Bad Romance - 21. Chapter 20 - Part A

Gust quietly unlocked the door and entered the house, trying not to make any noise. He was late tonight, so much that the curfew time had passed long ago. He could bet his parents would ram it down his throat if they were, by any chance, awake right now. Much to his bad luck, as he entered, he noticed the lights were still glowing and Gust crumpled his face when he saw his parents sitting on the couch.

His dad saw him first and his face went stiff looking at him. Also when his mom turned, she didn’t look too happy. Gust blew out a breath and readied himself for the third degree he was going to get from them.

Yet, he acted cool as he approached the couch and asked, “I thought you might be asleep by now.”

Dafna – Gust’s mom – opened her mouth to say something, when the sound of the door closing interrupted them. They all looked towards Matt who had just stepped out of the spare room. He saw his brother and cringed inwardly thinking how rough it was going to be for him now. Their parents knew about Candes’ pregnancy now and they were ticked off. They needed answers and Gust had to face all of the questions.

“Did she sleep?” Dafna enquired with genuine worry.

Matt gave a light shake to his head and sighed, “She says she has a lot on her mind right now.”

“I can understand that.” His mom whispered and lowered her gaze, getting lost in her thoughts.

Gust looked perplexed. There was something serious going on which he didn’t know about. “What’s happening? Is something wrong?” He asked looking at each of his family members.

Matt stepped over to his side and palmed his shoulder before whispering, “It’s Candes. Her parents disowned her when they found out about her pregnancy.”

Gust looked agape. He was totally shocked. His heartbeat began to increase as he started to shake in fear. “How ... did they ... shit!” He cupped his mouth trying to breathe steady.

“How could you, Gust?” Dafna asked. Gust could see the disappointment in his parent’s eyes and felt like shit. He ran his hands through his hair and he felt like crying.

“You didn’t even think of what could happen? What were you thinking ... Gust, you both are still teenagers.”

“I know dad, but I ...”

Gust was interrupted by his mother who had started crying in her husband’s arm. “I wonder where we went wrong, Ben! Thinking about it now, I feel I didn’t act too responsible as a mother. I could have stopped this from happening.” She sobbed.

“No mom, please don’t blame yourself.” Gust so wasn’t prepared for this. Hell! He hadn’t expected it to come out like this. “It’s not you; it’s me who is to blame.”

“Good that you realized it yourself.” Ben looked at his son sternly. He very upset because of what Gust had done. “We did all we could to protect you, but you ... how could you not take precautions, dammit?”

“I ... I did, dad. But it all fucked up. The condom ... broke and ...” Gust exhaled noisily feeling helpless. Everything he said came out as a stammer. “I am just ... sorry dad. I didn’t know it would all end up like this.”

“Dad, come on, Candes and I already told you and mom everything.” Matt tried to make it easy for Gust, “It was bad timing that’s all. Gust was not in his right mind; he was drunk that night. And it’s not like they were not being safe at all, things do get out of hand sometimes.”

Gust looked at his brother and gave him a sad smile. He couldn’t thank him enough for saying it for him right now. He turned to his parents who were looking back at him. Now the disappointment was replaced with the look of worry on their faces.

Ben gave out a huff, “I guess, you are right, Matt but you can’t expect us to take this all very lightly, can you? We worry about him,” he said before adding, “and Candes for that matter. It would not be easy for them to face everyone with this fact, and not every reaction is going to be good, you know?”

“I know.” Gust whispered looking down at his hands.

“Gust” Dafna called for his attention looking at him tenderly, “Honey, please sit down and tell us what you plan to do next. Candes told us the doctor said that there could be a risk if she opted for an abortion, and that’s why she is thinking of keeping the baby.”

Gust took the chair, to sit facing his parents. He sniffed unknowingly before admitting, “Yes mom. We have talked about this and we decided to take the responsibility of the baby mutually.”

Ben nodded taking in what his son had told them and asked with a hint of doubt in his mind, “Are you sure you could really do this?”

“To be frank, I was scared when Candes broke this news to me.” Gust confessed, and his mom felt the need to pour all the love for him watching her boy like that. “But that feeling is gone now. I am more determined to fulfil all the needs for the baby and Candes, which is why I started working.”

“We did wonder about that; now we know the real reason.” His mom said, getting up and walking towards Gust. “Give me a hug, baby. I am not really happy with what is happening, but I am really proud of how you handled it all until now.” Gust stood up and immediately threw his arms around her. His eyes got misty with the love she was giving him.

“Thanks mom. Thank you for understanding.”

“Your mom is right, Gust. We can’t rewind what has occurred already, but now you can’t back off from this responsibility.” Ben told him.

Gust let go of his mom and looked pleadingly as his dad, “Are you still mad at me, dad?”

“No son, I was never angry. Disappointed... yes – but that’s a normal reaction.” He said as he walked up to him and Gust gave him a hug as well. Gust tried hard not to start crying at that moment, but the tears started to fall. The love and forgiveness of his family overwhelmed him so much that the tears automatically make their way down his reddened cheeks.

Matt watched them all with a smile. He knew it was going to be alright, and he was glad it happened this way. He only hoped he could have said the same thing about Candes and her parents. Matt exhaled thinking about them.

@@@

Matt woke up with a start with his mom’s alarming voice reaching his ears. She was downstairs probably making breakfast, but her voice was so powerful that it could be heard clearly in Matt’s room too. He growled and felt like sleeping again.

But he couldn’t. He had an early shift today at Java and he had to go, although his body ached for some rest after a long night. He yawned and got out of bed, heading directly to his bathroom. He got in, reached for his toothbrush and looked up in the mirror with his half-open eyes. He had to shave, but felt too lazy to do it today. He ran his hand down his face and turned on the faucet.

“Damn it!” He swore as he realized that the plumber hadn’t yet fixed the problem. For a couple of days now, the water didn’t seem to flow up to reach his bathroom, while others didn’t have any such problems. The plumber was called, but he hadn’t shown up yet.

Feeling at his wit’s ends, he strolled downstairs to use the spare bathroom. He yawned again entering the bathroom. As he stood in front of the mirror, brushing his teeth with closed eyes, he didn’t notice the bathroom was already occupied by someone else.

Candes put on the robe and stepped out of the shower, completely oblivious to the fact that Matt was in the bathroom too.

Matt’s eyes fluttered open and went wide in shock when his saw her through the mirror. He swiftly turned around and looked as if he had seen a ghost. All the mixed thoughts rushed into his mind within a second, ‘Oh Fuck! Candes? I am so gone ... but Christ! Look at her. She looks even more beautiful now just after shower – so fresh and wet.’ Matt swallowed as he stared at her.

Candes was tying the knot of her robe, when she felt eyes on her and looked up. “Oh my God... Matt?” Her body went numb and she dropped her hands to her sides; that left the robe untied and the knot slipped, giving an eyeful to Matt.

“Oh shit!” He mumbled and covered his face with his hands, although he was urged to keep looking.

Candes freaked out and quickly tied up the knot, covering herself again. Her face reddened. “What the hell are you doing here Matt?”

“I am sorry; I didn’t mean to barge in here like that. I didn’t know you were in here.” The words rushed out of his mouth one after another. He was seriously embarrassed and knew that Candes was too. He peeked to see if it was safe to look again, and when he was sure he let his hands down.

Candes watched him infuriated, as he looked back at her in true regret. “But what were you thinking, coming in like that without knocking on the door?”

“You could have locked the door.” Matt shrugged.

This annoyed her more and she pointed at him accusingly. “Don’t you dare put all the blame on me!” She warned walking briskly towards him. However, she slipped and was about to fall backwards when Matt came to her rescue.

He quickly held her by her waist and gave her a pull. Candes held onto his hands and balanced herself. Her heart was thudding inside her, beating at a faster rate, as she ended up being chest to chest with the gorgeous guy in front of her.

Matt found himself staring into the bright emerald eyes that pierced its way into his grey pair. He was pleased how Candes’ slender body felt while so close to his.

His gaze fell on a wet blond strand of hair that lay on her cheek, and his hand automatically reached for it. He gently tucked it behind her ear, and Candes felt the tingling sensation run throughout her whole body. She was squirming at each touch. Matt’s eyes travelled down. A lonely water droplet made its way down her neck and disappeared somewhere down under the robe. He gulped down the feeling of envy he felt at that moment for it.

“Matt?” Candes whispered, getting his attention and he saw in her eyes what he had never seen before. The desire!

An incredible tension grew between them and they leaned over to experience the feel of each other’s souls.

@@@

Noah drummed his fingers on the steering as he waited for Luke to come out. For a month now, the duo wouldn’t miss an opportunity to be together. Every morning Noah would park his car at a distance from the Snyder farm waiting for Luke, like now, and they would drive to school together.

Today however, Luke was probably running a bit late. Noah checked the time and stuck his head out of the window, looking back for Luke. A smile crept on his face when he saw the blond scurrying his way to the car. He waved at him.

Luke ran to get to the car and quickly jumped in. “I am so sorry, Noah.” Apologies rushed out of his mouth as he looked worriedly for some hint of anger on the brunette’s face. “Mom and dad got home a bit late, and I wanted to meet them before I left for school.” He explained, desperately wanting Noah to understand.

Noah smiled adoringly. He palmed Luke’s cheek and began to stroke it gently. “It’s okay Luke. I understand. I am not mad at you, alright?”

Luke heaved out a sigh of relief and sat straight in his seat. Noah put the car in drive and asked, “So how did it feel seeing your mom and dad after so long?”

“It was great!” Luke smiled slightly looking down at his hands. “I have missed having them around. I feel good now that they are here.”

Noah glanced at him sideways. “Is your dad still behaving distant with you?” He asked and heard the boy in the passenger seat sigh heavily.

“I feel envious that he is not giving me anymore attention. His behaviour with my sisters is much more loving. It makes me feel like he no more considers me his son. I am and will always be his stepson.” Luke sulked.

“That can’t be true, Luke. He loves you, didn’t you say that?”

Luke gave a sarcastic snort before saying, “That seems to be changing all the time now.”

“You know you should talk to him about how you feel.” Noah suggested. “And maybe he would change after that?”

“You think I didn’t try to?” Luke looked funny, “Not directly, but I have been hinting to him about how his coldness hurts me, and he goes on about how childish I am acting and that I should grow up! Fuck it all!” He swore and turned to look outside the window. “Please, Noah, it’s better if we don’t talk about it now.” Luke looked at Noah again as he said, “It’s a special day in our life. After today, we will be free from this forbidden love affair and I could finally get some freedom to go out with you.”

Noah smiled, “I can’t wait. There will be no one stopping us then.”

“There was no one stopping us anyway. It was you all the way.” Luke narrowed his eyes. “Don’t even get me started of how shitty you made me feel back then.”

“Hey, I did apologize for that.” Noah said but with a smile.

Luke broke into a grin too. “Yes you did.” Noah took his hand and kissed it.

“I love you.” He said as his blue eyes sparkled when they entered the school’s parking lot.

“I love you too.” Luke said, grinning silly. He was in love, and this guy was making him go crazy over him day after day.

Noah parked the car and they both got out of the car quickly. “We better get in quickly. It’s almost time for the bell to ring.”

“Noah, you go. I need to wait here for Mercedes.”

“Alright. See you in class.” Noah looked around. There were some kids around but no one was looking. He quickly pecked on Luke’s cheeks and walked off towards the school building.

He took quick steps towards the teacher’s lounge. He was too late today. However, when he entered the room, everyone in the room turned and kept staring at him for some reason. He could feel all the eyes on him. He turned his gaze and noticed Chris standing in the group as well. He had a look of concern and pity on his face.

Noah was starting to get worried now. “Mr. Noah Mayer.” Noah turned to Mrs. Gordon who stood behind him. “The principal wants you in his office right away.” She said and without a word further she left.

Noah wondered about the hatred that he could hear in her voice. She never ever sounded so cold towards him. He shrugged it off and started for the principal’s office trying to guess what the meeting could be about.

He knocked on the door and peeked in. “Ah! Mr. Mayer, so glad to have your presence here.” Mr. Keegan greeted him with a smirk and he walked inside the office feeling uncomfortable.

“I am sorry I was running late today.” He explained and trailed off looking at Mr. Keegan.

The old man had a stern face, like something had pissed him off. And Noah could bet it was not just about coming in late. “So, Mr. Mayer, It’s been three months since you started here as a substitute teacher, and I must say, what a great rapport you have created with the students in such little time. How? How did you manage to do this?”

Noah coughed and forced a smile. Even though whatever Mr. Keegan was saying to him right now was appreciated, it somehow didn’t sound like the principal meant it nicely. “It is never one-sided you see? The students have been kind and supportive to me. I guess that’s why I could break through the shell between a teacher and a student.”

He wasn’t sure, but he thought he heard a sarcastic laugh from the old man and he felt something off about this meeting.

Mr. Keegan had a smirk on his face the whole time. He rubbed his stubbly chin making funny faces and finally said, “A student of yours has graced us with some precious moments that he captured on his camera, the way you ‘break through their shell’, as you put it, is quite amazing to us.” He picked up the envelope and slid it across the table. “Have a look. Maybe that will refresh all your memories.”

Noah looked sceptically between the envelope and Mr. Keegan. The way the man was talking was just not right. He took hold of the envelope and retrieved the pictures that were inside.

The climate seemed to have heated up, and his forehead began perspiring. An immediate fear crushed his nerves seeing his picture with Luke. He began to freak out with every picture he scanned – one caught while sitting under the tree sharing lunch, one while dancing close with each other at the party, some others of them kissing, touching, enjoying each other’s company and some even of Luke and him outside his apartment.

‘This has got to be a nightmare. This can’t happen ... not now, not when I have started to discover my love for Luke ... Why?!’ His head screamed. He wasn’t sure what was going to happen, but he knew it was going to be hell for him as well as Luke.

@@@

End of Part (A)... Part (B) of Chapter 20 will continue right from where this has left off.

Who do you think is behind this picture conspiracy? And what should Noah do now?

Oh and anybody missed Gust/Joe?? :P Don’t worry if you did; they come up in the next part.