Trechial blinked one, two, three times, rubbing her eyes with vigor. She stared at him like a foreign object. Heck, he was foreign in this state.

His eyes were now distinct––one dark brown and the other hazel with gold flecks reminding her of two rare marbles. They were both captivating and strange as they stared back at her with a squint.

His face.

The bones in his face were sharper since the last time she saw him. And while that wowed her— his newfound height floored her. His lips were leveled with her forehead. She wondered for a moment how they might hug without his lips accidentally brushing her forehead, but she shook away the thought with a heat rush to her neck. That and her mom observed her observe him.

Trechial threw her mom a muddled glimpse then nodded in his direction. "Who's this?"

Her mom shrugged, a slow smile beginning to reveal itself. "This handsome boy is the kid from across the street, I think."

Trechial tapped her chin, her face scrunching into a grimace, appraising him with pseudo displeasure. "Yeah, but what did they do with Tae?"

"I know," her mom said. "This kid seems relaxed and well mannered. The other guy was a ball of energy and smiled way too much."

Trechial folded her arms and pouted. "I don't like it. Give me my best friend back."

Devin narrowed his animalistic gaze at her but didn't say anything.

Diana snickered, pulling him into an unwanted hug and squeezed him before he could utter a word, then stepped back to give him a once-over in appreciation. "Congratulations on all your hard work, kid."

Devin hunkered into his shirt a little. "Thank you, Mrs. Dee."

Trechial smacked her lips at his false humility.

Diana gave his lowcut fade a smoothing out then headed towards the living room, the next room over. "I'm off to work. I should be home around three." She kissed her new husband, Charlie, on the forehead, and he blew her one back from his recliner.

Disgusting.

Charlie had fixed it so his recliner had a view of the front door from the living room. Every time Trechial made a bee-line towards the front door, Charlie was right there asking her where she was going and who she was going with?

She peeked at Devin's brooding features. He ran his tongue along the inside of his jaw and squinted his eyes at Charlie. He looked as if he wanted to smash Charlie like a cockroach.

Trechial's mom left them standing in the foyer aloof to the silent battle that could easily turn into a war between Devin and Charlie. She viewed the surrounded area of the foyer, rocking back and forward on her heels.

"You should finish getting dressed," Devin finally said stealing a look at her. Goosebumps prickled her skin at the change in his voice. And though Devin may have looked differently, he still was the same ole, straight-to-the-point Devin Liao that she had grown to love and loathe at the same time.

Trechial avoided his gaze, turning to leave the room. "Uh, okay."

Devin leaned against the door with his arms folded when she reappeared. "Ready?" she asked, approaching him with a smile.

Charlie called her name from the living room, holding out an empty plate to her. "Trechial, before you leave can you put this plate in the kitchen? My back is giving me some trouble this morning."

She glanced at Devin, his straight face and piercing gaze assessing Charlie. Was it wrong to say that when he was the chubby boy who left at the beginning of summer he didn't seem as lethal as he did upon returning home? There was something inexplicably different about Devin and it wasn't just his weight loss. He obtained a lofty air about him— it was a no-crap-taking impression that radiated through every pore on him.

Trechial pulled her eyes away from Devin to meet the calico sneer of Charlie.

"Sure." She grabbed his plate and put it in the kitchen, his eyes creeping up the back of her legs on her way out.

Charlie pushed himself out of the recliner and walked to Devin as Trechial approached them.

He stopped short of Devin his dry lips curved into an obnoxious leer, "How does it feel to not be a porky anymore?"

A jolt of rage construed Trechial's face. Devin stood tall with his chest poking out and his fist balled at his sides glaring at Charlie. She wondered for a split second if Devin was crazy enough to swing on Charlie.

"Ignore him, you know he's buggin'," she said rushing to Devin and giving his tense arm a firm squeeze. "He's a jerk."

Charlie reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunched-up pack of cigarettes. He slapped the pack against his palm and pulled one out with his lips never taking his eyes off of Devin. He produced a lighter from the same pocket and lit the cigarette and inhaled the smoke. "Yeah, kid listen to the pretty princess and back down." He bent down to eye level with Devin and released a pungent ball of smoke in his face.

Devin didn't blink. He clutched his fist tighter and held Charlie's glare with a venomous glare of his own. Trechial did not understand Devin's new resolve— he knew Charlie was dangerous.

"Back off, Charlie," Trechial growled.

Charlie ignored her content with harassing the boy in front of him. "What are you going to do, you little piss ant? You think because you lost weight your hot shit? Go ahead, hit me. Hit a police officer and see what happens." Charlie told him sticking the cancer stick between his lips and taking a puff.

A raging hyper-cane built itself a home in Trechial's chest and she came to stand in front of Devin. Charlie lowered his gaze challenging Devin, taking a puff of the cigarette, and released a stream of smoke out the corner of his lips.

"Do not talk to him like that, rent-a-cop!" Trechial said, tightening her fist too. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention when Charlie switched his steely eyes to her, "Or-or I swear, I will tell momma that you're smoking in our house and harassing Tae."

Seconds felt like an hour before Charlie stuck the cigarette between his lips and flipped it back with his tongue into his mouth and started chewing it. Devin and Trechial face twisted in disgust.

Charlie continued to watch Trechial as he swallowed the cigarette. "Fine. You win princess. But as I did something for you, can you do something for me?" Trechial glanced over her shoulder at Devin, he shook his head no at her. "Can you get me the newspaper and take out the trash before you go?" said Charlie walking back to his chair and plopped down in it.

Devin grumbled something in Chinese and they both turned to the front door, his hand gripped the doorknob. He threw a glance over his shoulder at Charlie. "You have two legs and a heartbeat," Devin said, "so what's stopping you from doing it yourself?"

"Boy," he snarled in a slow, southern drawl, "Don't push your luck."

Devin's lip twisted upward. "What's the point of having a man in the house if he's not going to do the very basics of his duties? That is just one of the many distinctions between you and Mr. Ashton." Then he added, "Sir."

Trechial stared at the back of Devin's neck, frozen, wordless. Who is this guy?

"You son of a––" Trechial whipped around at Charlie who was back on his feet and headed their way.

In a haste, she covered Devin's hand on the knob and twisted it then shoved him out the door. "Um, we're going to be late. We should go."

***

Daybreak and the wet scent of freshly cut lawns greeted them as they took slow steps down the sidewalk. The silence of an older neighborhood like this one allowed them to gather their thoughts. One and two-story brick homes with manicured lawns lined their street, and street lamps loomed in every other yard.

Mrs. Rambert exchanged her white picket fence for a tall wrought iron fence surrounding her property to keep the kids from swimming in her in-ground pool. Mr. Ted's Saint Bernard barked as they walked past, running back and forth, jumping up and down against the wooden fence that barely contained him. Thank God, Oakley was friendlier than he looked.

How many times had they chased each other down the street of Forget Me Not? Every season held its own memory for them. Though fall was her favorite season, and the memories of playing in mountains of multi-colored leaves with Devin could easily be a first place in her heart-- sitting on the porch on a hot summer day switching her strawberry ice cream cone for Devin's mint 'n' chip easily claimed the runner-up spot. While building snowmen and having epic snowball fights on a wintery day brought a smile to her face, it was Spring that she cherished the most because Devin would go around and pick dandelions in their neighbor's yards for her to blow at the risk of getting in trouble with the nagging adults.

She peeked at Devin from the corner of her eyes— this guy looked like he did not do flowers or anything cute for that matter. His green collar was popped, the OCD in her wanting to fold it to its correct place.

His creased Dickies were a size or two too big for his form, only held up by his belt.

His stride was different.

Confident.

His attitude was sharper now, more straightforward than before he left. As if he could back up his smart mouth if need be. His clean and fresh smell was new, too. It reeled Trechial in like a butterfly drawn to bright colors.

They rounded the corner to Magnolia Dr, beginning a twenty-minute walk to Rapid Ridge Middle, giving her and Devin some time to catch up on their summers.

He found her staring up at him. "What?"

She averted her eyes to the group of kids on the other side of the canal, heading in the same direction as her and Devin.

"Um." She slid her thumbs behind the straps of her backpack and gave it a squeeze, thinking back to the conflict at her front door.

Her footsteps slowed watching him pass her by, her gaze connecting with the lines on the palms of his hand. Without a thought, she reached and grabbed the tips of his fingers.

b-dm, b-dm, b-dm.