1 Ignored and Abandoned

It had all started out as a misunderstanding. It wasn't his fault his sister fell on her butt. She's the cheer leader, Jason reasoned. What happened to that balance and agility she's so proud of? She's three years older than him, his parents were always so fast to remind him of that when they wanted to leave her in charge when they go out for a night, so she should know better than to try to bully someone walking on the stairs. And if selling candy for her cheer leading squad is so important, why did she want him to do it for her? Jason hated talking to strangers. He don't even like talking to his family all that much. But no, she's the princess, so she gets everything her way.

Just like his parents couldn't afford to send him to science camp, for the last three years in a row, because Mary wanted to go to cheer leader camp. Because she is the princess, it's not her fault that she got hurt "rough-housing" on the stairs. He was frustrated over how he was in trouble because when she tried to yank on his school bag, instead of fighting with her, he let go. Because she's the princess, and selling her candy is so important to her, Mom and Dad said it's only fair that Jason help her, because she said she sprained her left ankle.

Only it's not fair. She's three years older than Jason. She's the one with a car. He the one with the good grades that wants to study, not spend the weekend going door to door trying to sell candy. Saturday morning should have been all it had taken to put an end to the whole mess.

Mary said she had hurt her left ankle, so she could still drive. So that is what she did. She drove herself and her brother to a nice neighborhood, handed him a half case of candy in a handy carrying box to sell, then pointed at the first house on the block. Yeah, a boy selling candy to support the school cheer leaders, that had failure written all over it.

"Can I help you?"

"Good Morning. I'm selling candy to raise money for City High School's Cheer Leading Team."

"Are you a cheer leader?"

"No, it's for my sister."

"Then your sister should be here."

"I'm here because she hurt her ankle..."

He sold all of two candy bars, and only because he was able to play the sympathy card over his sister having hurt her ankle.

By lunch time it was clear that whatever prize Mary was hoping to win was never going to happen.

Back at home for lunch, Mary was angry. Mom took her side, of course. Dad tried to give Jason a guilt trip for not trying harder.

"Most people close the door as soon as I tell them I'm not a cheer leader."

"Well tell them you are," Mary yelled at him.

"No."

"There's nothing wrong with boys being cheer leaders," His mom tried to explain. "You tell him, honey," She said to Dad.

"Even the college squads have a few men," Dad said with a nod.

"But I'm not a cheer leader," Jason argued. "And I am not a liar."

"Well, just pretend you are," Mary insisted.

"I. Am. Not. A. Liar."

"We'll if we pretend you're a cheer leader and everybody believes it so they don't ask, you won't have to lie."

"How do you pretend I'm a cheer leader?"

Stupid question. Stupid question with a stupid answer. His sister dressed him up in her old Jr varsity cheer leader uniform.

Jason had the figure of a boy that was active and fit, but didn't work out or really push myself. That is to say, he was a fence post. his measurements were 5'3" and 22-22-22. The uniform tank top was comfortably snug enough that it wasn't going to flap around or hang off of his body if he bent over. The bloomers under the skirt were a little loose, but they covered his white briefs. Jason felt the worst part was the hour and then some he had to sit while his mom and Mary tried to do something with his hair while smearing makeup around on his face. They pulled his head this way and that, not gently, as they tried to get the right angle for whatever they were doing. Mary thumped his head when he didn't follow directions fast enough. The thick makeup felt like clown face-paint to him.

When they were done, if Jason smiled, he admitted to himself, looked cute. With makeup, he had the face of a girl he wouldn't mind dating. He would even want to kiss her. But that was just the face. The rest of him still looked like a stick in a cheer leading uniform. Jason felt that he looked silly.

But sister Mary, the princess, didn't care. They were losing time for selling candy, so off they went again. They went back to the same neighborhood, just skipping the houses Jason had already visited. All the way there, Mary kept telling him to make sure to smile, and tried to tell Jason how to be flirty. As if he had a chest to stick out in the first place.

Two hours later, after managing to sell six more candy bars, Mary pulled her next selfish, all about her, act. Jason had just knocked on a front door when she started laying on her car's horn and waving for him to come to her. He was almost back to the car when she yelled out the window at him.

"My friend needs a ride to the mall," Mary yelled. "Keep selling and I'll pick you up later." Before Jason could say anything, Mary hit the gas and took off.

Jason suddenly felt sick. He mattered so little, and even when he was doing something for her, he wasn't worth even a little respect. Now he was stranded. A cheer leader uniform had no pockets, so Jason didn't have his cell phone, or school ID. He was fifteen, wearing makeup and girl clothes, and all on his own in strange, if nice, neighborhood.

He realized he only had three choices. He could try to walk home, through some not so nice areas and close to the school where people might recognize him. He could just sit in place until his sister got around to coming to get him, and he was tempted to do just that. The problem with just waiting was that the candy would probably be melt, and it would definitely not get sold. Princess Mary, would then get him in trouble for not helping her, even though she couldn't be bothered to even stick around to watch him, let alone do her own damn selling. That left Jason with only one option. He could push on. Maybe if he could sell enough candy he could at least get his Sunday back for doing his own thing.

Jason went back up to the house his sister had called him away from. After knocking on the door he heard a muffled voice telling him to go away. The next house was vacant. The one after that belonged to an old man that was polite, but refused to buy any candy. He guessed that it was almost another hour, and three more candy bars, when something positive finally happened for him.

After knocking on the door of a duplex unit, he was greeted by the sight of the tall woman that had opened the door. She had tan skin, dark hair, green eyes, and a sexy body. Jason liked what he was suddenly seeing. He liked seeing it so much that he grew a little warm at the sight. She was a good ten inches taller than he was, and she was wearing flat sandals, with a full chest, a narrow waist, and some round hips. The woman was clearly dressed for relaxing at home, wearing loose shorts that showed off her long, smooth legs, and an cut up tee shirt that almost reached the top of her shorts, and was crooked on her shoulders from the collar being removed.

"Yes?" The woman asked in soft alto voice.

"I..." Jason fumbled "I'm sorry to bother you. I'm selling candy to help raise money for City High School's Cheer Leader Team."

"Oh really?" The woman gave him a smile. "You are a part of the team?"

Jason felt himself wilt. It was a direct question and he refused to lie.

"No," He sighed and looked down. "I'm doing this because my sister hurt her ankle. She's the cheer leader." He didn't realize it, but some of the bitterness he was feeling was coming out in his voice.

"Well, aren't you a dear for helping out," The woman said. She stepped back and held the door open. "Come inside where it's cooler. I'll get my purse and you can show me what you've got."

Jason was surprised at the offer. He was surprised enough that he stumbled a little as he stepped forward. He had started moving as a kind of reflex, but hesitated as he tried to think things through. He was going into a stranger's house. He was going to make a sale, thankfully. The woman was very attractive, but she was still a stranger. His hesitant stumble made Jason blush. He was too aware of the woman, and how close she was to him, and she had just seen him nearly trip over nothing but his own feet.

"Are you alright?" The woman asked as she reached out and put a hand on his shoulder as if the steady him. "Why don't you have a seat." She gently urged him into the house. She gave him a little push towards the front room as she closed the door behind him.

"I don't want to be a bother," Jason said, hesitating.

"Have a seat while I get my purse," The woman said more firmly. "It will take me a moment, and you can use that time to cool off a little."

"Thank you," He said, because he couldn't think of anything else.

Coming in from the outside, the living room of the duplex unit was cool and dark. The walls were an off white making it easy to see the silhouettes of the furniture until Jason's eyes adjusted to the change. The floor was covered with dark-stained wood, or really good vinyl that looked like wood. Three love seats were arranged around a large, sturdy looking coffee table. Across the room from the conversation area was a wall mounted television, but not an especially large one. There was also a trio ottoman stools in the living room pushed up against the wall under the television.

Jason didn't think it would be right to start moving furniture in a home belonging to someone else, so he perched on the edge of the closest love seat. He put his sales box of candy bars on the coffee table and made some effort to pull some up to look like a display of some kind. With nothing else to do for a moment, he just waited for the woman to return. It didn't take long for him to be comfortably cool, and for his eyes to adjust to the room. He was just starting to feel anxious about his situation when the woman returned.

"Here we go," The woman said as he entered the living room.

Jason stood, as good manners dictated he should, and turned to see her approach. The woman had a small purse tucked under one arm and was carrying a pair of tall glasses of ice water. Before Jason could think of what he should do, the woman was close enough to hand him one of the glasses.

"Here you go," She said. "You look like you cold use some water."

"Thank you." He took a quick drink, glad to have the cold water to wet his throat.

"Please, have a seat," The woman said as she moved to sit on the same love seat that Jason had selected. He didn't question her choice. It was the place closest to the box of candy bars after all. He simply returned to his seat on the edge of the small couch. The woman, likewise, was seated on the edge, where she could comfortably reach the coffee table. He set her water and purse on the table and offered a hand to Jason. "By the way, I'm Nichole."

"Hello," He took her hand. He was just noticing how soft her skin was as he started to introduce himself. "I'm Jas....." He cut himself off as he remembered that he was wearing girl clothes and only had a boy name.

"It's nice to meet you Jacey," Nichole smile and shook his hand, releasing it only after a short moment. "So tell me what you are selling."

"Um.." He mentally fumbled as he tried to return his focus from Nichole to selling candy. "I just have these," He gestured to the box with his free hand. He had not yet put down the class of water, and was holding it tightly out of nervousness. "They are chocolate bars with caramel filling. Milk chocolate. They're three dollars each," he winced a little. The high price could often be a deal breaker.

"I shouldn't," Nichole said. "You know the old saying. Five seconds of sweet, five pounds of seat." She patted her own hip and gave him a wink. "But as long as I don't eat them all at once I should be alright, don't you think?"

"Err, yeah," He replied distractedly. His eyes had followed her movements, so when she had patted her hip he had nearly missed the wink. What he did notice was that the waistband of her loose shorts were riding low enough that he could see the red waistband of her panties. He took another drink of water so he wouldn't have to say more until he could think of what he could say.

"I will take three," Nichole said as she reached for her purse.

"Three?" Jason moved to put the water down and reach for the sales box. "Thank you." He pulled the cash envelope from the box, along with three candy bars. He set the candy bars on the table's edge in easy reach.

She pulled out a ten dollar bill, he made change, and the transaction was done. Jason took another long drink of water before gathering up his sales box. He still had a lot of candy to sell of he wanted to get his sister and parents off his back.

"Thank you for the water, and for buying some candy," He gathered himself to leave.

"Would you like to use the mirror before you go?" Nichole asked. "To fix your makeup I mean."

Jason froze. Details about his situation he had been trying not to think about came crashing back into the front of his awareness. He could see the lipstick marks on the glass he had been drinking from. Looking at his own hands he could see smudges of makeup from when he had touched his face without thinking about it. He slowly turned his head to look at Nichole with fear in his eyes.