Corey nodded.

"I know her, she's hot. And she hit on you?"

"Yeah, but I'm not into emo chicks..." Corey smiled. "Or any chick."

"Ha, ha, funny, girl-boy."

Corey flicked Naf the finger then jumped into the car, hoping Kirstin's cousin was going to be there. He remembered the way the bloke had hit on him a few months back. It was kind of cool that Tyler had liked him even when he'd been fat. Yeah, the guy was nice, and it would be even cooler to talk with Tyler openly without having to worry about being treated like a freak. His family couldn't give him that, and there was no way Sledge could either-no matter how much he wanted him to.

Naf got out of the car. "You sure this is the right place, bro?" he said, looking over the hood at Corey.

Corey closed the pa.s.senger door and glanced at the slip of paper. "Yeah, it's the correct address." He lifted his head and took in Kirstin's road. Until today, he'd thought Pleasant Parade was the worst street in South Auckland, but man, he was wrong, way wrong, because Kirstin's road was dive central, along with her property. There was an old wreck out front, the gra.s.s was overgrown, the graffitied fence was falling apart, and the exterior was flaking paint.

Naf shook his head. "Well, I wouldn't have picked a hot babe like Kirstin to live in this dump, but guess we can't choose our family."

Corey glared at his brother. "Is that a rib at me?"

"Talk about sensitive, but then again, you were always overly emotional." He sn.i.g.g.e.red. "And now I know why, girl-boy."

"Stop calling me that!" Corey flicked Naf the finger, then stomped towards the front door. He thumped on it, wishing it was Naf's face.

Seconds later it pulled open. "You came," Kirstin Jones squealed, sounding like an overexcited kid, although she looked anything but. The sixteen-year-old was dressed in a short black skirt and a matching sleeveless top, the latter covered in safety pins. Her ears had multiple piercings and her makeup was black lipstick, eyeliner and some powder to lighten her complexion. She was an emo boy's wet dream.

Her smile dropped. "What happened to your face?"

"Said the wrong name while having s.e.x." Corey grinned. s.h.i.t, he had cancer, so he might as well make light of the situation-or slit his wrists, and he was too squeamish for that.

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, she smacked me about, but I don't hit chicks back."

"Oh, you poor sweetheart." She leaned over and kissed his cheek, then gently wiped it. "Sorry, got my lippy on you."

Naf mumbled behind him. "Poor sweetheart, my fat a.r.s.e."

Corey stepped to the side. "This is my brother. Can he come in too?"

Kirstin gave Naf a once over, her little nose s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up like she'd smelled something rotten. Corey bit his lip to stop from laughing. Naf always inspired chicks to drop their knickers. Not!

"Yeah, of course," she said, her smile returning as she refocused on Corey. "Come in, cutie-pie."

"Come in, cutie-pie," Naf mimicked behind him.

Ignoring his brother, Corey stepped into the room, AGAIN unimpressed. What a b.l.o.o.d.y slack party. No wonder it had been far too quiet. He'd thought Kirstin was supposed to be cool; her group of friends anything but sweetsie, but all he could see was a bunch of guys playing video games, while a short, podgy girl glared at the back of their heads. No music, no drugs, no alcohol, just a smelly room crammed full of boxes. Man, he'd stepped into grunge-ville. He hoped there were no parents hanging around, because if there were, he was so out of here.

Corey's gaze wandered over the guys on the couch. One had dreadlocks just below his shoulders, the boy next to him had more tyres around his waist than the Michelin Man, and the third one had his hair dyed black like Kirstin's, his blond roots also noticeable. Corey's attention shifted back to the dreadlocked boy, thinking he was smoking hot ... and vaguely familiar. Where had he seen him before?

"What's there to drink?" Naf asked, snapping Corey's fixation away from the boy.

Kirstin pointed to the divider between the lounge and kitchen. "We've got c.o.ke, Sprite..."

Naf screwed up his face as though she'd offered him sewage. "Unless it's c.o.ke as in cocaine, I don't want it. Now, where's the booze?"

"Nah, sorry, can't give ya any of my dad's beer, he'd kill me."

The dreadlocked guy looked up from the game. "Which is why I brought my own supply." He chucked Naf a can, hitting him in the chest. Naf swore and scooped it up off the floor.

Corey sn.i.g.g.e.red. His brother was such a klutz, hence his nickname, non-athletic f.u.c.kwit, Naf for short. Only the olds called him Samuel.

"Sorry, dude," the dreadlocked guy said to Naf. His gaze shifted to Corey. "You want one?"

"Yup," Corey answered before Naf could veto it. He didn't give a s.h.i.t that he wasn't supposed to be drinking. He wanted to enjoy himself tonight, and was willing to put up with the consequences.

The guy chucked him a beer. Corey fumbled it slightly, but managed not to drop it. He wasn't exactly Mr. Co-ordinated either, but at least he wasn't a total klutz like his bro.

The fat boy jumped up from the couch, and threw the remote down on the floor. "f.u.c.k you, Josh!"

Emo boy laughed. "Sore loser." He picked up the remote and held it out for Corey. "You wanna play?"

Corey went to take it, but got pulled back by Kirstin. "Nah, let your brother play, I wanna introduce you to my BF, Farrah," she said.

"Yeah, Corey loves being with girls, since he's a..." Naf made a slurping sound as he walked past, the same way Tama did when referring to p.u.s.s.y. Corey glared at the back of Naf's head, wanting to punch him.

"Cool," Kirstin said, yanking him over to her friend.

Kirstin's BF smiled at him. Man, she was short, barely five-foot. In heels! "What happened to your face?" Farrah asked.

"He called out someone else's name while having s.e.x," Kirstin said.

Farrah laughed. "You got beaten up by a girl?"

Corey could hear the boys sn.i.g.g.e.ring on the couch. "I don't hit chicks," he replied, feeling like a loser.

Kirstin tugged on his arm. "You wanna go to my room and talk? These guys are boring."

"Yeah, we can smoke some weed," Farrah whispered.

"No, we can't." Kirstin's eyes darted to the boys. "My dad will kill me if he smells it. He only lemme have this party cos he was going to my mum's."

"Your dad won't know," Farrah said. "And whenever he visits your mum he doesn't return until well after lunch the next day. The smell would've gone by then."

"But, what about my uncle? I can't remember whether he's back today or tomorrow."

"If you don't let us, we'll take off." Farrah smiled at Corey. "You wanna come with me?"

"If you're giving me freebies, h.e.l.l yeah."

Kirstin muttered, "b.i.t.c.h," under her breath. "Okay. We'll do it in my room, but if we get caught you hafta take the fall." She looked back at the boys on the couch as they yelled at each other over the game. "And they aren't allowed in, cos Tag and Josh always cause trouble when they get high."

"I like it when Tag gets high." Farrah grinned. "He strips."

Corey glanced back at the dreadlocked guy, wondering whether it was him. "Is he a graffiti artist?"

"Yup, that's him," Farrah said. "His real name's Kane Talich, but he insists on being called Tag."

"Man, he gets his name on some dangerous places," Corey said, in admiration. "He's got b.a.l.l.s."

"More like rocks in his head," Kirstin muttered, then shouted. "He's a b.l.o.o.d.y moron!"

The guys turned around. "Yeah, I'm talkin' 'bout you, Kane."

"It's Tag, you b.i.t.c.h. And you're just sore at me cos you can't get any of this." He waggled his tongue at her.

Corey grinned, thinking Tag's pierced tongue looked hot.

"No female wants any of that, you moron. Only gaybos," Kirstin retorted.

"You b.i.t.c.h." Tag went to climb over the couch, but got pulled back by emo boy and his fat mate. "Lemme go, she's just askin' for a smack."

Laughing, Kirstin poked her tongue out at him. "Well, you ain't gettin' any of this either, no matter how much you ask."

"You just called me a f.a.g, now you think I want some of your emo a.r.s.e. Dream on, s.k.a.n.k, I've got chicks lining up for me."

"Yeah, I'll give ya some, Tag," Farrah said.

"Like h.e.l.l. I meant good-lookin' chicks, not fat umpa lumpas."

The other guys started laughing. Farrah flicked them the finger, then stomped off down the pa.s.sage.

"You guys are horrible!" Kirstin shouted. She followed her mate, then came back and grabbed Corey.

Corey glanced over his shoulder at Tag, wishing the guy was gay. He wasn't usually attracted to pretty-boys, but Tag's reputation, dreads, and the tongue stud did it for him. He grimaced, but not as much as Sledge did. Man ... why couldn't he stop thinking about his mate? It was driving him nuts.

He got pulled into the end room. It was full of posters of actors dressed as vampires and some skinny emo dudes with guitars. Kirstin closed the door, then directed him to sit next to her and Farrah. Farrah was crying and wiping her nose on her jacket sleeve.

Kirstin ran a hand down the girl's long, curly brown hair. "Ignore those creeps. You know what they're like. They insult me too."

"Not the same way. They're always making fun of my weight, even Mick who's way bigger than me. They never tease him."

"Pro'bly cos that fat f.u.c.k would squash them," Corey added. "And you look hot in my opinion; a li'l bit of jelly is healthy."

A smile lit up Farrah's face. "Really? You reckon I look hot?"

"Yeah," Corey lied, knowing how much the truth hurt when he was fat. Maybe he should've said nice, but at least she was happy now.

Farrah pulled out some joints, pa.s.sed him one, then lit it up.

Corey scooted up the mattress, and leaned against the wall. He closed his eyes and took a long drag on the joint, ignoring the girls' whispering. All he wanted to do was to get high and forget about his troubles. He grimaced, not looking forward to starting radiotherapy. He was sick of being a human pincushion, plus needles scared him, which was why he would never get a tattoo. Although he liked looking at them, he didn't know how people could stand the pain. Though, he definitely liked the idea of Sledge getting one. He felt his b.a.l.l.s tingle as he imagined Sledge with a tribal tat covering his arms and pecs. Hmmm... Definitely something he'd love to see, touch and kiss.

Farrah started giggling. Corey opened his eyes to see what was so funny. The girls were staring at his... s.h.i.t! Corey covered his c.o.c.k, willing it go down. He hoped he wasn't blushing, because his face turned bright red, along with his neck, when he was embarra.s.sed, something he got teased a lot for, along with his pale complexion. He wished he'd gotten his mother's darker genes like Beth had, not his d.a.m.n father's.

He closed his eyes and took another drag on the joint, wishing he knew how to handle chicks better. Juliet was the only one he'd ever been friends with, because females in general made him feel awkward. He didn't know what to say to them, and he didn't like girly stuff either, especially fashion. All that c.r.a.p about gay guys having a great fashion sense didn't extend to him, cos hoodies and jeans were his dress-code, and the only thing he'd ever liked about fashion was styling his hair, but now that was all chemoed off he had nada left. Maybe he wasn't a typical gay, but then again, how would he know what typical was, because he didn't know any gay guys, well, apart from Kirstin's cousin, who he'd only met once. If anything, he didn't know why he was even here, because Tyler probably wouldn't remember him.

Corey blew out smoke, wondering whether Tyler was going to show. Something soft brushed his lips, making him open his eyes. They widened as Kirstin latched onto his mouth, full out kissing him.

He jerked his head to the side, then scrambled off the bed. "What the f.u.c.k?!"

She jumped up after him. "I thought you wanted it?"

"Why?" Corey's gaze shifted to Farrah. The girl was sn.i.g.g.e.ring behind her hand. Some BF, he thought.

"I thought you were interested in me?" Kirstin said. "And you had a hard-on."

He couldn't stop the blush now. He was sure it had even reached his c.o.c.k, burning it into non-existence. "I wuzn't thinking 'bout you, you're too young for me."

"No, I'm not."

"I ain't comfortable with this," he said, glancing back at her friend. He didn't want to do anything with Kirstin-and especially not with her mate watching. Freaky chicks.

Kirstin's gaze followed his. "Get out, Farrah."

Farrah pulled a face. "Can't we just sit here and smoke. He's not interested in you."

"No, he just doesn't want you perving while we make out."

Ready to bolt, Corey opened the door. He stopped in his tracks as a huge skinhead glared down at him. He was dressed in camo pants, and a black bomber jacket.

"What're you doin' in my niece's room?!"

Corey felt his d.i.c.k shrink into the size of a c.l.i.toris. He held up the joint with a shaky hand. "Smoking."

The guy grabbed the front of Corey's sweatshirt. "Did you f.u.c.k my niece?"

Corey shook his head.

"Uncle Deano, let him go!" Kirstin yelled behind Corey. "He's Farrah's boyfriend."

The skinhead's attention shifted Farrah. "Is this true?"

Corey's eyes dropped to the guy's tattooed knuckles. A thunderbolt cut in between the letters AC and DC. He didn't know what Farrah was doing right now, but he was praying that she was nodding until her head fell off. Huge relief washed over him when he heard a "Yes."

The man swiped the joint out of Corey's hand then gave him a hard shove down the pa.s.sage. "Get outta here before I change my mind and add some more colours to your face."

Corey took off into the lounge. Except for Naf, who was still concentrating on the PlayStation game, the others had wide grins on their faces. Flicking them the finger, Corey slumped in the seat adjacent to the couch.

They turned back to their game. Tag let out a loud whoop a few seconds later when his PlayStation character shot down Naf's. Corey swore the guy looked familiar. He grinned when he clicked why. Tag's features were similar to Ash and Dante's, plus he was pretty sure the Rata's grandfather had the name Talich.