The Long Way - 5. Faith

Leo lived in a two-story house with a roommate. By the time Aiden and I arrived there was already a tapped keg and a few cars on the street. Aiden led the way in, not bothering to knock and I tried to take a good look around.

It was actually a nice place with a wide living room and a huge sofa. I followed Aiden as he waved to a few people. Most of them were older, which didn’t really surprise me. I was actually starting to feel a little nervous, not really knowing anyone.

There was music, but it wasn’t too loud, and it wasn’t an incredibly large crowd, but probably over twenty people, spread out everywhere. Aiden had been right about girls, they were there, but they were gravely outnumbered by guys.

The first people I recognized were Leo and Ben, making out in a corner, and obviously no one cared. They came up for air long enough to wave to us. Aiden and I waved back laughing and then Aiden turned to me.

"Want a drink?" he asked.

"Sure." I shrugged.

He grabbed my arm, the way I was growing so accustomed to, and led me to the kitchen where the first thing I noticed was a girl directly in my path with long, black hair and cherry flavored lip gloss. I know it was cherry flavored because the first thing she did was cup my head in her hands and press her lips to mine.

My eyes flew open in shock and I heard laughter around the kitchen before I realized what was going on. She was blowing smoke into my mouth, not kissing me really. I could smell the same sweet pungent smell that had surrounded me earlier that night at the mall. So I inhaled, letting whoever she was pass the hit to me.

When we parted I held it in, still unsure of what to do as I saw Ryan sitting at the counter, grinning at me, and another face I hadn't expected to see. It almost made me choke on everything in my lungs when I saw Tony standing there shaking his head at me.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and spun around. This time I was really caught off guard. Ben was standing in front of me, and before I could react he grabbed my head and pulled me towards him, his lips covering mine. I’m pretty sure that the shocked look on my face was the cause of the roaring laughter in the room, but I was a good sport. I exhaled into Ben’s mouth, and when we separated he blew out what was left and beamed at me before playfully pinching my cheek.

"Thanks." He winked and then walked away. I was blushing furiously when I turned to see Aiden, Tony and Ryan together, laughing at my expense.

"Shut up." I mumbled, jokingly. But I felt really strange. I know that Ben didn’t kiss me, but the last time a boy’s lips had touched mine it had been Dan, and now I was thinking about him again. I’m sure my smile was somewhat forced, but the only one who seemed to pick up on it was Tony, who gave me an understanding look as I moved towards him.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"I could ask you the same thing," he smiled at me, lightly tapping the cheek that Ben had pinched, "The hair looks good."

"Here." I turned as Aiden handed me a beer.

"Thanks." I smiled at him and then looked back at Tony, just as Ryan passed him a pipe. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be the responsible one, don’t tell me you’re giving that job to Chris."

Tony nearly choked on the hit he was taking and violently shook his head as his face turned red.

"No way!" he laughed, "You get it before Chris does, and just because I’m responsible doesn’t mean I’m no fun." Tony threw one arm around me and gave me a squeeze, "You know, I’m glad you ended up here Owe, before you said you were going to the mall I was going to ask you if you wanted to come here with me."

"Cool." I smiled, "Is Chris still working?"

Tony nodded and passed the pipe to Aiden, who took a hit and passed it to me. It was becoming a really weird night. My second time experimenting with drugs and my brother’s there with me. I guess I shouldn’t have been too surprised, but only that morning I had considered Tony and Chris parental figures. I had been, well, not really kissed-but kissed- by a girl and a boy, and now, although nothing was said, I felt I was being encouraged to get wasted. Who woulda thunk it?

So I stood in the kitchen, smoking for the second time in my life with a group of people including my brother and two new friends. After downing my fourth beer, I was feeling pretty well on my way to being wasted, and I didn’t mind one bit.

I discovered that Tony happened to be here because he knew Leo’s roommate when a tall guy who looked to be the same age as my brother walked into the kitchen, barefoot and shirtless. He had black, curly hair and green eyes, a dragon tattoo on his chest and the reddest lips I had ever seen on someone without makeup.

He walked right up to my brother and I watched as they gave each other a friendly hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," the guy said to my Tony, "Glad you could make it," and then he had an uncertain look on his face as he studied my brother for a minute, "Tony?"

"Yes." Tony laughed, "Chris is working, he said he might stop by later."

"Well when he gets here, you two get to put on name tags." The dark haired guy remarked, and then looked at Aiden and smiled, "Aiden! Where ya been?"

"Hi Jake." Aiden replied as they gave each other a loose hug.

"Jake, this is my other brother," Tony said as he reached out and pulled me under his arm.

Jake looked at me and flashed a smile as he quickly extended his hand.

"Owen, right?" he asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, shaking his hand.

"Nice to meet you." he smiled, "Chris talks about you all the time."

I looked at Tony for an explanation.

"Jake bartends at the club." Tony explained.

That explained why I had never met him, I only worked there on the weekends before the place actually opened.

"Cool." I said.

"Owen," Aiden called, from across the kitchen where he was now standing at the back door with Ryan. "We’re heading out back, wanna come?"

I looked at Tony and he gave me a shove that told me to ‘get the hell out of here.’

"It was nice to meet you, Jake," I called, and then took my fifth beer and followed my friends outside, but not before noticing the way Tony was staring after Jake like an abandoned puppy when he left to talk to some other people.

There wasn’t much of a back yard, more dirt than grass. There was an old picnic table and I sat on a bench next to Aiden as Ryan climbed up top and fished what was left of a joint out of his pocket and lit it up. He and Aiden passed it around but when Aiden offered it to me I finally shook my head.

"I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, dude." I said blankly. I was actually feeling okay, but I had reached that point between wasted and trashed and wasn’t sure if I wanted to cross it. The beer I was drinking seemed enough at that point.

"Are you alright?" Ryan asked, leaning over to look at my face.

I nodded happily and they both laughed. I groaned and leaned back on the bench with one knee up, holding my beer over my stomach as I draped one arm over my eyes. I felt fingers running through my newly cut hair and smiled, somehow knowing it was Aiden.

"I think Owen’s about to check out on us." Ryan remarked.

"Not quite." I said, "Wouldn’t want to pass out right here anyways, someone might molest me."

"Don’t tempt us." Aiden quipped.

I laughed with them, but I couldn’t help but wonder about the possibilities his last statement held. My mind was a bit foggy at the moment and I seemed to have developed another hard on in the last hour, the second in one day. Lately, that would qualify as a record for me.

The laughter died down and I heard Aiden and Ryan talking, but I hadn't been paying attention, so I’m not sure how long I’d been laying their while they talked around me, but I was aware of Aiden’s fingers still running through my hair and I loved the feeling. Unfortunately, my mouth felt dry and I had to sit up to take another drink of my beer.

When I did sit up it was too fast and I had to hold my head. I felt two hands on my back, one Aiden’s and one Ryan’s.

"Are you okay?" Ryan asked as I thirstily downed the rest of my drink.

"Yeah." I nodded, turning so I could see them both. I must have looked as fucked up as I felt because Ryan laughed at me.

"You ready to go?" Aiden asked.

"You’re driving?"

He held up my keys and nodded.

"Well you’re definitely not." Aiden laughed.

"Cool." I smiled, "I should find Tony and tell him, though."

Aiden and Ryan looked at each other, then back at me and cracked up.

"What?" I asked.

"Dude, Tony came out here like an hour ago to tell you he was leaving."

"Huh? How long have we been out here?" I asked, seriously confused. That sent them into another fit of laughter.

"You passed out just after Tony left." Aiden explained.

"Yeah," Ryan grinned, squeezing my shoulder, "We molested you and you missed it."

I feigned disappointment, which would have been real if he had been serious.

"Well wake me up next time!" I insisted.

Aiden laughed and grabbed my arm.

"Come on, let’s get you home."

Ryan hopped off the table and hugged us both as he said goodbye.

"Do you need a ride home?" I asked him.

"No, I’m gonna crash here." Ryan said, "I’ll see you guys later."

Aiden drug me through the house and when I caught sight of the clock I saw it was almost three in the morning, which was a shock to me. The party had also died out. Leo and Ben were stretched out on the sofa together, intertwined and crashed out. We would have said goodbye, but didn’t have the heart to wake them, but when we reached the door Jake stepped in front of us and gave Aiden a big hug.

"You guys okay to drive?"

"I am." Aiden said.

"Cool." Jake smiled, "It was nice meeting you, Owen."

I shook his hand again.

"Do me a favor and tell your brother to call me when he gets his ass up tomorrow." Jake suddenly added.

"Sure." I agreed, "which one?"

I noticed a blush crawl up Jake’s cheeks. Aiden caught it too and laughed.

"That would be Tony." Aiden answered, ushering me out the door, "We’ll let him know, Jake."

Maybe I was missing something. I guess I was pretty sure that Jake was gay when he first said hello to Tony, and I guess it was obvious that they liked each other. But I didn’t get the feeling that they were a couple. I wondered why. I made a mental note to ask Tony in the morning and hoped I wouldn’t forget by then.

I spent the ride home with my eyes pretty much closed and when we got back to the apartments I said goodbye to Aiden at the bottom of the stairs before I made my way slowly up them. But I stopped half way and held myself up against the wall when I heard someone pounding on a door below somewhere, and then a chain of curses, unmistakably Aiden’s voice.

I called back down.

"Aiden?"

He appeared at the bottom of the stairs and looked up at me.

"You don’t think one of your brothers would still be up, do you?" he asked.

"We can check." I replied.

"Thanks." He sighed, "My mom accidentally locked me out again and she sleeps like a fucking rock. Tony has the spare key."

"Come on up," I insisted, "Shit, if they’re not up you can crash if you want."

Aiden followed me upstairs, laughing when I almost stumbled backwards at some point and he had to catch me. By the time we got inside the place was dark, and I had completely forgotten about Aiden’s dilemma of being locked out. With his help, I made it into my room and fell face first into my bed, my legs still dangling off. I may have fallen asleep that way if Aiden hadn't rolled me over and yanked my shoes and socks of my feet.

"Are you okay?" he laughed.

"Tired." I mumbled.

"I see that." he smiled, and then grabbed my hand and helped me sit up, "Come on."

I managed to sit up and by the time I figured out what he was doing he had my shirt half way off. I lifted my arms and let him pull it over my head, but I only sat there stupidly when he unbuttoned my jeans and yanked down my zipper.

Somewhere in my wasted mind I was very aware that I was still the proud owner of a raging hard on. But it didn’t seem like a big deal, I mean, I was pretty sure I had been hard most of the night and maybe I would have done something about it if I didn’t think it would take so much energy. And maybe, if I hadn't been so completely wasted I would have been concerned about Aiden noticing, but I wasn’t.

He yanked on my pants and I stood up long enough for him to strip me down to my boxers, and then I fell right back into the bed and closed my eyes. I felt Aiden moving around me, wrestling me under the covers and then the sound of a door closing. I managed to open my eyes only briefly, long enough to see Aiden as he finished removing his jeans. My last conscious thought was of Aiden standing in front of my bed, wearing only a pair of white boxers.

……….

I am a compulsive tooth brusher. Okay, I’m not that bad, but I follow the three times a day rule, once when I wake up, once after school, and once before I go to bed. Never had a cavity in my life. Well, I hadn't brushed my teeth last night and I seemed to have sprouted a forest in my mouth and grown a little drummer boy in my head.

It was already past noon, but the first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that the second pillow on my bead was indented, like someone had been there. I felt the place next to me and realized it was warm, and then I remembered Aiden there the night before.

I was supposed to get his spare key from Tony or Chris. I didn’t do that. That meant he must have crashed here last night. But where, here, exactly? I already knew the answer to that. Aiden slept in my bed. While I was in it. I immediately hoped that I hadn't embarrassed myself.

If the bed was still warm, I figured Aiden hadn't been gone for long, but he was gone by the time I got up. I took my time, taking my shower and getting dressed. I ate toast for breakfast because both of my brothers were already gone and I didn’t feel like making a big breakfast, and I spent most of the day lazing around the house, too tired to do anything else.

Tony got home first and I told him that Jake wanted him to call. I think Tony was especially pleased about that, but he didn’t say anything else about it, and Chris got home early, since we were leaving to go camping in the morning.

The three of us actually ate dinner together, and afterwards I was still tired. I must have fallen asleep on the sofa because when I opened my eyes it was already eight o'clock at night and Chris was sitting at my feet, flipping through the channels.

"Hey, sleepy head." He remarked.

I yawned and stretched, grinning at him. It was so good to wake up with family around. When I had first been separated from my brothers I realized all of the little, ordinary, every day things I had taken for granted before. Waking up to good company, meaningful hugs, and unconditional love. If I really thought hard about it, I knew that my brothers were my real family. My only family.

I tried not to think about my parents because it hurt too much. I guess that deep down; I was never close to either of them. Chris and Tony had been their pride and joy. Deep down I had always known that, but I was never jealous of my brothers. Maybe that was because when I was younger my brothers gave me all of the love and support that my parents couldn’t. Of course, I wont say that my parents weren’t good to me. I was treated well and rewarded for a job well done, but that was all before Chris and Tony left.

When I was younger, Tony and I didn’t have the same close relationship with my father as Chris did. Chris was the one he’d wake up early on a school day to go out for a father-son breakfast. If I didn’t know better, I would have told myself that it was because I wasn’t old enough to keep my father entertained and Tony didn’t like waking up early, but now I know better. It was because Chris was his favorite.

I liked to think that my mother and I could have had a relationship, but with her, Tony was the favorite. They would have long talks and share inside jokes that didn’t concern the rest of us. I wondered how she could turn her back on him as easily as she did.

As for me, I had my brothers. I had overheard a conversation once about my mother’s pregnancy with me. I had been a ‘surprise.’ I wondered if there was a difference between ‘surprise’ and ‘accident.’ But I never really convinced myself that my parents didn’t want me. My brothers wanted me and that had been enough. Until they left, and then my parents couldn’t get enough of me, but it wasn’t attention that I wanted or needed.

Knowing the story, I couldn’t blame my brothers for leaving. They probably thought I was safe, and just left hoping that I wouldn’t turn out to be a bigot. Oh yes, I was still bitter about those three years of separation from the two people that meant more to me than anything, but I was no longer angry. I had the simple comfort that Chris and Tony had never stopped loving me. They would always be there for me, and I wanted more than anything to be there for them too.

"What?"

Chris was giving me a funny look and I realized that I had been staring at him.

"Nothing." I smiled. "Where’s Tony?"

Chris looked towards the door and I saw something strange in his face, like he was debating whether or not to tell me something, but then it faded and he just smiled back at me.

"He had to run an errand." Chris replied, "But he’ll be back soon…you’ve been tired today, I heard you had some fun last night."

"Sorry," I said sheepishly, sitting up.

"Sorry?" he rolled his eyes, "Get off it Owen, you deserve to have some fun, whether you want to admit it or not."

"I know." I sighed, "I had this conversation with Tony yesterday, I guess I’m just so used to getting lectures and this whole thing is new to me."

Chris looked at me thoughtfully for a moment and turned the volume down on the television.

"Is that why you’ve been locked up in your room since you’ve been here?" he asked, "Because you think we’ll lecture you?"

"Sort of." I shrugged, "But I talked to Tony about it. I know you guys aren't the ‘rents, but it’s just been so long since we’ve all been together, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect, you know? When you said I could come live with you, you have no idea how happy that made me, Chris. Even if I wasn’t gay, and that shit with dad had never happened, I’d still want to be here with you and Tony. I guess I’ve been worried about screwing it up, I mean, I didn’t want to be some pesky kid brother cramping your style."

"Oh come on, Owen, Tony cramps my smile more than you do." he smiled, and then became serious, "You know, I don’t see you as a little kid, Owen. And you’re too damned responsible to do anything stupid. But even if you did, you can’t screw this up, you, me and Tony, we’re family, nothing will ever change that. And I’m sure Tony already told you, but I want to tell you from me, bro, I want you here. Having you here makes our little family feel complete again. And I don’t care if you’re gay, straight, or if you had sex with llamas, nothing would change that."

"Thanks Chris."

We stared at each other for a few seconds, sharing one of those, silent, mushy moments until we both got a little uncomfortable and cleared our throats as we broke eye contact, and then we laughed. Chris had never been the sentimental type, and for him to say everything he had to me was special. But he knew that. He held out his arms and grinned.

"Get over here." He said.

I leaned over and gave him a tight hug that ended with a couple slaps on the back. When we separated we both went to staring at the television without paying attention to what was on. I looked back at Chris with a question I had been wanting to ask.

"Chris?"

"Yeah?" he looked at me again.

"Um, I was wondering…" god, this was hard for me to ask him, I almost felt guilty about it.

"Come on, let it out." he insisted. I sighed and looked at him again.

"Are you okay with it, Chris?"

"What do you mean?" he asked cautiously.

"You know, having a gay brother."

"I have two gay brothers." He corrected me with a smile, "And like I said, I love them both, no matter what."

"I know." I replied, "But are you okay with it?"

Chris’s smile faded and he stared at me for a few minutes and then let out a breath.

"Yes, Owen. I am." He stated. And then he looked thoughtful again. "You know, Tony asked me the same thing once. He said there was a big difference between tolerance and acceptance. I wasn’t really sure what he meant by that, because neither of those words really explains how I feel. So, I’ll tell you the same thing I told him…you’re my brother. That’s the only thing that matters to me. I wouldn’t ask if you accept or tolerate the fact that I like women, so why should it be any different for you? I guess I see things differently than being gay or straight. The way I see it, if you fall in love with a man, it’s no different than falling in love with a woman. And, it’s not like you can help who you’re attracted to, or who you eventually fall in love with."

I thought about what Chris was saying for a minute. It was so different than what my father had said to me, and it took away some of the doubt I had about myself. Hearing Chris say these things, letting me know that there was nothing wrong with me, helped me see it too. It also made me realize that maybe I hadn't been as comfortable in my own sexuality as I had thought. I also realized that I still had certain fears I needed to get over, before I really could be comfortable with myself. If anything, it explained why I hadn't come out to people that my gut instincts told me I could trust. Like Aiden.

"Chris, why don’t you guys go to church?" I asked offhandedly, "Mom and dad took us every week."

Chris looked a little surprised.

"Do you want to go to church?"

"I don’t know." I shrugged, "I guess that’s not what I’m asking. Do you remember what the pastor used to say about gays when we went?"

Chris noticeably winced.

"Yeah, I remember." He said softly. "I used to hate watching Tony sit through those sermons. They’d have him on edge for hours."

"So do you think that the pastor was right? Is it a sin?" I asked, genuinely curious.

"Hell no." Chris said, his voice raising slightly before he softened it again. "Look Owen, that church was full of bigots. And no, I don’t think it’s a sin…I don’t know if there’s a God, Owen. I don’t think anyone can know for sure. But I have faith that there is. And the way I see it, if I have faith in God, I have faith that he’s not a hateful God. That’s what the man in that churched preached, hate. Well, I think he has it wrong. What is it people keep saying? God loves. I have faith that God loves. God also gives us choices, when we make the wrong choices it’s called a sin most of the time. But there are also things that we have no choice about, like the way we look, or what families we’re born to, and being gay isn’t a choice. How can it be a sin if you have no choice about it? Why did God make you the way you are if it was a sin? If he’s supposed to love us all, why would he set you up to fail? It doesn’t make sense to me. I have faith that God makes us what we are for a reason, and he loves us for what we are. And well, if he doesn’t, if he’s a god who discriminates, who turns his own creation away because they are living as he made them to live, with no other choice, then I don’t want anything to do with him anyways."

All I could do was gape at him after that. Chris had never, ever, said anything as deep as that to me before, and I felt bad that I had actually believed that he didn’t have it in him. My brother was full of surprises, and he had just reminded me why I loved him so much.

"Wow, Chris." I said softly, "How did you do it? How did you grow up in that house and not turn out like…them?"

"It wasn’t hard Owen. Maybe at church things like that were said, but not at home. Mom and dad had never said anything about gays, good or bad. I had a chance to form my own opinion, and having a gay twin brother helped."

"It was different after you left." I sighed, "I think mom and dad went out of their way to make sure I didn’t come out queer."

"I’m sorry, Owen. You have no idea how much I wish I had been there for you."

"You’re here now Chris, that’s all that matters." I smiled.

We heard the door and both looked up as Tony came through it, with Aiden in tow. I couldn’t help but smile, seeing Aiden. I hadn't heard from him all day. But then I noticed that he was carrying a pillow again, just like when I had woken up in the middle of the night and he had been at the front door.

"Hey guys." Tony said, and then smirked at me, "Nice of you to join the living, Owen."

"What’s going on guys?" Chris asked them, but not before I caught the concerned look that Chris shot Tony.

"Not much," Tony maintained his smile, "I just thought that since we were leaving tomorrow Aiden could crash here tonight." With no bags and no gear, I noticed.

"Cool." Chris smiled, "Come on in Aiden, Owen and I were just looking to see if there were any decent movies on tonight."

I was glad to see Aiden, but suddenly Tony’s ‘errand’ made sense. I was pretty sure that he had been at Aiden’s. I didn’t know why, but I knew that it had something to do with why Aiden was spending the night again. I knew this much: something wasn’t right at Aiden’s house. It only made sense. He showed up with a cut on his head, and the night before he had been locked out, and now this. But I wasn’t going to ask, as usual. I wanted to ask, but it was none of my business. If Aiden wanted me to know, I’d know.

Tony made popcorn, but we never did find anything decent to watch on TV. I think everyone was tired. I had practically slept all day and I still was. We would be leaving for our camping trip in the morning and I wanted to go to bed early, I think everyone else did too.

Aiden set up his bed on the sofa and I couldn’t help thinking of the night before. I couldn’t be completely sure, but I was fairly certain that he had been in my bed, and my bed wasn’t very big, just a full size. To fit both of us we would have had to be pretty close together. I could just imagine cuddling up to him when I slept, and if that had happened, I wished that I had been sober enough to remember it, and I really hoped that I wasn’t constantly poking him with a hard on.

I decided to take a shower before bed, and for the first time in two months I introduced my right hand to my dick. I didn’t last very long as different images ran through my head. It started off with Aiden, but quickly turned to an old fantasy-Nicky. And then there was Dan, and then Ryan and his dimples, but before I finished I thought about Aiden again and that sent me over the edge. What can I say? I’m seventeen and have an active imagination.

It felt good to have an orgasm again, and as I watched my come swirl down the drain I felt completely relaxed. When I got out, I wrapped a towel around my waist and cracked the door to release some of the steam from my shower. I wiped of the mirror, and was just beginning to brush my teeth when there was a soft knock on the door. My response of ‘come in’ was muffled because of the toothbrush in my mouth, but it was heard.

I looked up when Aiden entered, holding up his own toothbrush, clad in his underwear. Boxer briefs this time. I don’t think I need to go into details about why I liked what I saw. I tried not to feel so nervous, only wearing a towel as I moved over and made room for him at the sink.

"Sorry," he mumbled, "I’ll be out of your way in just a sec." Like he could ever be in my way.

"Take your time." I replied through a mouth full of toothpaste, "I’m almost done." and then, as an afterthought I added, "Hey, um…sorry about last night. I was completely out of it."

"I remember." He smiled. "But, no worries, it was a lot of fun, I’m glad you came."

"Me too." I nodded as I finished brushing my teeth, and then I reluctantly made my way towards the door. "Goodnight Aiden."

"Goodnight."

I was headed out of the bathroom when I heard the phone ring. Aiden and I glanced at each other. I wondered who would be calling so late, but then I remembered it was only nine-thirty, so I went out to the living room to answer it because Chris and Tony had already gone to bed.

"Hello?" I answered softly, almost in a whisper. It was a habit from when I lived with my parents, who hated people calling after eight when they went to bed.

"Is Owen there?" the voice on the other end sounded confused.

"This is Owen." I said, a little louder.

"Oh, hey Owen, it’s Adam." He said, "Is it too late to call?"

"No, not at all." I replied, "What’s going on, Adam?"

"I was just wondering what time we were leaving tomorrow." He replied.

"Um, I’m not sure." I admitted, "I know we’re getting up early over here, we still need to load up our gear. But, I’m pretty sure we’ll be on the road before noon, is that cool?"

"Yeah, no problem." He said cheerfully, "And I wanted to give you my address, because you’ve never been here before."

Aiden walked into the living room at about that time and looked towards me curiously as he sat down on the sofa where his blankets were.

"Hey Adam, Aiden knows where you live, right?" I asked, "So we should have no problem finding you."

Aiden gave me a nod as Adam spoke again.

"Yeah, he does." He laughed, "I just wanted to make sure. Oh, and Shane’s sleeping over here tonight, that way you can pick us up in the same place."

"Sounds good." I replied.

There was a pause on the other end of the phone and it sounded like I was listening to a muffled argument. I looked back at Aiden, who was still watching me with a bemused expression and then Adam’s voice came back, but he wasn’t talking to me, "fine, I get it, take a pill, will ya, jeez…" he groaned in exasperation and I couldn’t help but laugh, "Owen, you still there?"

"Yeah, everything okay?" I asked.

"You’re so lucky you don’t have a sister." Adam remarked, "Anyways, I gotta get off, Janie wants to call Aiden before she goes to bed."

"Oh," I said, looking up at Aiden again, "Then put her on, he’s right here."

"Aiden’s there?" Adam sounded surprised.

"Yeah, hold on."

Aiden looked momentarily confused when I passed him the phone, but he brought it to his ear anyways.

"Hello?" he answered, "Oh, hi Adam. Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow….Hey Janie…no, it’s fine…yeah, tomorrow…oh cheer up, I’ll be back Monday, I’ll stop by school and take you out to lunch…"

I let the conversation fade as Aiden talked on the phone and I made my way to the kitchen for a glass of water. I thought about Aiden and Janie. I wasn’t sure what it was about her, but she wasn’t my favorite person in the world.

Maybe I was jealous, but Ryan had said that Aiden and Janie were just really good friends. Best friends. Maybe that’s what I was jealous of. Or maybe it ran deeper. The last friend I had of the female gender had betrayed me in the worst way imaginable. I told myself that I still loved Anna no matter what, but I guess you could say that I was still holding a grudge. And now that I thought about it, I had steered clear of girls in particular ever since Anna had ‘outed’ me to my parents and then to the entire school.

I knew that Janie wasn’t Anna. Hell, I didn’t even know Janie enough to judge her. But, truth be told, I was happy that this was going to be a guys weekend. No girls aloud. Especially girls who clung to Aiden like they owned him. Okay, so maybe I was jealous.