Tales of Bette: Greyson & Tylor June 2, 2004

Bette On It: Weird Adolescence. Excerpts...

June 2, 2004

Ozzy saw Bette hug her parents and her girls as she got ready to leave the event center at the end of the all night grad party. Greyson saw him looking at her. "She's right there. It's not too late," said Greyson.

Ozzy made a dismissive face. "Ah," he scoffed. "There's always this weekend."

"She's literally going out the door. If that's not a direct metaphor for your relationship, I don't know what is," he said flatly.

Ozzy opened his mouth to speak again, but Tylor interrupted. "Go you fucking dumb ass!" Greyson and Ozzy looked at Tylor. "I thought she liked me because she winked at me at Cassandra's party and played pass the orange with me. She always liked you best, whether you were her friend or her boyfriend. If you don't, someone else is going to. Go!"

Ozzy looked at Tylor wide eyed and walked to the doors like a man on a mission. The guys followed behind him and kept walking to Greyson's car. There she was tying her shoe.

............

Bette Wheelan walked out to her mom's car. It was early, barely seven AM. She had graduated high school barely twelve hours earlier and had left the school-organized all-night party for the newly graduated seniors. She stopped in the parking lot to retie her loose shoe. She wore her back pack on one shoulder, and it slipped off and fell to the pavement. As she finished, she stood and swung her backpack back over her shoulder, she heard a familiar voice cry out, "Whoa. I remember that swing. I should have let you know I was coming." Much closer than she realized, and towering over her as he always did, was Ozzy White.

She held up a hand to correct him, "I only take a swing at people when corrective action doesn't work the first three times."

"I remember," he said suppressing a laugh and looking across the lot to a group of boys: Jason Kaye, Norman, Brock A.

"Not my finest moments." She quickly looked around to everyone else leaving the event center.

"Mine either."

"What?"

"Nothing that's important now."

She let it go. "Did you have fun tonight?"

"Yeah. I beat Tylor and Greyson in mini golf. But they beat me in bowling. Sang some karaoke. You?"

"I had so much nervous energy about graduation; I think I was in the batting cage for an hour. Then Jenna and I hit up the costume and photo booth and got our hair braided. We were on the inflatable games over the last hour." She ran her hand over the braids. "I haven't done karaoke-"

"Since we did karaoke?"

She tried to change the subject, "Or the last time I saw you on stage-"

"Since I went off-lyric and got banned from school talent show?"

"Right," she awkwardly replied.

Across the lot, Tylor yelled, "You riding with us Oz?"

"I'll be there in a sec."

Bette spat out her question, "Would you want to write in my yearbook before you take off?"

"Only if you write something in mine," retorted Ozzy. He signaled to Tylor and Greyson what he was doing.

What did Greyson and Tylor talk about?

Tylor and Greyson watched Ozzy speed walk to the doors of the event center, zigzagging through the crowd. "I can't believe that worked," said Tylor.

Greyson put on his backpack. "You weren't kidding, were you?" The cousins walked towards the doors keeping Ozzy in their sights. "Tylor-no-secrets," he said matter-of-factly. "Were you gonna try taking a run at her? Or were you just giving him a push?"

Tylor rolled his eyes as he pushed on the door. They saw Bette walking down the lot and Ozzy walking fast to catch up to her. "Nah, that happened when we were in middle school. She got huge boobs early on. I used to talk to Andrew about her. I was too embarrassed to talk about it with you or Ozzy about it. But we had no real chemistry, we were better friends, you saw. She has a sick bod though."

"Can't believe you didn't tell me," Greyson said deep and flat. He reached up his sleeve and ripped off the nicotine patch he wore all night. He tossed it in the garbage.

"It lasted about thirty seconds over Christmas break. And you three were too close. I was too embarrassed. Besides, by freshman year, I had other options." Tyler grunted. "So many options." He sighed.

"Wrong audience. You want me to talk about my options?" Greyson replied.

"All one of them?" Tylor teased. "I know. I know. It's not easy for you."

"At least I didn't get my girlfriend stolen." Greyson teased back. "And on prom night last year no less." He chuckled.

They approached Greyson's car and looked over at Ozzy and Bette talking. "Whatever. Katie's bi. I think I handled it just fine."

"You cried."

"Only because I never got my three-some, or four-some with Bette. But college is coming." Tylor yelled across the parking lot, "You riding with us Oz?!"

"I'll be there in a sec," Ozzy yelled to them.

"No way he's coming with us." Greyson said opening the car door, reaching for his pack of cigarettes.

"Ugh." Tylor scoffed. He stood in the open car door. "Do you have to do that?"

Greyson stood in the open car door, put a cigarette between his lips, and sparked his Zippo. "My car, my rules." He took a deep drag and ashed his cigarette. "Look at them. It's like they were never apart." They looked across the lot at Ozzy and Bette exchanging and writing in each other's yearbooks, they weren't looking at each other, but they both had smiles on their faces as they wrote.

"What do you think their writing in each other's books?" Tylor asked.

The third verse of 'Bridge.' "Who knows? I bet you he leaves with her, not us."

Tylor looked at his cousin. "What do you know?" Tylor asked with true curiosity.

"Nothing." Everything.

"No way! What did he tell you?"

"What did he tell you, Ty?"

"He said how much it sucked when they broke up, but he didn't go into detail. He told me all about everything with Vanessa, every detail I asked about he told me: the flirting, the sex, the fights, the break up. But Vanessa is an open book. Bette's more of a mystery. Bette's funny; funnier than most people know. I'm lucky enough to know that much. But he doesn't talk to me about her specifics, he never has. I know about the general stuff that they did openly. --And what was that thing he said about photos? What do you know about that? He said that to you!"

"They're trading yearbooks back." Greyson shirked the questions. "Last chance to bet if he comes with us or not."

Tylor's eyes grew wide as he saw Bette and Ozzy hug. He spoke quickly, "He rides with us, not her. Loser buys breakfast."

Greyson dropped his cigarette butt and stepped on it. "Sounds like a bet to me."

Ozzy started to walk back to the car. "Aww man. Looks like you're buying breakfast, Grey." Tylor said happily. "I'm going to eat so many--"

"Fruity pancakes!" Bette yelled. She stood with her yearbook opened. Ozzy grinned wide; Greyson and Tylor could see is smile clear across the lot. He stopped, turned back towards her, and started slowly walking back towards her.

Greyson snickered. "Pass the orange with Bette. Cassandra's party. That's what you meant about Christmas break, right? Seventh grade?"

"Yeah. She pressed her chest against me. She already had C-cups." He said it in a dreamy way. "Why?"

They saw Ozzy wave them off and get in the car with Bette. "She might have passed the orange with you, but they had their first kiss at that party."

"Yeah. I remember." Tylor said getting in the car and slamming the door.

Greyson started the car. "I guess I can tell you now. 'Fruity pancakes' is what he yelled upstairs after they kissed to make her laugh."

Tylor closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the headrest. Greyson started the car. "Ugh," Tylor groaned again. "What else do you know?"

Greyson put the car in drive. "I guess it doesn't matter now. How 'bout this: for every smoke you let me have, I'll tell you something they didn't tell you. And I'll tell you more over breakfast, and you're still buying."

Tylor threw Greyson's smokes at him. "Spill it, Grey!"

Greyson partially rolled down his window and lit another cigarette. "He lost his virginity to her."

"I knew that! That doesn't count!" Tylor barked.

"Fine. But did you know it happened the month before they started dating? And on his basement couch."

"What? No fucking way! How?" Tylor was shaken.

Greyson put another cigarette between his lips. "The answer to that, it's going to cost you some fruity pancakes."