“Okay… What is the condition?” Dearan said nervously, expecting a ‘pay for gas,’ or ‘you bring food.’

“I get to control the stereo,” Stephan continued in a menacing voice.

Again Dearan let his giggle-laugh out, “Yeah. I think, that, will, be, fine,” he managed to force out between bubbling laughs.

“Bring the normal things you would need for a weekend, plus a bathing suit, beach towel, and some hiking boots, to school tomorrow.”

“Okay, should I bring some food?”

“No, I am a master chef, not to brag, but I am going to brag anyway, and all the ingredients I need are up there already, don’t forget I am perfect after all,” Stephan said, with a cocky smile across his face.

“Alright, well class is over, I will see you oh maître chef, tomorrow,” Dearan said, gathering his stuff for math.

**

Dearan grabbed a bag and began to pack. First, he tossed via powers some clothing in, then PJs, then toiletries. He then struggled to find properly sized swim shorts, for he had not swum in several years. He ended up grabbing some swim shorts from 7th grade, which would probably be tight, and show off some seriously… non-existent leg muscles. ‘Whatever.’

**

“Can I put my stuff in the trunk, Stephan?” Dearan asked, at the end of the school day on Friday. He continued after a nod from the other boy. They were about to leave for their research weekend, and both were excited, though their excitement stemmed from different sources.

They got into the car, Dearan attempted to get in the back, but Stephan just laughed, “Just sit in the passenger seat, I am a good driver, but I will feel uncomfortable if I can’t see you. I mean because I won’t know if you are watching you know? It is way~ distracting!”

“I guess that makes sense,” Dearan said, still in a questioning tone. “Let’s get on the road then!”

This just caused more chuckles from Stephan as he got into the car. “Remember, I get control of the stereo!”

“Okay, I am starting to think you are a bit power hungry,” Dearan said, mostly joking.

“Don’t worry, you will enjoy it… Probably.”

With a laugh, Stephan turned on his stereo, then turned on his CD slot. A feminine voice that grated at one’s soul came out of the speakers, “Alright y’all, today we are going to do a get to know people better, so I am going to read out some questions and y’all are gonna just blurt the first answer that pops into y’all’s heads, Gucci? Gucci.”

Dearan already began to cringe, was this really a recording trying to figure out how many times someone could say y’all in one sitting? He sighed, maybe this could be fun… maybe. Stephan pulled out of the school parking lot.

“Alrighty y’all, let’s get right into it. Remember, everyone should just say the first thing they think of, alrighty? Gucci. The first question is, who, when, your first kiss?”

Stephan answered happily, “My pillow, 6th grade!” At the same time, Dearan said, “Brandon, 8th grade.” Dearan paused the CD, “Come on dude, you have to say your first kiss with a human.”

“Fine, I’ll tell you when it happens,” Stephan mumbled. Dearan looked to the side with surprise, only to see a bright pink blush on his driver’s cheek. Dearan quickly hit unpause, he would rather hear that annoying voice, than have to respond.

“Okay, that was a fun warm-up question, on to number two; what is your oddest habit?”

Stephan replied, his blush only growing, “I like to crochet and knit.”

“I love turning my AC on, going on my beanbag, curling up under a fluffy blanket, and reading sappy gay novels.”

Stephan chided Dearan, “That’s not odd!” He finished his remark much quieter, but still loud enough for Dearan to hear, “That’s just cute.”

The voice continued, “Alright sugars, y’all let’s go onto the next one! So the next question is, would you rather have sex with a goat and it be a secret? Or not have sex with a goat but everyone thinks you did?”

“This is an odd ass question, like for real…” Dearan said, pausing the CD so they could both really think about that answer… or not.