My second chance in a strange reverse world!

The car, emitting a somewhat disconcerting electric hum, eventually came to a stop. Nola withdrew her hand from my thigh, though not without giving me one last, slightly bolder touch.

"Here we are," she said, pulling up in front of a two-level house with a minivan parked in the driveway. There was no indication on her face that she was aware of the impact her actions had on my leg.

It's a good thing it's over, whatever that is. Physical contact is still quite difficult.

Sighing with relief, I settled into the seat and looked out the translucent car window.

The house, which I presumed belonged to Peyton, had a typical appearance with a pleasant combination of dark blue and white. As soon as I pulled up in front of his house, I noticed Peyton stepping outside. He wore a bright smile on his face along with a black choker and a cropped shirt that exposed his midriff... and I must emphasize, his shorts were exceptionally, and I mean exceptionally, short. Even Nola averted her gaze the moment Peyton excitedly ran and jumped towards our car.

As I rolled down the car window, Peyton greeted me with a cheerful wave. "Alex!" he exclaimed. Then his attention shifted to my sister besides me, causing his enthusiasm to wane slightly. "And Nola... it's good to see you again," he said with courtesy.

Nola nodded and replied quickly, "Same." Despite her stoic expression, I could sense her slight discomfort as her gaze roamed across the car's dashboard, avoiding direct eye contact with Peyton.

I could sense that there was some history between them, and as I reflected on it, I realized that I couldn't connect this discomfort to anything from my previous world experiences. It seemed more prudent to inquire about it at another time.

Deciding to end this unwelcoming moment, I stepped out of the car. I pivoted on my heels, resting my arm on the lowered car window frame, and bid farewell to my sister.

"So... what, are you picking me up, or am I going home alone?" I asked. It was really strange for me to hitch a ride.

"I'll pick you up, just call me when you're ready," Nola assured. "But you'd better not take too long, or I'll come looking for you," she warned, giving me a slight smile.

I gave a slight glance to Peyton, who returned an amused look, and I just rolled my eyes, looking back at Nola. "Sure, sure," I laughed, drumming on the window as I sat up. "Drive safe. I love you"

I could see that my words had some sort of effect on Nola. She tensed slightly, gripping the steering wheel tightly before looking up at me and finally breaking into a beautiful smile. "I-I love y-you too," she said with a slight stutter and a faint pink tinge to her cheeks.

I pulled away from the window, and the car, as quiet as it had been, made a slight electric whirring sound before grinding its tires and driving away, a little faster than I would like.

"Wow, it's hard to have big sister, huh," Peyton spoke up as Nola's car turned into an alley, driving away from our view.

"You see."

We walked to the door of his house, and he opened it for me. "Make yourself at home," he said, smiling. "I'll call Dad and tell him we're ready to go." He looked at me quizzically for a moment. "Come to think of it, what about your handbag?"

I remembered the handbag I had found earlier and shuddered slightly at the thought of seeing myself wearing that. "I left it at home, I think it's more comfortable this way."

Peyton looked at me slightly, "Strange. You loved your handbag. It was expensive too." He commented absently as we walked down the door aisle.

I was about to respond, but as I took a step into what could only be Peyton's living room, I was immediately greeted by an avalanche of boys who swarmed around me. They attacked me with playful enthusiasm, catching me off guard. I was so shocked that I froze, my fight-or-flight instinct kicking in. I attempted to run, but I was quickly surrounded and left with no choice but to protect my vital areas.

I waited for the pain to come... and waited...

"What are you doing?" one of them asked.

I uncovered my face to observe that the boys were not trying to hit me, in fact, a good part of them were looking at me with concern.

I pulled myself together and smoothed out my sweatshirt with a lack of wrinkles, "H-huh, nothing, you just surprised me, that's all." I said stiffly.

They exchanged glances before shrugging. "Group hug restarted then!" they exclaimed, once again practically pouncing on me.

I heard giggles as my vision was obscured by the faces of boys, their proximity uncomfortably close. Some were less appealing than others. I felt their hands roaming over my body before, finally, the group of five boys decided to release me.

"Who the hell touched my ass?" I said once I was free, looking at each of the boys in front of me.

A chorus of giggles erupted from them, and I simply shook my head. Kevin, who had been part of the hug raiding party, approached me while the other guys moved back slightly.

"Why weren't you answering my calls?" He questioned, one hand on his hip. "I thought you were going to stand us up."

"Sorry, I left the phone on silent, I couldn't hear your calls," I excused myself, walking over and leaning against a wall. Kevin extended his hand, as if requesting something. "What?" I asked, confused.

"Your phone." He said, moving his hand in a gesture for me to hand it to him.

I gave him a puzzled look but slowly retrieved my phone from my pocket, cautiously handing it to him. "What are you going to do?" I inquired as he began typing on it, only to abruptly halt.

"You changed your password." Kevin stated, after a moment of silence. He looked up. "Why?"

I noticed that the other boys were also observing me, and their judgmental stares made me increasingly uncomfortable. Is this the cliché of a fake friend group? Am I actually being bullied?

With no small amount of nervousness, I quickly explained myself, taking a tentative step backward with the exit of the house at my back. "I-I forgot the password. I had to change it," I stammered.

Kevin narrowed his eyes slightly before he sighed disappointedly. "Why didn't you tell us, we could have told you."

"You guys could?" I asked incredulously.

This time it was the turn of a red-haired boy to respond. "Of course! That's why we share a password! Because you're forgetful!"

Another brown-haired boy sighed beside him. "It's because you're forgetful, Cameron."

"Oh, that's right!"

I put the conversation aside and laughed nervously instead. "The password just disappeared from my mind... Are you going to tell me then?"

"Sure!" Another guy typed into his phone and my phone in Kevin's hands rang with a light melodic tone.

I took it from Kevin's hands and ignored the username he wrote me just to concentrate on his message.

PurrfectKittyWhiskers

I looked up to see if this was some kind of joke but it didn't seem to be the case, one of them just gave me a thumbs up with a smile. "Put it back on, so we'll be combined again!" He cheered happily.

I scratched my cheek slightly. "Sure..."

And so I did, with the mental reminder to change it again when I got home. Someone having my passwords made me feel more than a little paranoid.

Harvier

I've received a couple of comments about the overall pacing of the story, and since my only two reviews also complain about this, I'm trying to improve on that.