Streak - 33. Chapter 33

November 13, 2002

San Francisco, CA

Will

“Dude, these offices are kick ass,” Zach said, as we walked into Browne & Hardwicke, the law firm Sean worked for. He walked over to the huge windows and stared out at the city, while I told the receptionist we were here to see Sean.

I walked over and stood next to him. “This will work out alright.”

“No, it won’t,” he said. “No matter what happens, things are totally fucked up.”

“Have you talked to Brent lately?” I asked.

“No,” he said. He gave me an annoyed look. “I don’t want to involve him in my problems.” This was that weird code that the Hayes family operated with, that the relationships between the kid and the parent didn’t involve the other kids.

“Hey there,” Sean said pleasantly as he walked into the reception area.

“Hey,” Zach said somberly.

“Come on back,” Sean said. Zach went to follow him, but I didn’t.

“You coming?” Zach asked.

“You want me to?” I didn’t want to butt into a meeting if he didn’t want me there, even though I’d planned to go. I wanted to give him the choice.

“Duh,” he said, rolling his eyes at me. I smiled and followed them to a kick ass conference room, with beautiful views of Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.

Zach handed Sean the letter his parents had faxed to the school, and told him about his phone call with Alan Peebles. “He told you that if you didn’t listen to your parents and do what they said, you’d have your eye plucked out by a raven and a bunch of old guys would stone you?” Sean asked.

“More or less,” Zach said. Sean and I rolled our eyes at Peebles’ idiocy.

“We have all the paperwork ready to file to appoint Frank as a guardian,” he said. “We can file that first thing tomorrow, and we can serve your parents in the afternoon.”

“Doesn’t that just appoint Frank as an additional guardian?” I asked.

Sean sighed. “Look, here’s what I think is going to happen. I think that when your parents get the summons, they’ll freak out a bit, then they’ll be willing to talk to you.”

“I don’t want to talk to them,” Zach said. “They fucked with my career. That’s a deal killer.”

“If we involve Child Protective Services, they’ll mandate counseling, which is what you were planning to do anyway,” Sean said. “So what I’m suggesting is that you give me some flexibility to work out a deal with them.”

“What kind of deal?” Zach asked skeptically.

“You agree to go to a qualified counselor, one that you can all agree on,” he said. “They agree to stop fucking with your career, and add Frank as a guardian. We’ll make sure the school knows Frank has the authority to sign off on stuff for you, so if they try this again, Frank can at least confuse the issue.”

“I’m too pissed off to talk to them,” Zach said.

“I understand,” Sean said. “But let’s keep our eye on the prize here. You want them to just leave you alone. That’s going to be a difficult battle if they won’t cooperate.”

“You’re saying that if Zach can put his anger aside and deal with them, this whole thing will be a lot easier?” I asked, for clarity.

“That’s what I’m saying,” Sean said. “It’s a whole lot better if we can work things out with them without fighting in court.”

“I’m good with that, as long as I don’t miss any more games,” Zach said, caving to the inevitable.

“I’ll file the paperwork first thing in the morning,” Sean said, ending our meeting. “You guys want to grab something for dinner?” That was really nice of him to offer to spend time with us, even though I wondered if he’d bill us for it if we went out to eat with him.

“Thanks, but we have to run meet my father for dinner,” I said, and then internally kicked myself for raising that issue. Fuck.

“Is he in town?” Sean asked hopefully.

“He is. He’s got a quasi boyfriend,” I said.

“Quasi?”

“They just met, but Dad took him to Australia and brought him back here, and he’s staying with us. So it’s a really short but pretty intense relationship, so far,” I said, trying to spin it right.

“Cool. I hope it works for him,” he said insincerely.

“I’ll tell him you said ‘hi’,” I said, and then we left.

“Kind of busted his happy party with that news,” Zach said. I laughed at his word choice.

“Yeah, I fucked up. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think it’s a big deal.” He was probably right. We got back to the hotel, met up with Marc and Dad, then we all left immediately. We were pretty hungry. We weren’t really dressed to go somewhere nice, so Dad took us to this Chinese restaurant that he liked.

“Isn’t this the place where Sean stole your date?” I teased Dad as we sat down.

“Yeah,” he said, pretending to look worried. “No talking to lawyers,” he said to Marc, joking.

“That’s my normal rule anyway,” Marc said. It was pretty cool, because even though we’d had this really tense day, all four of us relaxed and really enjoyed ourselves, and each other.

When we finished eating, we walked around Union Square a bit, enjoying the nice evening, then went up to our hotel room. I was enjoying being with my father and Marc, so I was kind of worried that as soon as we got back, they’d vanish, but they didn’t.

The sitting area was pretty cool: there were two leather couches facing a long coffee table, so Zach and I sat on one couch, while Marc and my father took the other one. The curtains were open, so we had a great view of Union Square. I raided the mini-bar and made us all drinks. I thought about how relaxed my father was as I handed him a vodka tonic, compared to the way he’d flipped out about it when I’d made him a drink Hawaii last year. I produced another joint, so on top of the drinks, we all got really stoned. Marc was hilarious when he was high. He’d make these really profound-sounding statements, realize that what he said was bullshit, and then start giggling.

“I have a question for you,” Marc said to Zach. Zach just looked at him, waiting for him to go on. “How’d you know how to do that, how to handle David?”

I felt sorry for Zach, because we were all staring at him, and he looked totally cornered. “You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” I said supportively.

Only that was a mistake, because it made Marc think he’d done something wrong. “I’m sorry,” Marc said, and looked worried that he’d upset Zach.

“No, it’s fine,” Zach said.

“Did someone do that to you too?” Marc asked, since Zach seemed willing to open up about it.

“No, I was the guy on the other side,” he said.

“You were abusive?” I asked him. I wasn’t being judgmental with my question, because I knew he’d gone through some pretty major changes over the past couple of years, and I knew he was a total douche before then. I asked him because I was curious.

“Yeah, kind of,” he said. He seemed to realize he was going to have to tell us the whole story or they’d think he was a shitty person. He sighed and started telling us his deal. “When I was fifteen, I started going out with this older dude.”

“How old?” Dad asked.

“Thirty-five,” Zach said. “That’s a big age difference.”

“I’ve always dated older guys, so it doesn’t sound that big to me,” Marc said.

“Me too,” I said, and winked at my dad. He gave me a dirty look.

Zach pretty much ignored us and continued with his story. “I didn’t have any cash and my parents sure as fuck didn’t have any money, and even if they did, they weren’t giving it to me. Playing football like I did, I had to really put a lot of work and time into it, and that made it pretty tough to get a job.”

“So you dated older guys for their money?” Dad asked.

“Yeah, pretty much,” he said. “Why do you date older dudes?” he asked Marc.

“They’re more mature, and they’re more stable. And because I like it when a guy takes care of me,” he said in his flirtatious way. “Young guys don’t seem to know how to do that, but older guys do. But most importantly, I like that they have experience, in love and in life.”

“I know how to take care of a guy,” I said in my sultry voice, as I looked at Zach, making him blush.

“They’re more sophisticated,” Marc added.

“I pretty much just did it for the cash, and for the sex,” Zach said. “Guess that makes me a whore.”

“I don’t know that it matters what you call it,” Dad said, to try and prop him up.

“So what happened?” I asked Zach, to get him on track.

“I met this dude in the Commons,” he said. “It looked like he was cruising there, and I know that happens sometimes.” We all ignored that he was probably doing the same thing. “So we started talking, we hit it off, and he asked me to go home with him.”

“So you did,” I said, trying to throw him encouraging phrases to keep him from freaking out as he told us.

“I did. He was in good shape, he was cute, and he was a lot of fun.”

“So what went wrong?”

“I’d borrowed fifty bucks from Brent, and he was going out and needed the money. I didn’t have it, so when I went over to see this dude, I asked him for the cash.”

“Did he give it to you?” Dad asked.

“No, he didn’t,” Zach said. “He told me that he wasn’t paying for sex. Told me to fuck off. That pissed me off, and I wasn’t going to let him play me. I wasn’t a very nice person back then.”

“No judgment here,” I said, and squeezed his shoulder.

“He was a fucking idiot, because he hadn’t done the math. He was a professional in a small town, and even though people probably wondered why he wasn’t married, he wasn’t out. Besides, even if they figured out that he was gay, he was fucking around with a 15-year-old dude. So I explained that to him, and add to that the fact that I was way stronger than him, it pretty much changed the whole dynamic. I turned him into my bitch.”

“Just like David did to me,” Marc said.

“I think it’s a little different,” Dad said. “I think that Zach was doing it to get what he wanted. David was doing it to control you. I think his issues were deeper than Zach’s.”

“Did you have feelings for him?” Marc asked Zach.

Zach shrugged. “I liked him at first, and then I got to the point where I was pretty disgusted with him.” He took a sip of his drink.

“David seemed determined to humiliate me,” Marc said, and seemed really pissed about it. “I felt completely trapped. I felt like I couldn’t leave, and he made me feel so shitty about myself, I didn’t think I had anywhere to go.”

“Dude, I don’t get that. You are so fucking hot. How can you think that?” I asked.

He smiled. “That was David’s theme. He said I was pretty on the outside, and a piece of shit on the inside. He always made me feel like I was so stupid.”

“I’m not seeing that,” Zach said supportively.

“I knew that I had to get away from him last month,” he said. “We had a party, and he made me cohost it with him, wearing only a thong.”

“That sounds like it would have been one awesome party,” I said, trying to make him feel better, but it didn’t work.

“It was humiliating. He’d been telling me that I was only a pretty face, and then at that party, he proved it to everyone. There I was, on display, the only part of me that was worth anything.” He sighed. “I told you that I didn’t have many friends. Every time I’d kind of get to know someone, David would fuck it up. Either he’d be rude to the guy, or he’d tell him something about me, usually a lie, and scare him off.”

“He kept you isolated and dependent,” Dad said.

“It sounds like this dude got off on doing that to you,” Zach said.

“I guess he did, in his own way,” Marc said.

“I’m sorry if we brought this up and dragged out some bad memories,” Dad said, to give us an excuse to move on.

“Actually, I feel better about myself and that time now than I ever have,” Zach said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because this David dude was seriously fucked up. He made fucking with Marc’s mind a big part of his life. I didn’t want to do that to the dude I was with. I just wanted shit from him.”

“So you’re saying you’re happy because you’re not a psycho, you were just a whore?” I asked, teasing him. He laughed at that.

“Yeah, that’s what I’m saying.”

November 14, 2002

Aston, PA

JJ

“You will do just fine,” Alex said to me soothingly. “In fact, I am confident that you will excel.”

“Thanks,” I said to him, but I was still nervous. “This is my ticket to nationals, so I have to nail it.”

“I’ll be watching you, I’m here with you, you’ll do fine,” he said.

I looked at him and smiled, then I nodded, and then I was ready. He made all of my fear, all of my anxiety, just vanish. It was like he had some magic potion that he sprinkled on me and it just settled me down. I was totally fine with that. I was glad I found someone to help me not go batshit insane at these things.

I sat watching the other skaters perform, and started to get a little nervous again. Shepherd Clark did pretty well, but I didn’t think he’d take the top position, at least not with that program. I saw him skate a lot, because he was at the Boston Skating Club too, and he could be good, but today, he was just OK. Parker Pennington was a much bigger threat. He came out, and I watched him, feeling my apprehension grow. He was good, really good. I was very confident that I could beat Shepherd, but I wasn’t so sure about Parker.

Parker finished his performance to loud cheers and clapping. I watched Alex clapping for him, and it seemed that he was a little more enthusiastic than one had to be just to be polite. I let that irritate me just a little bit, and then I skated out onto the ice. I’d really give Alex something to clap about.

My music started, and this competition was more like regionals than Spokane. My brain was firmly ahead of my body, planning every move out just as it should, while the demons that chased me in Spokane weren’t even with me. I felt like I was skating on a cloud, and when I finished, the cheers and applause were loud, louder than they’d been for Shepherd, and louder than they’d been for Parker. I skated off the ice, waving at the crowd, letting my eyes fix on Alex. His smile told me how proud of me he was, and just energized me. In fact, I was in such a good mood, I was chattier with the press than I usually was, and had no problem maintaining my smile.

Finally I was freed from my obligations, so I went to find Alex. “You were simply spectacular,” he said, and gave me a somewhat stunted hug, since we were in public.

“Thanks,” I said, and felt myself blushing a bit. We watched the last skaters go, and after the first day, I was locked into first place, in a good position for my free skate.

“I fear that I must get back to Boston,” he said. He’d come down last night and stayed with me, but he had to go back for his classes tomorrow. He was acting nervous, probably expecting a tantrum or something from me, but I knew the deal.

“You do,” I said. “The plane should be waiting for you. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

“Yes, you will,” he said. “Matt and Wade are thinking of coming down to watch you as well.”

“That’s cool,” I said, since it was, but it wasn’t nearly as important as Alex being there. “We’ll have more company.”

“Who else is descending on Aston, Pennsylvania?” he asked, making me chuckle.

“Will and Zach; my father and his new boyfriend, Marc; Stef and Grand; and Aunt Claire,” I told him.

“That is quite the crew,” he said.

“As long as you’re here, I’ll be happy,” I said to him being sappy. He kind of liked it when I did that.

“See you tomorrow,” he said, winked at me, and then hurried out of the rink. I watched him walk away, and as soon as he was out of sight, I felt incredibly alone.

“Let’s go get some dinner,” Tiffany said.

“I think I’d rather just go back to my room,” I told her. She gave me that worried look of hers, and that pissed me off. “Look, I don’t want to go out, because I’m supposed to be all cheerful and happy because I won, and I am, but I’m not happy enough to talk to people.”

“You don’t have to talk to people,” she said.

I gave her an evil look. “And the press will just leave me alone?” She sighed, since I was right. “I have no problem spending time alone. It’s peaceful.”

“Yeah, but…” she started to argue.

I looked at her firmly. “I am going back to the hotel.” She nodded, and we did just that.

November 15, 2002

Concord, CA

Zach

I was all but running out of school, hurrying to get in the Durango. I had to get to the airport in Palo Alto in an hour, and there was bound to be a shitload of traffic on Friday this late in the afternoon. Will and most of his family were flying out to watch JJ skate at this big competition, and I owed it to JJ to go to one of his deals. Since I wasn’t playing football this weekend, I’d managed to weasel out of going to the game altogether so I could tag along with that group.

I got on the freeway and kicked the Durango, zipping across a bunch of lanes of traffic to get in the fast lane. I’d had a stressful as fuck day because I missed two days of class, and that put me behind. That meant instead of enjoying my weekend, I’d have to do fucking homework. Maybe I could accomplish that on the plane. I thought about how easy it was for Will. He missed classes, and he rebounded just fine. I didn’t get how he could do that. I could catch up on shit like English and History, but when I missed Math, it got ugly. I had a hard time understanding that shit just by reading the book.

My phone rang and I saw that it was Frank. “What’s up?” I asked, as I answered it.

“Change of plans,” he said. “I’m going with you.”

“Why are you going to Pennsylvania?” He didn’t seem to enjoy watching JJ skate, even though he tried to fake it and pretend that he did.

“Swing by and pick me up, and I’ll explain it to you,” he said. That sucked, because it would take at least an extra fifteen minutes to drive home and pick him up, but there wasn’t much I could do about it.

“I’ll be there in fifteen minutes,” I told him. I was driving like a maniac, and I was lucky I didn’t get a ticket, but I didn’t want to be the one delaying the flight. I pulled up to the house and he came out without me even having to stop and go in to get him. He tossed his rolling bag in the back, hopped in, and we were off.

“Don’t kill us,” he growled, since I was driving like a crazed idiot. “They’ll wait for us.”

“I don’t want to make them wait for me,” I said, almost a whine.

“Yeah, well I don’t give a shit if I delay them or not, so slow down and we can blame it on me,” he said.

“Fine,” I said, and drove a little less frenetically. “So you going to tell me why you’re going to Pennsylvania?”

“I’m not going to Pennsylvania, and neither are you. We’re going to Claremont,” he said.

“No fucking way,” I said. “If that’s the plan, I’m turning around.” I started to get off at the next exit.

“Just drive,” Frank growled. He seemed pretty shocked by my attitude, because I was never defiant like that with Frank.

“Why are you going to Claremont?” I asked in a bitchy way, using ‘you’ instead of ‘we’ to let him know I wasn’t on board with this at all.

“Look, I’ve spent all fucking day working out a deal to get your parents off our backs, so don’t go giving me a bunch of shit,” he said loudly. He had really gone to bat for me, and I was being an ingrate. I mellowed.

“Sorry,” I said. “It just stresses me out.”

“Going to Claremont or dealing with your parents?” he asked, kind of joking.

“Both,” I told him. He chuckled with me.

“Here’s the deal. The plane’s going to drop us off in Claremont, and we’re staying at JP’s house. We’re spending tomorrow with a counselor. He’s going to meet with your parents tomorrow morning, and meet with you in the afternoon,” Frank said.

“It’s not that dipshit Peebles, is it?” I asked.

“No, I did some research, talked to a couple of people, and picked someone who I think will do well with all of you,” Frank said.

I knew I could trust Frank. “Okay.” He seemed surprised that I was so agreeable.

“On Sunday morning, you have a combined meeting with them, and then we head to the airport to meet the plane. They’re picking us up on their way back.”

“That’s really nice of them to do that for me,” I said, recognizing that it would cost them time and money to have the plane make those extra stops in Claremont.

“It’s not a big deal,” he said. I shrugged, and focused on driving. We got there ten minutes late, but everyone was really cool about it.

“Hey!” Will said, and fist bumped me. I said hello to the rest of them, then we filed onto the plane. Will and I took a place in the back, where I could work on my homework. As soon as we were in the plane and out of eyesight, he gave me a monster kiss. “We’re going to visit the bathroom as soon as we’re airborne.”

“I like the way you think,” I said, leering at him. He was so much fun, pretty much willing to do anything, anytime. We buckled ourselves in as the plane taxied out onto the runway.

“It’s probably the only time we’ll have this weekend,” he said, sounding disappointed.

“You’re not going to Claremont with me?” I asked. I just assumed he’d go with me, but that was probably wishful thinking on my part.

“Do you want me to?” he asked.

“I do, but I’ll understand if you want to go watch JJ skate,” I told him. Our conversation was stalled for a bit as the plane took off. As soon as we were in the air, we continued talking as if we hadn’t had any interruption.

“JJ won’t give a shit,” he said. “Alex is there, so he’ll be happy. That and it will give him some time to get to know Marc without me around.”

“Why would that matter?”

He sighed. “JJ likes to be the center of attention. If I’m there, it will be easier for Marc to hang out with me, because he knows me. That will annoy JJ, and he might just decide he doesn’t like Marc.” I was amazed at how temperamental JJ could be, and even more amazed at how good Will was at reading him.

“I guess I need to go tell them you’re going with me,” I said, gesturing to the front of the plane, where Frank, JP, Stef, and Claire were sitting in the captain’s chairs, in a conversational circle. Brad and Marc were up front by themselves, being all goofy and giddy. Will and I walked up and grabbed a seat together on the couch, while they pivoted a bit so we could talk to them.

“Thanks for making this extra stop for me,” I said to Stef, since it was his plane.

“I am glad to help. I hope this makes your life a little easier,” he said smoothly.

“Will’s coming to Claremont with us,” I announced. I saw Frank get really nervous, and so did Will, but he kept quiet, letting me handle this.

“I don’t know if that’s a very good idea,” Frank said.

“I’m tired of this bullshit, where they try to keep us apart,” I said. “If we’re going to make progress that has to end.”

“I’m just worried that it will antagonize them when we’re trying to work out a deal with them,” Frank said.

“It?” Will asked acidly. “I’m an it?”

“Not you, your presence,” Frank snapped, annoyed at being nitpicked over his choice of pronouns.

I felt JP looking at me, so I stared back at him, asking that he tell me what he was thinking. “I think that if Will goes with you, it will only work if you are honest with them, and tell them that you two are together.”

I stared at him, stunned. “I don’t know if I’m ready to do that,” I said.

“Dude, if you’re not ready for that, I’ll just go to Pennsylvania,” Will said supportively.

“It is possible that if you are honest with them, it will make things considerably easier for both of you,” Stef said.

“I’m not seeing that,” I said. “They’re all upset every time I’m with Will, worried that he’s going to corrupt me and teach me to like dick.” I’d forgotten Claire was there until I said that, and then felt myself blushing so I had to be bright red. “Sorry.” She just smiled at me.

“But what if they know that you are gay, and that it is not something Will is doing, it is who you are?” Stef asked.

“I don’t know,” I said, even as I thought about it. “I don’t think they’d be all that accepting of us even if I told them.”

“I think Stef has a point,” JP said, getting a grin from Stef. He liked validation. “If they understand who you are, and what you’re dealing with, and even more to the point, the choices you’ll have to make in life to have a football career, it may make things easier for them.”

My mind was whirling. “I’ll think about it,” I said.

“Not to put you on the spot, but you have until we land at Claremont to make a decision,” JP said.

“Why?”

“Because if Will goes with you, his presence will antagonize them unless you’re willing to explain your relationship,” he said.

I thought about that, but I wasn’t willing to make that firm of a commitment. I ruminated on what they said, and then made my decision. “Here’s what I’m planning to do, as long as Will’s cool with it,” I said, taking charge now that I knew what I was going to do. “Will’s going to Claremont with me, and I’m going to talk about it with the counselor and see what he says.”

“I think that is an excellent idea,” Stef said, stepping in to validate my decision.

“While I am looking forward to seeing JJ skate, if you need me to be there for you, I will go to Claremont as well,” JP said, blowing my mind. We were distracted as Marc and Brad walked past us on their way to the restroom. Will, Stef, and I were all trying not to giggle, even though it was obvious that we were, while Marc and Brad were blushing so hard they were bright red.

“I so wish Darius were here,” Will said, cracking me up.

“So in order to sate their carnal desires, they had to steel themselves and walk the gauntlet, passing by all of us, knowing that would be embarrassing,” JP said. “I am suggesting that in a different way, you may have to endure something similar so you can be with Will.”

“I can see that,” Will said, and I nodded.

“We’re next,” I said to Will, making him chuckle and blush a little bit. Before we could get too embarrassed, we heard muffled moaning from the lavatory, and that made all of us, even Claire, really laugh. But I got what JP was saying. With no pain, there was no gain.