Band Camping

"It seems sex does that to people."

"Well, I wouldn't know, I only had that one experience. But... well... promise you won't laugh at me?"

"I can't promise that, but if I do laugh, know that I'm not laughing at you, at your expense." Her eyes were turned on me now, and I wanted so badly to lean over and kiss her. Even in the dim light, with the gazebo awning blocking most of the amber glow from the street lamp, her eyes seemed to sparkle.

"Ok... after that, I... I vowed to be a virgin again. You know, to treat my next experience as if it were my first." I frowned, because not only had Jen turned away, but her body was shaking slightly. Then I heard the stifled giggling sound. "Ok, ok, real cool. Laugh at Dan the Nerd, self-proclaimed virgin."

She burst out laughing at that, leaning into me and clutching my arm. After a few moments, I think she realized what she was doing, as she pulled away -- not fully, her leg still pressing up against mine, and her hand resting partially on my leg -- and calmed down.

"Sorry. Not laughing at you, per se... But, honestly... Dan... 'self-proclaimed virgin'? What were you thinking?" She jabbed at my ribs, and I had to chuckle a little.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. It's corny." It was my turn to look off into the distance. "But I wanted to share that first time with someone special. I can't now. Well, I could lie about it, but that wouldn't be cool. I can't get a do-over on the actual first experience, so I wanted to share the next best thing with that special someone."

"You know, that's actually kind of sweet of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah..." Jen looked off into the distance again, lost in her thoughts.

We sat silently for a few more minutes before she broke the silence.

"I was engaged." That was a sudden way to break a silence.

"Whoa... two years ago?"

"Haha, I see Jess told you I haven't dated -- and more, I assume -- in two years."

"You could say that," I said, with a slight grin. She shook her head.

"I could tell you about all the twelve guys she's slept with up until Jim... but what kind of sister would I be if I did that? So I won't." I could hear the irony and humor in her voice. This was clearly an ongoing fight, something they had bickered about numerous times before, probably since middle school or high school.

"Wow, that many?" I caught her slight scowl -- the look I assumed said she had just told me something privileged. "I mean... what?"

"Right," she chuckled. She let out her breath, and took in a slow, long one. "So... yeah, I was engaged two years ago. We were typical high school sweethearts. We'd actually been fond of each other since elementary school. We were always hanging out, playing together, going everywhere together -- with Jess, too, of course, tagging along.

"Anyway, it only seemed natural that he would propose to me when we hit 18. Everything was going to work out fine. He was working with his dad's construction company. The plan was that he would take it over when his dad retired, which was no more than ten years in the future. So he had the income to support us, while I finished my degree, and a bright future for the both of us."

"I'm... sorry." I nearly whispered. I wasn't quite sure what to do, whether I should extend a hug, or stay rigid and silent, or say something. So, I just offered my hand -- held it out between us... and she surprisingly took it, interlacing her fingers with mine. My heart seemed to skip a few beats. I couldn't believe she was holding my hand, even if it was while she was feeling such sadness. But the next thing she said made me forget any pretense of romantic feelings.

"Yeah... a few months later... there was an accident at a job site... stupid failed safety equipment, and..." Jen trailed off, her voice cracking slightly. It seemed it still pained her, even two years later, to think of it. She cleared her throat. "They said death was instantaneous, but... it was like a part of me had just been taken away. I almost dropped out of college here, but... I have the Bruces to thank, because their encouragement kept me going."

"I am truly sorry you've had to endure that kind of heartache," I offered, as gently and sincerely as I could. She squeezed my hand and leaned her head against my shoulder.

"Thanks, Dan." She sighed, and it almost felt like she nestled against me. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and tried to burn this moment into my memory forever.

I must have been concentrating, or had some sort of weird look on my face, because I felt and heard her start to chuckle.

"What?" I asked, afraid to open my eyes.

"You," she said with plenty of amusement in her voice. "You're enjoying this, aren't you?" I think my face might have turned a slightly red color, since her giggles turned into a laughing fit.

"You bet I am," I said finally, "especially now that you're laughing again." I'm guessing the laughter was like a release for her, since she continued, despite there not being anything funny -- except for whatever stupid look I had on my face. But I really was enjoying the moment, feeling her hand in mine and listening to her melodious laughter.

After a few moments, she calmed down, and returned her head to my shoulder.

"Dan?" Her voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled over us.

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

I almost asked her what she was thanking me for, but some tiny little voice inside me said that wasn't the right thing to say, so I simply said, "You're welcome."

"Seriously, I don't think I've talked about it to anyone not directly involved -- you know, like family, close friends... So... thank you for listening, for being... you."

Now, somehow, a slight feeling of romance stirred between us. I was looking at her, as she had pulled her head from my shoulder and was gazing into my eyes. I wasn't an expert at these kinds of situations, having only kissed two girls. Would it be the wrong moment to lean in and kiss her? I felt like I'd be taking advantage of her, just after she poured her grief out to me like that.

Thankfully, and frustratingly at the same time, I didn't have to decide, because Jess's voice cut through the darkness.

"Woohoo, what were you two doing clear out here by yourselves?" She strolled up to the gazebo we had chosen, which had been shaded from the overhead park lights, making me realize that we'd been talking long enough it was now fully dark. "Oh, did I interrupt something?"

Jen had jerked her hand away from mine, in taking a swing at her twin. Jess dodged it and began laughing.

"My bad, but the Bruce party ended half an hour ago. You guys should thank Gas later, since he created a cover story for you both. I came looking for you, on the off chance that some crazy psycho -- or Lube here -- had gotten to you."

"Hey!" I protested at her jab. She leered at me, sticking her tongue out. But the party...It had ended half an hour ago?

I glanced at Jen as she looked back at me, both of us likely realizing we hadn't heard any of the vehicles leaving, or heard Jess's car pull up, only a hundred feet away.

"You suck, but thanks for caring about us, in the weird way you do," Jen reached out again, making contact this time with Jess's shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You know..." I started, a thought striking me, "you could have been a crazy psycho sneaking up on us and we wouldn't have known, either..."

"Well you got the crazy part right..." Jen piped up.

"I should just leave you both here, and you can gimp your lame ass home," Jess teased. "Or you could ask Lube here to give you a piggyback ride..." She turned to me, with that same mischievous look she'd had when I had gotten the ride from her only a few weeks ago, "Provided he doesn't have too much lube in his pocket." Then she got a really wicked look on her face. "Although, lube might be a good thing for you two..." She took off running after finishing that statement. I noticed Jen wasn't sitting next to me anymore, but limping rather rapidly after Jess.

"Fuck you, Skank, for making me run after you with my knee still healing!"

It was an amusing sight to see -- twins, each under five feet tall, one chasing the other around the small parking lot in the yellowish lamplight, Jen, the chaser, with a limp, but both slinging fairly foul insults.

It took about a minute for the pain in Jen's knee to become too great for her to give chase anymore.

"Whore. You're lucky my knee is keeping me from smashing your grinning face into the grass -- or the pavement." Jen had sat down on the curb, rubbing her brace-covered knee. Jess stood by the driver-side door of the car.

"Just ask Lube -- he can give you a hot oil massage."

"You just don't give up, do you, Jess? Or is your mind just permanently in the gutter?"

"Jen, do you really have to ask? You know how much of a dirty girl I am..." Jess looked at me and back to Jen. "Maybe I should show Lube here just how dirty I can get..."

Something transpired after this, some unspoken tension, some pseudo-telepathic form of communication unique to twins. They stared at each other, creating a silence that felt like a dark void. If I was correct in my assessment of what went unspoken but clearly got exchanged, it seemed that Jess was challenging Jen to confirm her own suspicions that Jen was attracted to me.

I was fortunate to have some kind of gift for reading people, at least, to a small degree, until it came to the signs a girl was giving directly to me. As she sat on the curb, staring at Jess, Jen's body language was quite clear -- she was sending a defensive signal of possession, that Jess better not put a finger on me.

My heart soared in my throat. She really was attracted to me... at least I hoped, if I had understood the situation correctly. Jess's next words seemed to confirm my thinking.

"I thought so," Jess muttered, backing down and climbing into the car. She leaned out the window, looking at us. "You guys coming?" She grinned and cackled, making me wonder what was going on in her head, until I realized the innuendo in her words.

"Just shut up already," Jen groaned. I quickly offered her a hand to get up. She took it, smiling at me, and gave my hand a small squeeze before she let go and got into the car.

The car ride home was awkward and silent, save for the radio playing softly in the background. That's when I heard exactly what was playing on the radio, the lyrics clearly saying "Come my lady, come, come my lady, you're my butterf—" Jen's hand slapped hard against the power button, effectively shutting up the singer.

It was too dark to see either twin's face, but it looked like both of them were looking straight ahead. I could tell Jess wanted to comment on the all-too-well-timed innuendo of the song, but upon seeing her remain silent, I think I chose the wise option of keeping my own mouth shut a well.

As we pulled up to Jen's apartment, the street lights played briefly over their faces, revealing that Jess had a Cheshire grin, and Jen wore a scowl directed at her twin.

Not a word was spoken as Jen left the car -- the same twin psychic stuff happening instead -- but Jen caught my eye and winked at me with a small smile right before she turned around. I couldn't help but watch her walk up to her apartment, captivated by her movements, and in awe and wonder that she might possibly like me.

"You two will make a cute couple," Jess whispered in my ear, startling me back to reality. "Oh, and adorable babies."

"Sheesh, you really do think dirty all the time, don't you?" I said, after shifting to the front next to Jess.

"Pretty much. I bet you two will have mind-blowing sex, the way you've been looking at each other... and the fact she hasn't gotten any in such a long time." Jess's candid words had me blushing, and, once again, stirring in my pants. "Just be gentle and kind to her, 'kay?"

"R-right..." I wasn't sure what to think: was Jess being serious, or was she teasing me again? I supposed only time would tell.

"You know..." Jess began, looking over at me while we were stopped at a red light, "I've never seen her look at someone like she does you."

"What do you mean?"

"Gosh, are you retarded or something? She's totally into you." Jess laughed as she thought of something. "In all the years I watched her fawn over him, she gave him these little looks like, 'I like you.' But with you, Dan, she's giving you this 'I don't like being away from you' kind of look. You catch my drift?"

"Seriously?" I really hoped she was being serious... It would be some kind of mean and cruel joke if she wasn't.

"She was holding your hand and had her head resting on your shoulder, and you've only known each other these past 4 weeks of Hell. You think she'd do that with someone she considered just a friend?" Jess did have a point. "But..."

"What? I don't like hearing buts after that kind of statement."

"She's let Zack's death seep into her pretty deep. I've tried shoving guys her way, but she's wanted nothing of it. We've talked, of course, and while she's okay on the surface... I don't actually know what's going on down deep." She paused. "Oh damn... I've just mentioned Zack and you don't seem surprised. Why are you not surprised? Oh! Shit, she told you!?"

"What, that she was engaged, and the guy died in some kind of construction accident two years ago?"

"Oh my God!" Jess jerked the car over, cutting someone off, as she screeched to a stop on the shoulder of the road. The angry driver blared their horn and shouted something at us, but Jess didn't even give it a second glance. "She's never told... You're the first person she's..." Jess was breathing faster, unable to finish a sentence.

"Yeah, just tonight, she said the same thing, that she'd never told anyone outside of her family or anyone not directly involved. Jess, calm down, is something wrong?" In the four weeks I'd known her, Jess could act pretty strange, but this was way outside even her norm.

"No, it's just... Wow..." Jess looked at me with wide eyes and a smile. "You'll probably be The One."

"'The One?' Like, 'he's the one for me' or 'I am Neo'?"

"You might be the one to break her free from her own sadness." She placed her hands around my right hand, pulling it closer. "You have my full support. Besides, you'll probably be a pretty cool brother-in-law."

"Uh..." I was left pretty speechless. It wasn't every day that someone's twin tells you she basically wants her sister to marry you -- especially after just four weeks.

"Yeah... sorry, that probably sounds kinda creepy." She looked forward, took a few deep breaths and turned back toward me. "Forget that last part, just... be patient with her, and keep doing what you're doing... You're doing something right."

"You know..." I said, after she had started easing back into traffic, "you'll be one crazy sister-in-law after all." She squealed a giddy sound at my words, wiggling excitedly in her seat.

"Glad to know you're on board the crazy train."

"I think I am too. You two are a riot."

After that, Jess and I made small talk for the few remaining minutes until we got to the dorms. She said good night to me and headed to her floor. I slowly made my way back to my dorm room, plenty on my mind to contemplate -- and my college life hadn't even officially begun yet. That started on Monday.

Chapter 4 -- Homecoming

My first week of classes breezed past, what with my full schedule and band practice on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday nights. That first Monday night practice, every time I glanced over at Jess, she had this huge cheesy grin on her face. I'm sure Jen had to have noticed, but she didn't say anything.

That weekend was our first game. The football team was opening against one of the best rated teams in the country. We'd hear after the game that our halftime performance was the highlight of the game, so severe was the beating our team received.

Jen was still sitting out, her knee having not fully recovered yet. I was able to sit next to her in the stands, while we played pointless pep tunes for our dispiritingly losing team. It was still a blast. We talked at almost every chance we could get, laughing and having a grand time despite the game.

For the next few weeks, it felt like we had fallen into a comfortable routine; Jess, Jen and I (occasionally Jim, too) would all ride home after weekday practices, and Saturday games had us sitting together and thoroughly enjoying each other's company.

It truly felt like we were falling in love. I had never felt so great.

And then there was an accident.

It wasn't anything incredibly major, but it did change things quite a bit.

During Homecoming week, our band director had scheduled a showcase for local high school bands to come out and watch us march our halftime show and to show off their own skills, getting feedback and input from us. We'd then break out into section groups and have small lessons prepared for the high school kids. It was hard to believe I had still been in high school only a few months prior.

The accident happened after we had split into sectional groups. One of the high school kids was trying to show off to Boobs, in some pathetic attempt to get her attention, I guess. He tried to do some kind of somersault or flip or something, while holding his trombone, but I think the extra weight threw him off balance. He collided with me, falling onto me in such a way that my upper body faced one direction, and my knee, trapped beneath his bulky, clumsy ass, twisted close to the opposite direction.

The Bruces came to my rescue immediately, hauling the kid off of me, but unfortunately, not before the injury had worked some major damage. I couldn't move my knee at all, and the pain was quite possibly the worst I had ever imagined.

I was rushed to the hospital with all the Bruces coming along to make sure I was okay. The doctor took an x-ray and a few other scans I didn't even know the name of, always with a "hold still, this might hurt a bit" before scanning or rubbing some wand thing over my knee.

After a couple hours, I had the diagnosis -- a partially torn meniscus, the tendon that crosses like an 'x' in the knee and keeps your calf from swiveling around your knee joint.

The doctor reassured me (he must have thought of it as reassurance) that it could have been much worse. A fully torn meniscus could require numerous surgeries and extensive physical therapy, with a strong possibility that the person would never make a full, 100% recovery. A partially torn one, however, would heal itself within a month or two with a basic knee brace so long as I kept most of my weight off the leg that entire time.

Jen told me later, that when she delivered the news, everyone stared at her, realizing that she had suffered the exact same injury just last year (in a much different way than I had), having undergone her final surgery at the start of summer. They all took turns visiting my room, with a few jokes passed around, some sympathetic words, and some discussion over what would happen with the sudden gap I had left in the Bruce line.

When the excitement died down (and the prospect of a devastating diagnosis faded away), everyone left, likely to go over how to plug the hole I had left in the show, except for Jen and Jess. Jen said something to Jess. Jess nodded, looked over at me with a mix of pity and something else and left the room. Jen came over to the hospital bed and pressed her hand into mine.

"She'll wait in the parking lot until you get discharged, but... funny how we have the same knee injured the same way, huh?" Jen smiled -- something I had come to treasure. I returned her smile.

"Wait, that's what was wrong with your knee?" I realized I hadn't known what had happened to her, why she had needed knee surgery. "How did it happen?"