Dev Dreams, Volume One by Ruth Madison

the
door. Jake hit the ground, but didn't bother to get up for a while.
He looked up at the bottom of the porcelain sink and wondered if
that really counted as doing something he was afraid of. He decided
that it did. Derek would be out of his life soon enough and Jake
would not have wanted to miss the chance to confront him. Jake
pulled out his cellphone and dialed his brother.
    “Is Paul okay?”
    “He'll be fine. Are you?”
    “Yeah.”
    The principal made an announcement asking for
anyone with information on the attack to come forward. It was a
pointless gesture. Everyone knew who had done it and no one was
going to tell him.
    That night the twins were eating dinner
alone, as their parents were out at another of their functions.
Jake took it as a good sign that they were continuing their social
calender despite his diagnosis. Alex had spent the afternoon with
Paul in the hospital.
    “His parents came to get him and the hospital
had no problem releasing him, it's mostly just a lot of
bruising.”
    “If Paul wouldn't dress the way he does.”
    “So it's his fault that they harass him?
Jesus, Jake, he could have been killed.”
    “No, it's not his fault, it's just I wish he
would take more care to protect himself. He chooses to stick out
and people who stick out get picked on.”
    “I know you're too cool for him now, but he
is your friend.”
    “Don't talk like that. It's not that I think
I'm too cool, it's that I know how to blend in and not cause a
stir. You and Sophie and Paul don't seem to have that skill. Why
does he let people think that he's gay?”
    Alex picked up his plate and walked out of
the kitchen and up the stairs without answering.
    ***
    Sophie heard the news the next day when Paul
wasn't in school. That afternoon Jake was taking the town bus with
her. His house was close to school, but not close enough for him to
walk anymore. While they sat on the bus, Jake tried his argument
again, this time with Sophie. “Why does Paul have to make himself a
target the way he does?”
    “Really? That's what you think? Why does
Derek think it's his right to punish people who are minding their
own business?”
    “It's just how things work.”
    “I've had about enough of you,” Sophie
said.
    “You know you love me.”
    “You are so self-absorbed.”
    “Am not.”
    “Have you even noticed what's going on with
your brother?”
    “What's wrong with Alex?”
    “I don't know, but something is eating at
him. You're so wrapped up in yourself you can't notice anyone
else.”
    “Cut it out, I've heard enough about what a
selfish son-of-a-bitch I am, okay? There's nothing wrong with my
brother.”
    “I'm just saying...”
    “If I'm so self-absorbed, how did I figure
out what your problem is?”
    “What are you talking about?”
    “All these fears and sensory problems, I did
some research and you have Asperger's syndrome.”
    “Jake, you're not exactly a doctor.”
    He opened his backpack and pulled out a stack
of printed pages. “Here, I printed this out, read it and you'll see
it explains every one of your quirks. I have a label, and now you
get to have one too.”
    Sophie looked down at the pages. She wasn't
sure how she felt about this. On the one hand, it might be nice to
find out there was a reason for her quirks, but would it take away
her uniqueness to know that? Jake seemed to see it as something
that bonded them and that was touching to her. So, she smiled and
thanked him for going to the trouble of finding this
information.
    “Let's talk about something more fun,” she
said. “The prom is coming up.”
    “You think I should go to the prom? Sophie,
you really have lost it.”
    “We should all go. You'll regret it later if
you don't.”
    “I'm already regretting going.”
    “So that means you're coming?”
    “I don't have a date.”
    “Come with your brother and Paul and me,
we'll just do a group thing.”
    Jake grumbled a non-committal noise, but two
weeks later he found himself sitting at