The Witch’s Ichor

Jamison leans against the wall of the department store, tapping a rhythm with his fingers. The door to the changing room unlocks with an audible click. Jamison turns to see how Ryker looks in his new outfit.

The cute dark haired girl staring back at Jamison blows him away. Just changing into the right clothes has transformed her from a tomboy to a chick he'd be lucky to have as a girlfriend.

"Woah..." Jamison breaths out.

"What? Do I look weird? Honestly I kind of feel weird-" Ryker starts rambling.

"No, you look great." Jamison compliments.

Ryker's pale cheeks flush bright pink from the compliment. Jamison can't help wishing Ryker would stay this cute. He smirks at Ryker's embarrassed expression.

"You ready to meet up with the other guys?" Jamison asks.

"Shit... What if Derek thinks I'm weird or gross?" Ryker worries.

Jamison thinks about it for a second. Derek isn't a gentle guy, but he isn't a complete asshole either. Derek also appreciates pretty girls the most of the quartet.

"Nah. If anything I think he'll-" Jamison pauses.

"What?" Ryker asks.

A mischievous smirk slips onto Jamison's face. He pulls out his phone, and sends a text to the group chat. Ryker gives him a perplexed look before pulling out his phone to check the notification.

Jamison: Hey is it cool if I bring a girl over?

Theo: Oh no

Derek: Oh YES!

Derek: How the fuck did you manage that?!

Jamison feels a light swat on his arm. He glances up to see Ryker, red faced and glaring at him with his hand over his arm.

"Did... You just smack me?" Jamison asks.

"Yeah! I see what you're trying to do!" Ryker growls.

The barely registered impact was apparently Ryker's angry slap. Jamison suppresses a chuckle. He gently pats Ryker on the head when a buzz interrupts their exchange.

Theo: Is she who I think she is?

Derek: What??? You know who she is? Are you guys holding out on me?!

Jamison: I just met her today dude, relax

Theo: How does Ryker feel about this..?

"Yeah, Jamison! How do I feel about this?" Ryker gripes.

Jamison barely stops a laugh from escaping as he starts walking with the bags of merchandise in hand. Ryker quickly follows him down the mall corridor.

"If it really makes you uncomfortable, I'll stop." Jamison says gently.

Ryker's expression softens as he walks alongside his much taller friend. He lets out a quiet sigh.

"I'm cool with it, but why do you want to do this?" Ryker asks quietly.

"I just think it'll be funny." Jamison says.

"What, making me the butt of your weird joke?" Ryker snaps.

"Oh no, Derek will be the butt of this joke." Jamison corrects.

Ryker's footsteps stop for a second. He quickly resumes walking after pulling out his phone. Jamison checks the group chat to see what Ryker's saying.

Derek: Why would Ryker care? Won't he be just as hyped as me???

Ryker: I actually can't make it for a bit, so I might not get to meet her :(

Theo: Wow

Derek: Damn dude that sucks

Jamison glances over to see Ryker wearing a smug smile on his effeminate face. Ryker giggles to himself mischievously.

Cute.

~

The car ride to Theo's place is occupied by rock music playing over the radio. Ryker casually taps his boots together with a smile on his face. They pull up to Theo's house. The boy hops into the back.

"Welcome aboard, Theodore!" Jamison shouts.

"Jesus christ, Jamison!" Theo barks.

Jamison's amused laughter is joined by quiet giggling that catches Theo's attention. He leans forward over the center console to look at Ryker sitting in the passenger seat. His glasses slip down the bridge of his nose as he gawks.

"Quit staring!" Ryker scolds.

"S-Sorry!" Theo apologizes.

Theo sits back against the backseat with a bemused expression. He takes a deep breath.

"Is that really Ryker?!" Theo exclaims.

"Yes!" Jamison and Ryker say in unison.

Theo shakes his head softly as they pull away from his house. They're on their way to pick Derek up. Theo pushes up his glasses.

"So, I guess your plan is to tease Derek after revealing he's been flirting with Ryker?" Theo speculates.

"Pretty much." Jamison confirms.

Ryker peeks out of the window as they get nearer to Derek's house. He recognizes the area. Jamison turns to glance at Ryker.

"Hey Ryker, swap seats with Theo." He suggests.

"What, why?" Ryker questions.

"It'll be funny!" Jamison insists.

Ryker clambers over the center console into the back of the vehicle. Theo looks at Ryker intently before making his way into the front seat. The car slows to a stop shortly after.

Here he comes...
I'm actually kind of nervous!

The back door opens to reveal Derek dressed in one of his sleeveless shirts and a pair of shorts. His eyes widen a little when he sees Ryker sitting there in the back seat. He climbs into the car with a disarming smile.

"So... Who's this?" Derek asks.

Jamison and Theo exchange a look with one another in the front seat. They never thought to come up with a convincing alias for Ryker. Ryker has to decide in the moment, or bail on the joke.

"My name's Zoe." Zoe introduces herself.

"It's a pleasure to meet you... I'm Derek." Derek replies in kind.

Zoe smiles a little at Derek's uncharacteristically respectful tone. She glances over his body to appreciate sitting next to Derek. The perspective is different now.

"So are you from around here?" Derek asks.

"Yeah I've lived here my whole life, actually." Zoe replies.

"Damn, really? How have I not seen you at school?" Derek asks.

This puts a blush on Zoe's cheeks. She laughs it off, but the indirect compliment hits her right in the heart. Butterflies flutter in her tummy.

"Hah, well I'm pretty low key." Ryker deflects.

"I disagree. You're really-" Derek starts.

"Quit flirting so hard back there. I'm getting jealous." Jamison interrupts.

Derek clears his throat. Zoe feels her face turning red. She looks out the window as they drive to Jamison's place.

Jealous? Him?

~

The car slows to a stop in Jamison's driveway. Zoe reaches for the door handle, but the door opens to reveal Jamison standing there. He smirks at Derek.

"Man you are such a co-" Derek protests.

"Hey! Don't cuss around Zoe." Theo cuts in.

Derek does a double take. Theo glares at Derek pointedly.

"S-Sorry. Not used to having a girl around." Derek apologizes sheepishly.

"It's fine! I um... I don't mind swearing." Zoe replies.

Derek shakes his head at her with a wry smile playing upon his lips. The three of them move toward Jamison's house.

They're treating me like a girl.
Why is this so fun?

Jamison unlocks the house. The three boys glance at her before moving aside as if to let her enter first. Zoe's jaw drops.

"T-This is stupid! I'm not a freaking princess!" Zoe complains.

"Ladies first?" Jamison offers.

Zoe relents, pushing her way past them to step into Jamison's house. The interior is just as nice as she remembers it. Jamison, Theo, and Derek follow her inside in that order. Derek has the bags of food in his hands.

"So how do you feel about doritos and mountain dew, Zoe?" Derek asks.

"They're fine. Not my favorite, but yummy." Zoe replies.

Derek grabs four bowls from the kitchen and pulls open the bag of doritos. He pours each bowl full of them. Zoe watches him with a slight smirk.

Wow. He is never this nice.

Jamison takes it upon himself to participate. He grabs some cups for everyone and pours out the mountain dew without spilling a drop. Zoe shakes her head.

At least Jamison normally does that kind of stuff.

"You two are just making her uncomfortable." Theo comments.

Theo grabs one of the bowls of doritos along with a cup of mountain dew. He sits down on the spacious couch in the living room with a huff. Jamison and Derek mumble something to one another. Zoe can't hear what.

"Sorry. Just excited to hang out with you is all." Derek apologizes.

"It's really fine." Zoe assures him.

Jamison grabs his own bowl and cup. He joins Theo on the couch, leaving Zoe and Derek semi alone. Derek hands her a bowl and cup.

"I really like your outfit. It suits you." Derek compliments her quietly.

Zoe feels her cheeks burn for the umpteenth time today. She bites back a smile. Derek is making her swoon far too easily.

I'm not gay!
Derek is just really cute.
Yeah, that's it.

"Thank you... You look good yourself." Zoe returns the compliment.

Derek puffs up a little at the compliment. Zoe smirks at how proud of himself he looks. Usually she thinks he's a pompous jerk, but now he just seems adorable.

The two of them join Theo and Jamison on the couch. Derek is sitting on her left while the arm of the couch is on her right. The screen displays the title screen for Tech Titans 2. Zoe's eyes light up.

"You ever play Tech Titans?" Derek asks.

"I used to play all the time back in middle school!" Zoe replies enthusiastically.

Jamison presses start, and several gamemodes are presented. He chooses the free for all mode. Zoe immediately selects Valarie, with her sleek angular mech. Derek picks a beefy guy piloting a round mech. Theo chooses the guy in a skinsuit who has the cloaking mech. Jamison picks a robot with a mech that's just a larger version of itself.

"God it's been ages since we played this last..." Jamison mumbles.

The match begins. Derek is wiping the floor with them in the beginning. His round mech rolls around the arena like a wrecking ball. Zoe manages to keep away from him using her rocket boosters, but Theo and Jamison get their butts handed to them.

"You're not bad at this!" Derek exclaims.

Zoe launches a barrage of homing missiles. Derek tries to dodge, but his mech is nearly destroyed by the attack.

"What, did you expect a girl to be bad at video games?" Zoe retorts.

Derek chokes on his words. His mech stops moving for a moment. Zoe capitalizes on it, blowing his mech to smithereens. Derek sighs dramatically.

"Yes. I didn't think you'd be a gamer." Derek says dejectedly.

The next match starts. This time Theo and Jamison are more cautious and avoid getting crushed by Derek's rolling mech. Zoe dies when Theo uses his cloaking ability to ambush her. Jamison takes down Derek in a hard fought battle, but Theo's ambush kills him near instantly.

"Aw c'mon!" Derek groans.

"Just like old times, right?" Theo says smugly.

"Actually it kind of is. Except Ryker got replaced by Zoe, haha." Derek comments.

Awkward silence descends over the quartet like an unwanted blanket. Zoe nervously shifts in her seat. Theo and Jamison clearly want to speak up, but aren't for Zoe's sake.

"Okay I'll be honest." Zoe sighs.

Derek looks at her curiously. Theo and Jamison are holding their breath. Zoe looks into Derek's eyes with determination.

"I'm actually Ryker." Ryker admits.

"Huh?" Derek says dumbly.

"You got punked! I was never a girl at all!" Ryker taunts in his girlish voice.

Ryker stands up with his hands on his hips. Theo and Jamison look a little anxious while Derek is giving Ryker a suspicious look. Recognition and acceptance shine in his dark eyes before suspicion replaces it. He stands up and looks down at Ryker carefully.

"Uhm. Zoe you're like, five feet tall. Ryker's only a little shorter than me." Derek explains.

"It was the potion you made me drink!" Ryker interrupts.

An awkward grin splits Derek's face. He laughs whilst rubbing his hand on the back of his head. Ryker crosses his arms under his meager bust.

"I... Uh, yeah that is my bad, huh?" Derek replies sheepishly.

"Sure is your bad!" Ryker says with a huff.

Jamison and Theo shake their heads in unison while Derek realizes something. He narrows his eyes at his friends with a frown.

"Wait, so you two knew she was Ryker?" Derek questions.

"Uh... yeah." Theo replies.

"It was my idea to surprise you, actually. Thought it'd be funny." Jamison explains.

Derek rolls his eyes at his friends before picking up his controller. He puts the game on the character select, and the other three give him a confused look. He realizes no one is picking their character, and scoffs.

"Are we gonna play the game or not?" Derek asks impatiently.

Jamison quickly picks out his usual character. Theo scrambles to do the same, but Ryker is dumbfounded.

"What? That's it? You're just going to move on?" Ryker asks in exasperation.

"Sure am." Derek replies curtly.

Ryker blinks, and sits back down beside Derek. He picks out Valarie, and the match starts.

This isn't going how I expected...