parents are probably waiting," I told everyone. "By the way, Geno, thank your dad for the sub." "Bye Alex, bye Ally, bye diaper boy!" he called on his way out. "Your dead!" Kevin shouted after him. We all started laughing and went inside. I changed Kevin into some cloth diapers and put on some new clothes myself. Alex gave me a quick kiss then departed. "That was fun," Kevin said. "I wish we could do it all summer." "Me too." Chapter XI A Cure Worse then the Disease I had a fairly scary dream that night. It was like a scene lifted from "I Know What You Did Last Summer." There were a bunch of drunk kids driving down the highway way over the speed limit. Suddenly, something flies out onto the road and they hit it. Maybe it was a deer? Maybe not. At any rate, it scared the hell out of me and as it turned out it would hit very close to home. The next morning at a few minutes before 10:00, I got a call from Stacy. No sooner had a picked up the phone then she began ranting and raving. If my mom had picked it up, she'd have thought Stacy belonged in an asylum. "I am going to kill him!" she said. "I swear!" "Who?" "Brent, who else." "What did he do?" "You mean you didn't hear? Brent and Max were out drinking and driving for awhile." "I know. They drove by here." "Then they ran into Troy and friends. I guess Brent was pretty drunk, cuz he explained the pool incident a bit better, and made it up to the guys by giving them a six pack. So now you had 6 guys cruising around drunk well into the night." "Did they get hurt?" "Hell yeah they got hurt, they smacked right into a wall!" "Oh my God." "Nobody's dead, but Brent is going to wish he was. That asshole! He and all his friends got hurt pretty bad, broken bones and all. Brent got off with a broken leg and a fracture. There was a girl with them and she got pretty fucked up too. How could he be so stupid!" Over the phone, I could hear her crying a bit. As angry as she was, she still had feelings for him of some sort, otherwise she wouldn't have cared. I knew she was seeking some sort of advice, so I searched my mind for something to say. "Look," I said. "You knew Brent was wild when you wet out with him. That's probably why you went out with him! It was the last day of school. He probably got a little too excited. It's not like he was on a mission to kill himself." "What do you know?" she snapped. "You know how he had that nickname 'Smash'?" "Yeah." "He should have changed it to 'Smashed'." "He had a drinking problem?" "He wasn't an alcoholic, but yeah, he drank. His real problem is that he's a psychotic asshole. If I'm not there yelling at him, he'd do anything." "That's just it. He needs you." "What?" "He needs you. If you break up with him, he won't be able to take it." "I'm not going to leave him, but on the other hand, I'm not letting him get off that easy. As soon as he's out of the hospital, which will be later today, I'm going to teach him a lesson. Didn't his mother ever teach him.....hold on, I've got it." "Got what?" "A plan. Will you help me?" "Sure." "Thanks, Ally. Meet me at the hospital at 1:30." "Sure." I didn't know what Stacy was up to, but it wasn't going to be pretty. Nonetheless, I felt obligated to straighten this out somehow. She was my friend after all. Alex showed up about a half hour alter. He looked slightly downcast. "You hear about Brent?" "Yeah," he said. "Dumbass nearly got himself killed. I could have been with him, then I might be dead. The least I could have done was try to stop him, he's my best friend!" "Speaking of best friends, Stacy's ready to kill him." "I'd almost let her at this point." "She wanted me to meet her at the hospital at 1:30. You coming?" "Yeah sure, just don't get me involved in whatever plan she's cooking up." "I won't, but maybe I could get you involved in something else." We started fooling around for awhile, mostly just kissing, until Kevin called out that it was 1:00. We took the bus down to the hospital. I knew where Brent and the others were as soon as I stepped inside. There was a lot of yelling and arguing, and I followed the noise to its source. I waited a moment or two then witnessed Brent's parents walk out fuming mad. While I was waiting, Stacy showed up. She had a suspicious smile on her face. We walked inside together. Brent was in the same room with Ted, Jeff, Kenny, Troy, Max, and Sari, the girl that was with them. They all looked pretty messed up. Brent looked up when he saw us. Before he could say anything, Stacy began speaking. "You are in a lot of trouble!" "Good to see you too," he mumbled. "What kind of an idiot are you?" "Look, I'm feeling bad enough about what happened already. My parents were in here and they practically disowned me, not to mention I feel like shit, so don't even start!" Alex showed up at that point and brought temporary peace to the situation. "Yo, tell this bitch to back off," Brent said to him. "She's got a point." "So your taking her side?" "I didn't say that." "Fuck you, man." "We're trying to help you out," I said. "Who asked for help here?" he said defensively. "I sure as hell didn't!" "Look, are you up on charges?" asked Alex. "Yeah. Now I won't get my license until I'm nearly 18." "That sucks." "Well, I kinda deserve it," he said guiltily. "They also got me on drinking under age and felony DWI. I let Max drive for a bit so the alcohol would pass a bit." "He looked as drunk as you did," I pointed out. "Yeah, and he couldn't drive for shit, so I let Troy drive for a bit. They were both more drunk then me, so I got back behind the wheel." "How could you be so dumb?" Stacy asked. "Either break up with me or leave me alone," he replied. "Cuz I'm really not in the mood." "How about we all take some time to chill," I said. "When do you get out of here?" "Later." "I'll be by your place at about 3:00," Alex said. "See if I can't help you out." "Thanks," he said. "Just keep her the hell away from me!" Following that, we made our exit. Stacy was so mad she kicked the wall. She was very bitter all the way back to my house. "I'm going to show him he can't be talking to me like that!" she said, obviously enraged. "There's one problem," said Alex. "He's not letting you anywhere near him." "But he will let you near him, and maybe me as well," I said. "Hell no, I ain't getting involved!" "Your involved," Stacy said. "Don't like it, too bad." "Now that I am involved, I'd like to know exactly what you plan on doing to my friend." "You'll see. Now leave us alone, we have work to do." Stacy and I went into Kevin's room and took about 6 diapers out. In the meantime, she told me to find a roll of wide masking tape and some pills, which I did. We put the stuff into a bag and went back downstairs. Brent would be in for a big surprise. We got to Brent's house around 3:00 as promised. Alec walked in ahead of us. "Go away, I'm grounded and I don't wanna get in anymore trouble right now." "I brought you an issue of Playboy, but if you don't want it....." "Gimme that!" "If I were you, Brent, I'd fall asleep real quick." "Why?" "Cuz I'm going to kill you!" Stacy said entering the house. "Bitch, leave me alone, I'm sick!" "Your going to get a whole lot sicker." "If this medicine wasn't making me so damn tired, I'd beat your ass....." "Brent, you ain't talkin' to me that way anymore." "What the hell are you gonna do, you fat cunt?" That remark really pissed Stacy off and she kicked him right in his broken leg. Brent let out a bit of a yell then started to very slowly get up. He found himself in too much pain and fell back onto the sofa. "That was my bad leg, damn it!" he yelled. "Now get the hell outta here!" "I think you may have hurt him," I said sympathetically. "Looks that way," said Alex. Stacy then put on a mock-guilty face and asked Brent if she could make it up to him. "Get me a soda," he said. She agreed and retrieved a can of soda. While Brent wasn't looking, she slipped a sleeping pill, a laxative, and a diuretic into it, then handed it to him. "That's better," he said and began to drink it. It was hard for me to keep a straight face as I knew what would be happening next. Within 5 minutes, Brent was asleep. The real fun was about to start. Stacy and I stripped his clothes off, spread out the diapers, and using them 2 at a time, began to put them on him. Once they were pinned, we taped them shut as a precaution. We also taped his hands to prevent him from taking them off. "Are you actually going to let her do this?" Alex whispered. "We'll see what happens," I told him. Brent finally woke up awhile later. His eyes opened up rather wide when he saw his current predicament. "What the fuck?!" "Hi Brent," Stacy said, looking down at him and smiling. "As soon as I get out of this," he said in a low voice. "You're dead." He then tried to break free of the tape, but to no avail. "Ally, help me out," he said. "Sorry," I replied. "Well then fuck you too. Alex, you gonna just stand there?" "Well what do you want me to do?" he asked. "Stacy can kill me by sitting on me." Stacy kicked him then turned her attention back to Brent. "Take this off," Brent said. She didn't answer. "Please." Still no answer. "I'm really sorry." Nothing. "TAKE THIS THE FUCK OFF, DAMN IT!" "It'll come off when I say it comes off," Stacy said calmly. "In the meantime, get used to it." While he went on a cursing tangent, I grabbed my camera right at his face. "You'd better not," he said. I ignored him and snapped a picture. "How much can I give you to burn that?" he asked. "You do as I say, and I'll burn it myself," Stacy said. Stacy grabbed a can of beer and offered it to Brent. "Take it," she said. "We both know you like it." He looked a bit confused, pretty convinced she poisoned it until he was certain that she didn't. Then he began to drink it up furiously. When he was done, he let out a great belch. "Want another one?" Stacy asked. "Sure. I'm feeling better already," he said. 3 beers later, Brent had reached his limit and was beginning to show early signs of being drunk. "I'm sorry I called you all those names," he said to Stacy. "You're hot. You too, Ally." "Just as long as you don't mention my name," Alex said. "So, you gonna let me out now?" Brent asked. "Nope." "Why not?" "You'll see." As time passed, Brent began to find out what she meant. His bladder was very full and he desperately needed to urinate. "Come on, let me out," he said. "I need t take a piss." "So go," said Stacy. "Look what you're wearing." "No way." I retrieved a plastic garbage bag and told Brent to sit on it before he dampened any furniture. He insisted he wasn't going to wet himself, but sat on the bag nonetheless. Time passed and we all watched him squirm. To make things worse, I hummed the Jeopardy theme and Stacy turned on the faucet. "I'll get you I swear," Brent said and finally gave up. He flooded his diapers all at once and they didn't do a whole lot to contain it. "Now are you going to take this off?" Brent asked. "No," said Stacy. "You like beer that much, now pay the price." "Awe come on, everyone drinks, including you." "Yeah, I get drunk once in awhile. But I've got the sense not to be driving or letting anybody see me when I am. You're drunk like once a week and you just had to be driving." "I could have got killed walking," he said. "Shut up." "Actually, he's right," said Alex. "He could have darted out across the road and a car....." "Don't even start." The laxative eventually had it's effect and Brent pooped in his diapers as well. "You'd better take this off now," he said. "I don't think I will," said Stacy. "What?" "I'll just let you sit in your mess." "This ain't funny." "It's not supposed to be. Your supposed to be suffering." "You don't want to leave those diapers on too long or he'll get a rash," I said. "So?" "A rash could lead to an infection and an infection down there isn't good." "I see your point." "Finally!" said Brent. "I'll change you if you do two things." "Name them." "No more drinking." "At all?" "No. Cuz one beer could easily turn into 5." "Aright fine, not until high school graduation, senior year at least." "You also have to ask to be changed." "What?" "Ask me to change your filthy diapers." "OK, will you change me?" "That's no way to ask." "Will you change me please?" "Now, do babies talk like that." "This is fuckin' nuts," said Brent. "Just ask and get it over with," Alex said. "We can work on payback later." "Pwease change me didees," Brent said trying his hardest to imitate a baby. "Sure," said Stacy. She unpinned the sodden diapers and started wiping Brent up. I noticed this was turning him on. I don't think it was the diapers though, just the wiping action. Then again, you never know. After Brent was clean, Stacy wrapped the diapers and the garbage back up into a bundle and put it inside of another garbage bag. Brent put on some clothes and took it out. Kevin wouldn't be missing a few extra diapers, he had more then plenty. "Let's get out of here before he decides to go back on his promise," I suggested. "I don't think he will," said Alex. We left nonetheless. A few days later, both Alex and Brent came by my house. They were both sober and they wanted to know if I could go to a movie. "Can't," I said. "My parents want me to watch Kev." "So take him along," said Alex. "It's not like we're going to see 'Silence of the Lambs.'" "OK." "Yo, I just remembered something," said Brent. "What'd you ever do with that picture?" I started laughing uncontrollably at that point. The truth was, there was no picture. I left the lens cap on the camera! Chapter XII Summer Breeze It's July and I couldn't be feeling better. So much stuff has happened lately. I saw the fireworks on the 4th of July, and I started taking driving lessons so I could get my permit. I also went down to the shore for a day and hung out with Mack and Amy before they went away. Brent and Stacy broke up, by the way. They were tired of arguing with each other. Alex and I were still going out. I also had a mini-vacation up ahead. 12 volunteers from around here, myself included would accompany Dr. Rosenbaum to the forests and mountains of upstate New York in search of who knows what. I was pretty excited as there was a chance that I could find a new species of something and have it named after me. The Scraps Squirrel, imagine that. I barely got any sleep the night before I left. I woke up obscenely early, took a shower and grabbed some breakfast. I then realized I was up too early and had nothing to do, so I turned on the TV. "Hey turn it to Fox," Kevin said as he woke up. "I want to watch Spiderman." "You know I'm not going to be here for awhile," I said. "Yeah, it's going to be great," he said. Then seriously, he added. "I'm going to miss you." "I'll miss you too." "Hey, can you bring me back some fossils?" "We'll see." I changed him for the last time in awhile then called Alex to say goodbye to him. It sucked that as soon as I got back, he'd be going on vacation. We wouldn't see each other for a long time. Right while I was leaving, a girl who I had never seen before walked up to the fence. "Hi," she said. "Is Kevin there?" "Yeah, hold on." I walked back inside and told Kevin that there was a girl wanting to see him. He was a bit confused, but apparently recognized her. Oddly enough, she didn't seem to mind that Kevin wore no pants over his diapers. Maybe she had seen it before. I have to say New York wasn't what I expected. We didn't make any breakthrough discoveries or find anything all that important. We just collected a bunch of samples and made a lot of observations. That, and I was nearly attacked by a skunk. I was glad it didn't spray me! On our last day, I stumbled upon a cat with snow white fur. Against the scenic backdrop of the forest it was very much out of place. It also looked kinda lost. I thought it mind belong to somebody, so I searched it for a tag or something. There was a tag on it's collar that read Sir Cotton DeChamp, followed by an address. Well, the name fit. I pointed the cat out to Dr. Rosenbaum and he suggested we take it to the address listed as it wasn't far. It turned out the address listed was a mansion. Hello reward money. I was a bit nervous approaching Mr. DeChamp as he looked like an ornery individual. "Mr. DeChamp?" "What is it?" "Um, I found your cat Cotton." "Oh. You can keep him." "What?" "I said I don't want the damn thing! He used to be a top quality show cat, but now I found out he can't breed. He's worth nothing to me now." "Isn't that a little mean?" "Look, young lady, I shall give you $25 if you take him and get the hell out of here." "Fine." On the way home, I held Cotton formerly DeChamp in my arms. He seemed to like me. I was appalled at how mean his former owner was. Well, impotent or not I was going to keep this cat and treat it nicely. When I got back, the only person home was Kevin. I decided to surprise him, and tried to hide Cotton the best I could. "I have a surprise," he said. "Me too," I said. There was a faint meow. "What's that?" Kevin asked. "My surprise," I told him, and set Cotton down in front of him. "Oh cool, a cat." He began talking to it and petting it, and probably forgot his big surprise. "Um, what's your surprise?" I asked. "Oh, I have a girlfriend." "What? You're too young for a girlfriend." "No I'm not. Geno had a girlfriend before." "So, go on, tell me more." "Well you know that girl that was here?" "Yeah?" "That's Tiffany. She's a few months older then me. She used to live in Springside, then she moved over here. Anyway, her brother Vern just got put back into diapers, and he's my age. She said he had a hard time handling it and that somebody told her that maybe Vern should talk to me. We were talking a lot and she said I looked cute in my diapers and she wanted to change me." "That doesn't really make you her boyfriend..." "Then she kissed me." "Where?" "On the forehead. I didn't know what to do at first, then I thought I should kiss her back, but I forgot the fence was in the way so I ended up kissing the fence. We both laughed a lot ad talked for awhile and it was really cool. Then a few days later, she brought Vern over here, and he's cool too, just a little shy. I wanted to call her, but I forgot to ask her for her phone number." "I have a feeling you can find them at the pool." "Cool." "In the meantime, what do we name this cat." "It says it's named Cotton." "It needs a second name." "How about Cotton Weary, like from the movie 'Scream?'" "No, this cat doesn't look like he's going to be stabbing anyone. Why not Cotton Love?" "That's a stupid name!" "Go tell that to Courtney Love." "OK, but can we spell it Luv?" "Why?" "Cuz that's how they spell it in Luv's diapers." I started laughing. That was pretty clever. "Very well. I dub thee Cotton Luv Scrhaptoski." Another meow. My parents didn't take too well at Cotton at fist, but they let us keep him and they got used to it. It was fun having him around, and he did a lot of stuff for a cat (namely play with a ping pong ball and run around a lot instead of just sleeping). Alex finally got back from New England and I spent the following day with him. "How was it?" I asked. "Pretty good," he said. "I met Stephen King." "Wow." "So, you make and breakthroughs in the sciences of zoology and botany?" "No, but I found a cat. Belonged to a rich guy who didn't want him." "So that's what that white thing in the middle of the floor is. I thought it was a rug." "No, that's Cotton. Cotton Luv." "You know, cats are really lazy. They sleep for 14 hours a day and..." Cotton hissed at him. "Maybe they aren't so dumb," I said. "Maybe." "So what's on your mind?" "Besides you?" "Yeah." "I was just thinking. School starts again in July, why don't we have a little party. Me, you, Brent, Jerry, Max if he's better, and are Amy and Mack back yet?" "Yeah. Don't forget to have Stacy." "If I do, then it'll be a fight between her and Brent. But I'll still do it." "Where do you want to have this?" "My house." "Cool." "So what happened while I was gone?" "Kevin has a girlfriend, can you believe it?" "Yeah, he told me that." "You remember that day at the pool when you got Troy and the rest?" "I'll never forget that." "Remember the fat 8 year old whore was wearing diapers? "Yup." "Well, he's friends with Kevin and her sister is Kevin's alleged girlfriend. Just the thought of that worries me." "They are 8 and 9 years old. It's not like they're going to be doing anything that would worry anyone's parents." "You mean like this?" I asked, moving my hand in the direction of his crotch. "I'm 15 1/2." He said. "I'd be worried if I wasn't getting some of that." He put his arm around me. "Well then, in the words of Austin Powers......." "No, I'm not ready to go that far. Hope you'll understand." "It's OK, I'm not sure I want to either." I knew right away that this party would be way out of hand. Alex usually didn't like parties too much, as he was a fairly shy person. But whenever he himself had a party, it was always wild and a lot of fun. I had a feeling this would be no exception. Chapter XIII Fight For Your Right to Party Alex's party turned out to be fairly simple, though I wouldn't call it lame. It was pretty much a couple of us hanging out in his basement listening to music, eating and talking. "Watch how fast I can gulp down this can of soda," said Brent. "I'll time you," said Alex. He was able to drink it in 18 seconds. "Impressive." "No, that's disgusting," I said. We were soon interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. "Be right back," said Alex. Curious as to who it was, I followed him. It turned out to be Ted, Kenny, Troy and Jeff. "What do you want?" asked Alex. "We found out about what you did to us at the pool," said Jeff, menacingly. "And now your going to die." I was about to jump in there and start yelling at them to go away, but Alex had the situation under control. "Give me a break," he said. "You guys are pathetic. I get picked on most of my life, lots of times by you, and I don't care. You get embarrassed once, and you got to pieces. Grow up!" They were silent for a moment trying to comprehend what he just said, then resumed looking threatening. "I don't care, I'm still going to kick your ass," said Ted. "Some other time maybe," Alex answered. "Bounce." "We're not leaving until......" "Come on, leave him alone." It was the voice of Scott,. who walked up behind them. "No way!" said Troy. "You know what he did?" "Yeah, so? You have to admit it'd be funny if it happened to somebody else." "Yeah, I guess it would," said Kenny. "Come on, lets get a scrimmage going down at the field," said Scott. "I'll see you there in a couple of minutes." "Fine," grumbled Jeff. They departed without saying anything further. "Thanks a lot," said Alex. "You saved me the trouble of having to kill them." "No problem," said Scott. "Hi Ally." "Hi Scott." I actually smiled at him. For the first time in a long while, I was able to look at him in something other then a negative light. I was considering giving him a second chance. After all, I know Alex and I would still be friends. Then again, nice now, not so nice later. I would have to think this one over. "Cya," said Scott. "What was that all about?" asked Brent. "Nothing," I said. Awhile later, the doorbell rang again. This time it was Kevin. Tiffany was at his side, and Geno and Vern were behind him. "What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Are you guys getting high or something?" asked Geno. "Cuz if you are, I want in." "No, we're just hanging out right now," explained Alex. "Can we join in?" asked Tiffany. I looked at Alex and he gave me a look that said he didn't mind. "This wasn't my idea," said Kevin. "I don't want to go in!" Vern protested. "Come on," said Kevin. Everyone was a bit surprised by the intrusion of a younger group. "What the f..." Brent began. "Hey Kev," said Stacey. "What'cha doin' here?" He shrugged his shoulders. "You guys can stay if you want," said Amy. "Totally," said Mack. "Cool," said Kevin. "This is Geno, that's Vern, and that's Tiffany. She's my girlfriend." This drew an amused reaction from my friends. We didn't really know what we were going to do next, and I couldn't think of anything. Fortunately, I didn't have to. Brent began tapping a pencil against the wall out of boredom. Alex matched him by strumming a rubber band like a guitar string. And for some strange reason, I started to tap my foot. "What are you doing?" asked Stacy. "I don't know," I answered. "But I'm doin' it." "Any requests?" asked Alex. Eventually, we some how wound up with a rendition of Blur's Song 2. Alex and I sung in duet and everyone joined in on the chorus. It was awful sounding, but everyone was laughing when it was over. "Is this what you usually do when your 16?" asked Kevin. I couldn't tell whether he was trying to be annoying or he had a serious question. "Well, yeah," I answered. "I can't wait until I'm 16." Now I was legitimately confused. "Just last week you kept saying you never wanted to grow up." "I wish I could be both young and old," he said. "Like I could keep switching. Like that Vulture guy from Spiderman." "You watch too much TV," I told him. "TV never hurt anyone," said Alex. "It's the people who watch TV that hurt people." One last laugh for the day. Later on, when Kevin and I were back home, I had a few questions to ask him. "What did you guys do all day?" "Well, Tiffany and Vern came over. So I showed them some cool web sites." "Please tell me you didn't show them any of the ones about diapers." Kevin blushed a bit. "Come on, I've known you looked at those sites for quite awhile now." "Yeah, I did," he said shamefully. "Look, there's nothing really wrong with them. There not dirty or anything, they're just weird." "Vern thought they were really cool. I want to make my own page some day." "If you want....." "So then Tiffany changed Vern and asked me if I wanted her to change me, and I said yes and she did." "I hope that's all you did." "What else is there to do?" "Never mind, you'll find out when you get older." Then me and Vern were in just our diapers and we fought each other like sumo wrestler and Tiffany gave the winner a smack on the butt. "Did you win?" He nodded. "Then Geno came by later." "Sounds like you had fun." "Yeah. But I would have had just as much fun if it was just em and you and we weren't doing much of anything." "Awe, thanks." "Hey Ally." "Yes?" "When you change me, could you put a lot of diapers on me? I want to try sliding down the stairs again." "OK, but you'd better not hurt yourself." The more and more Kevin acted like a toddler, the more and more I felt like an adult. It was scary. I was only 16, and while I wanted to be able to drive and do a lot of things, I wasn't quite ready to stop having fun. I finally understood that comment that Kevin made about being both young and old. Well, we all have to grow up sometimes. At least Kevin will still have his diapers. Chapter XIV The Meaning of Life I was reading a book and Cotton was laying on my lap, purring. It was a nice day, not too warm, not too cold. With the summer we've been having, I had plenty of opportunities to work on my tan and I took most of them. Now I wanted to spend a little time indoors. Kevin was playing a video game, and judging by the words he was using, he was losing. "You'd better stop that before mom hears you," I warned him. "Mom went out grocery shopping." "Oh yeah, I forgot. Still, cursing isn't a good habit." "OK, sorry." I got back to my book and to tranquillity. 5 minutes later, Kevin interrupted me again, but this time it was important. "Ally, what's the meaning of life?" This kid surprised me. He could easily trick you into believing that he was far older, and just as easily trick you into believing he was far younger, depending on his mood. I put my book aside and Cotton dismounted. "Gee Kev, I don't know." "Sure you do. You're older and you know more stuff." "Well, I guess it depends how you look at it. Some say the meaning of life is happiness." "Is that what you think?" "Yeah. I guess it is." "I think the meaning of life is diapers." "What?!" "You wear diapers when your little and when your really old like Great Uncle Morris, you wear them again. It's like a pattern or something." I smiled. "I guess you're right." "What's it like to fall in love?" "Why are you asking me all these questions?" "I don't know. When I was really little, back in the bad place, nobody ever talked to me. They never told me anything, and I've always wanted to know a lot of stuff." "I'm sorry. I'll answer anything you want." "So, what's love like?" "Love is like when you feel very strongly about a person. Like you always want to be with him and you don't want anyone else to have him and every moment you spend with him is great." "Have you been in love?" "A couple of times." "Then why does it end if it's so good? Why do people get divorces and why do some movies have sad endings?" "I don't know. Look, there's a lot more questions you could ask and I could answer some of them, but not all the answers are good. Sometimes, it's better not knowing things." "OK, yeah, I see. Like that time Geno broke his dad's favorite baseball bat. It was really nice, but some guy wrote his name on it. So Geno went out and got a new bat and copied the name. His dad never found out." "Yeah, I guess." "I have one more question." "What's that?" "Can you change me?" "Sure." I stripped his dirty diapers off of him, cleaned him up and put fresh ones on. If anything, Kevin has already given me a head start in parenting. And it's not always easy. Chapter XV Time Warp I was going through some old junk when I found this thing. I haven't written in it in years! Well, I know it seems stupid, but I guess it couldn't hurt. OK, here it goes: I'm 32 now, but I don't really look it. Since I love animals, I decided to become a zoologist. I study at a local zoo and go on trips all over the place. I'm still single, though several guys have led me to think towards marriage (but none have succeeded). Damn it, I miss my friends. They're all gone. Stacy didn't go to college. Instead, she ran off with some guy she met senior year. They got married and are living in Georgia. She's about 50 pounds overweight, and he's always drunk. They have 3 kids, and they are screwed for life. It's a shame and I wish I could have helped her, but if you don't listen, there's only so much a person can do. Amy and Mackenzie both became hairdressers. They worked at the local beauty parlor and I had lunch with them once a week. That was until a few months ago when they were set to go to the Caribbean (in search of Mr. Right), and their plane crashed. That is like totally sad. Scott surpassed his buddies in that he was able to actually get grades decent enough that he qualified for a football scholarship. He was a college star and played in one o those countless bowls they show on New Year's Day. He got in a couple of seasons with the Lions and the Colts before retiring. He's a sports columnist now, and I saw him some time around last year. Brent Aunger became a mechanic who was an amateur racer in his spare time. Once, a friend challenged him to a drag race, and another friend put down $100 to the winner. Brent took the challenge, but slammed his car into a wall. It burst into flames and he died. Some people never learn. Well, I still have one friend left. Alex got into college (same one I went to) on an academic scholarship. Problem was, once he got there he couldn't figure out what he wanted to major in. He must have switched majors a dozen times before deciding on creative writing, with a minor in philosophy. And he managed to graduate early on top of that. He's done about 5 books, a lot of articles and has been on TV before. He's no celebrity, but it's still not to bad for the weird kid everyone used to pick on. Oh yeah, I almost forgot about Kevin. In a way, Kevin never grew up (he plays with toys for a living). Then again, one could say he did a fine job of growing up. He is president of the 3rd largest toy company in America. He has a degree in business management. He is happily married and has one child. Kevin still wears diaper, believe it or not, and his wife changes him. Like most parents, he has decided to potty train his son, even though he has a feeling he will wind up choosing to wear diapers like his old man. "It's better to let him choose," he said. I still visit him often and we're still very close. As close as any brother and sister can be, even though he was adopted. If you were to look around, my house might look like a zoo. I have a dog, a cat, a bird, some fish, a snake, a hamster, a lizard, and an ant farm. In addition, I donate a lot of money to the WWF (World Wildlife Foundation, not World Wrestling Foundation). Some of my neighbors have taken to calling me Dr. Doolittle, but I don't care. One might say that it sucks to be this old (though I'm not really old at all) and living alone, and at times I agree. Then again, I have my pets to keep me company. In addition, I'm thinking of having a child. At this point, I might as well adopt. It'd be wrong to use a man I don't even love just for the purpose of procreation. Alex and I formed a pact that if neither of us are married by 40, we'll end up tying the knot. Until then, I'm on my own to find somebody, and it's not an easy search. Well, that's about it. I'll write in this thing again when something comes up. Before I leave, I just want to add this one quote: "I have seen much during my life. I have been on the high mountain of success and in the low valley of defeat. However, through all this there was a certainty that tomorrow was another day. This certainty wasn't always there. When I was a kid, I had a whole life ahead of me and tomorrow was uncertain. It was a time of chaos and change. But I wouldn't have missed it for the world. If I could have gone from infancy to adulthood in a day, I wouldn't have. There is magic when you are a kid. There is something special about living through it and being there."---- Alex Green, in his autobiography. PS: Here's my quote. "Children are like kittens. They are small and sprightly and see only the world around them. They probably dream of a bigger place, a place where only cats can transcend. Thus, a kitten becomes a cat."---Scraps.