--Day: One--

 

"Tobias? It's time to get up."

 

Tobias' mother turned the light on in his room, making Tobias himself squint and rub his eyes. Time for another day at school. He sat up, stretching and yawning, smacking his lips, and getting up to prepare for the day ahead of him. Even though all he had to do was get his shoes, some breakfast, and of course, his sweatband, leaving any step out would probably ruin his day before it started. Grabbing a fresh sweatband from his dresser, he glanced at the dirty clothes pile in the corner of his room. 

 

I really oughta tell mom to... Eh? 

 

On the top of the pile, there was a used pair of his phasewear: his favorite brand of underwear that blended seamlessly with his body, especially useful for covering more... private areas.

 

That's weird, he thought. I tossed that in, like, four days ago. It should be near the bottom of the pile... meh. Maybe mom just went through it before I woke up. 

 

He paid it no further mind as he went down for breakfast. Nothing out of the ordinary this morning. Just eggs and toast for breakfast. 

 

"Thanks, mom!" said Tobias as he chomped down on the eggs, hungry as ever. Finishing all of it in a few minutes, he set his silverware down and pushed the plate aside. 

 

"Good stuff. Thanks!"

 

"You're welcome, honey," Jackie Wilson replied. Tobias had a minor question for her. 

 

"Hey, mom? Did you check my laundry earlier?"

 

"No, I don't think. Why?"

 

"I just thought it'd be a good idea to do it soon. Don't want that pile growing arms and legs, right? Heheh!"

 

Tobias hopped down from the chair, bumping into someone coming down the stairs. 

 

"Oops, sorry- oh, Rachel! My bad!" 

 

It was his older sister. Rachel. She looked a little down. More so than normal. Tobias felt like he had to inquire. 

 

"Hey, Rach? You ok?"

 

"Yeah, I'm fine."

 

"You sure?"

 

"Yeah..."

 

"You're sure you're sure?"

 

She looked at him and grinned. 

 

"Yup." 

 

As she went into the kitchen to get some breakfast of her own, Tobias thought about her a bit more. 

 

Yeah, she's not the most popular person around town, but... She's still my sister. At least Gumball and Darwin haven't messed with her since that party a few years back.

 

He took a few steps towards the door when...

 

"Sweetie? You're not eating again, what's wrong?" 

 

Upon hearing his mother, Tobias hugged the wall. Whatever conversation his mom and sister were having, he wanted in, whether they knew or not. 

 

"Uh... I have... a boy I like."

 

"Is he telling you not to eat?"

 

"No, no, he doesn't even know I like him."

 

"Are you anxious, baby?"

 

"A little."

 

"Oh, honey... Maybe a nice breakfast will help those butterflies in your stomach?"

 

"Sure..."

 

"It'll be alright, Rachel. Maybe he likes you back, right?"

 

"I mean, I kinda already know he does..."

 

"Then what's stopping you from, say, asking him out?"

 

"Heh, myself?"

 

"Atta-girl."

 

*beep-beep!* 

 

Tobias quickly got his things together and headed out for the bus. Rachel followed a few moments later, seeming to have hastily shoved some of her food in her mouth. They picked spots across from one another before the bus took off for school. 

 

--at lunchtime--

 

The cafeteria at school was humming and buzzing with the voices of the prepubescent and otherwise, as usual. Tobias' lunch schedule was changed recently, so he didn't have anyone to sit with. Seeing no one he recognized, he sat by himself, at the other end of a more sociable bunch. 

 

Maybe I could sit with these guys, he thought. Before he could do anything, however, from behind him came a voice. 

 

"Toby! Fancy meeting you here!"

 

"Rach?"

 

His sister sat next to him at the lonely end of the table. 

 

"It's good to see you again, Toby."

 

"Heh, stop calling me Toby. We're in a public place."

 

"Aww, but I'm your big sister."

 

She put her hand on his, looking into his eyes. 

 

"If you can call me Rach, I can call you Toby, right?"

 

"...Who are you, and what have you done with Rachel?"

 

Tobias was put off by Rachel's tone and creepy hand-grabbing. She simply giggled and began to eat. Tobias, an eyebrow raised, ate cautiously, watching Rachel carefully. 

 

She's acting way more nice than normal. If she tries to hug me, I'm bolting. 

 

--At the end of the school day--

 

Tobias closed his locker with his foot, his school supplies in his arms. 

 

Well, another day of nothing. For the most part, at least. 

 

He heard footsteps to his side. He turned on a dime to see an older girl. Someone with a dark shade of skin, in goggles, a turtleneck, and slacks. Someone who looked like she belonged at the other junior high school. Someone who looked around Rachel's age. 

 

"Hi. I'm Tia. I've been here as a transfer student for a few months and-"

 

"Pfft. Nice outfit. Which superhero are you, Mediocre Fashion Sense Woman?"

 

"Very funny. No, I'm not here to flaunt my school or anything. I've just been investigating your older sister since I started here, and-"

 

"Then why aren't you hanging out with her?"

 

"That's the thing. I've talked to all her other friends, and they haven't heard from her, literally, for weeks. And when they and I try to talk with her, she pretends like we aren't even there. They sound like they threw the baby out with the bathwater, but... I just wanna say... I'm worried about her."

 

"...Okay, you could have just said that at the start. Now I have to make everyone wait at the bus, and no one likes the kid who makes people wait for the bus."

 

"I'm sorry, but-"

 

"See ya later!"

 

"Tobias, please?"

 

Tobias dashed off, leaving Tia in the dust. She sighed, sulking away. 

 

I know Rachel isn't a Void candidate. But there's no way she's like this normally. 

 

--later that day--

 

Tobias flopped on his bed, exhausted. His dirty clothes pile was no more, swept up and dumped into the washer like he expected. Still, he faintly remembered something that was off about it that morning. He snapped his fingers, wondering what it was. 

 

It's on the tip of my tongue, just can't remember- 

 

*creaak*

 

"H- hello, Tobias."

 

Tobias' eyes went over to Rachel entering his room and closing the door. 

 

"What're you doing?"

 

Tobias was feeling uneasy while Rachel sat at the side of his bed, a big grin on her face. 

 

"I... I wanna say something, Toby..."

 

She grabbed his hands, holding them together. Her face was one of barely suppressed happiness. Tobias was creeped out, to say the least. 

 

"Wha-"

 

Rachel lunged in and kissed Tobias the moment he opened his mouth. It startled him as much as caught him by surprise, her tongue in his mouth, her lips pressed against his. He pushed her off, coughing while he wiped his lips with his hands. 

 

"What- *cough* what was that?" 

 

Rachel didn't seem unhappy in the least. 

 

"I love you, Toby."

 

"Wha-? You're my sister!"

 

"I know, and that makes me love you even more, Toby." 

 

"What's wrong with you!? Is this what you meant this morning?"

 

She laid on the bed, beside him. 

 

"Nothing's wrong. And I've been wanting to come out to you for at least a week and a half. I kinda knew you listened in on me and mom, but that didn't have anything to do with this."

 

Tobias didn't even know what to say. His sister was talking such organized nonsense. She can't really love him, not in the ways outside of familial love. While he was thinking, she swooped in and kissed him again, this time on the cheek. 

 

"I really, really love you, Tobias..."

 

"N- no!"

 

"Shh, shh, calm down, Toby."

 

She hugged him tightly, rubbing his back while she did. Tobias then felt her hand go a bit... lower. Under his phasewear. He got a sick chill. 

 

"Rach... Please stop..."

 

He felt a hand grope his bottom. He started to breathe harder. 

 

"Stop it..."

 

"Shh, shh... This is just a special way of me saying I love you."

 

Tobias saw Rachel sit on her knees, moving her hand to... the other side. His blood ran cold. He shook his head, whispering. 

 

"Stop, stop, please..."

 

He felt her touch his private spots. And she looked as happy as ever. 

 

"Tobias, don't be scared. This is just what big boys and girls do when they love each other."

 

Tobias kept his eyes shut while his sister's hand kept invading his private space. He could feel her pecking him with kisses, cuddling with him as if nothing was wrong. 

 

"You've got a dick, Tobias. And I have a pussy. Do you wanna see my pussy?"

 

"N...nooo..."

 

"Aw, your voice says no, but I know your heart says yes..."

 

"No..."

 

"Please? It's nothing to be afraid of." 

 

Tobias felt her hand leave his underwear, but then he heard the rustling and discarding of clothes.

 

"This is kinda like what every couple does their first time. So open your eyes, Toby. It won't hurt. Please? I really love you, Toby..." 

 

He covered his eyes with his hands before sensing Rachel grab one of his wrists. He cried out in fear. 

 

"M- mom! Help!"

 

"I'm sorry, Toby, but mom and dad went out tonight. It's just you and me."

 

Tobias sensed Rachel's lips press against his once more, but this time she had grabbed him and lifted him up to her for this kiss. It was another lengthy tongue kiss that made Tobias a bit queasy. 

 

Please make her stop, please make her stop! 

 

Then, a door downstairs opened. 

 

"Kids! We're home! They were all sold out!"

 

Rachel immediately stopped what she was doing and got her clothes back on in a hurry. After getting her shirt back on, she held Tobias tightly. 

 

"Please, please don't tell mom about this! If you do, I'll... I'll..."

 

She shed a few tears and whispered to Tobias something that made him freeze. He watched Rachel wipe off her tears, walk out the door, and heard her go downstairs. He laid back in bed, unable to process any of what just happened. 

 

She... I don't want her to... But she... 

 

His feelings started to float away from him; to exile themselves from him. Or he was exiling them. Whatever the case, he felt cold. Not in a temperature way, but in a much more personal way. 

 

Rachel... wants to be my girlfriend.... And she... Touched...

 

--later that night--

 

"G'night, sweetie."

 

"Night, mom..."

 

Jackie's motherly instincts went off when she heard her son give a more distant response than normal. 

 

"Are you ok, honey?"

 

"I'm fine... Can you please close the door?"

 

"Just wondering. Is something on your mind? Is it school? Or something here?"

 

Tobias felt torn. 

 

If I tell mom, she might not believe me... And if Rachel's listening, she could...

 

"I'm ok, mom. Really. Can I go to bed now?"

 

"Well... Alright, baby. If you wanna talk, you always have me." 

 

"Okay. Night."

 

"Night, sweetie. I love you."

 

Tobias heard his mother close the door, as well as her footsteps leading away from his room. Then came over an hour of pure, terrifying silence. Terrifying because he was alone, in his dark room, with nothing to distract him from what Rachel did to him.

 

She said she loves me... Is what she did love? How boyfriends and girlfriends show their love for each other? 

 

The door opened again. Tobias froze once more. He held his breath and closed his eyes. 

 

If I can hold my breath for long enough, maybe they'll leave. Please don't be Rachel, please don't be Rachel...

 

He felt a chill come in from his blanket being lifted, then his underwear being taken off entirely before the blanket settled back onto him. He heard muffled, frail, feminine moans and sighs seconds later, along with some heavy, labored breathing. He barely made out some faint, hushed phrases like "I love you", "boyfriend", and "marry me". He heard some word that rhymed with 'duck' before he could hold his breath no more. He exhaled sharply, alerting whoever it was to his presence, or at least his consciousness. The girl seemed to stop making noises entirely for several agonizing seconds as Tobias got in the fetal position, a raw, gripping fear paralyzing him. 

 

PLEASE DON'T BE RACHEL PLEASE DON'T BE RACHEL PLEASE DON'T BE RACHEL!!!

 

The blanket concealing him was lifted up. Someone slipped in, closing the blanket and hugging him tight, the girl's bare skin against his. He audibly whimpered. 

 

PLEEEASE DOOOON'T!

 

"Shh, shh, shh, Tobias..."

 

Tobias felt a kiss on the tip of his head. The girl talked in a soft, warm, drawn-out whisper.

 

"Your big sister's here for you... You know how much I love you, so much that I stand watch over you every night... And I know how much you like watching me while you pretend to sleep... But you don't have to hide it anymore..."

 

Tobias didn't open his eyes once, but he heard and felt everything. It was Rachel. She was holding him by the back and bottom, keeping him close to her chest. 

 

"Some nights I would just stand watch while you slept like a little angel... My little angel... Some nights I would shield you, keep you company, hold you, talk with you... A wonderful boy like you never deserves to be alone... But now, now we can both relax... Relax and love each other like lovers do..."

 

Tobias sensed another kiss. His sister clung to him so desperately that it almost seemed like she would die if her nails didn't dig into the skin around his middle back and bottom. Tobias was too distant to even parse out what she was saying, let alone comprehend it. He could barely even think straight. All he could do was feel. Feel the blanket around him, feel his sister's warm breath against the top of his head, feel his private parts accidentally brush against his sister's belly. 

 

But most of all, he felt a cold, total nothingness inside him. Something that stuck with him until he finally found sleep.