A New Virus

Southern Boy

"How did ya convince your dads to let me come over?" Keith asked, sitting crossed-legged on Annalise's bed while Annalise was at her desk,

"I didn't."

"You what!?" Keith slapped his hands over his mouth and stared at the door for a moment before lowering his voice. "Are you tryin' to get this little perky ass of mine killed?"

"They won't kill you." Annalise stated, beginning to type away at her computer.

"You father is huge!" Keith whispered harshly.

"Call him short if you wanna see him really worked up." Annalise laughed.

"Again, I like my ass attached to my body." Keith kept glancing over at the door.

"They're not going to come in, they're busy." Annalise pressed one more key before turning back towards Keith.

"Doin' what?"

"Fucking." Annalise laughed some more when Keith stiffened with embarrassment. "I'm just messing with you, they have a big job today and will be out of the house for the rest of the day in like, five minutes. Uncle Wil's supposed to be over any second now."

"Because your gun-lovin' uncle is so much less scarier." Keith huffed, a light tapping sound going unheard by the two teenagers.

"Wil likes you, He'll probably have no problem with you staying over while the dads are away." Annalise perked up when her laptop beeped.

"If I'm gonna die young, I at least want some questions answered." Keith adjusted himself so he was closer to the edge of the bed.

"I got suspended because I yelled at a teacher." Annalise stated, skimming over a long message on her screen.

"The entire school knew about that five minutes after you left." Keith said. "What I wanna know about is Tiana screaming in the hall." Annalise's entire body slumped a little and she shut her laptop.

"It's nothing." Annalise said.

"My gay senses are tinglin' and it's telling me that what you are sayin' is absolute bullshit." Keith raised a brow and smiled as Annalise shook her head. "Come here and tell mama Keith what happened." Keith patted the spot next to him on the bed.

"Keith, I-"

"Don't say no to mama Keith." Keith warned in a silly tone and kept patting. Annalise just sighed and got out of her chair, grunting a little as she rolled onto her bed and rested her head on Keith's lap. "You need a haircut." Keith commented when he started to play with Annalise's long locks.

"Why is everyone telling me that?" Annalise muttered.

"I think you just need a trim, some of these ends look like they died, came back and died again because they saw how ugly they were." Keith clicked his tongue and was glad that he earned a laugh from Annalise. "So, fill me in. I could've sworn you and Sweet-Tea would be back on normal terms by now."

"I don't think we ever will." Annalise sighed.

"What kind of an argument did y'all get into that would cause this? Y'all have had your tussles before but this is just...well...fucked up."

"I can't tell you."

"Why not?" Keith asked.

"I don't want you to think I'm a monster too." Annalise curled up a little. "I don't want to hear you call me a freak too."

"A freak? She called you a freak? After everything y'all have been through? After everything we have all been through?" Keith's other hand was gripping the sheet tightly while he kept the one on Annalise's head steady. "A freak? She called you a freak?"