Carter's Vanguard - 10. Chapter 10

The beat was contagious, pumping in a way that caused people to move. You couldn't stop yourself, you just moved. Will moved. He bounded onto the chair, riding it down to the floor as he slid in his socks across to the front of the stereo and turned up the music, letting the sounds of the heavy base pound out of the retro seventies speakers Brody had rigged up as he charged off again.

He was in a good mood, actually enjoying himself for the first time in ages, it was nothing he could explain, and he was just... giddy. It didn't matter that he had such a long day. Nothing could change the fact that he was happy.

He had just gotten out of a shower and had chosen a pair of boxer shorts with a dizzying pattern on them that summed up his mood. He had every right to feel happy; he had been alone again that morning, Mrs. Casey still not making her presence known. He had used the time to teach his students more about Shakespeare and little Peter McCormick seemed to have grown out of his shell, which was rewarding for Will. He was actually making a difference. There was something liberating about teaching his sprogs, an intoxication about them actually responding to him. They were learning, and it was his doing.

"Alcoholic kind of mood ..."he sang in an off-key tone as he spun, stepping out with his legs as he grabbed ahold of the broom. He pulled it close and swept it back like a microphone as he stepped around it, bobbing and weaving in time to the bass, "Lose my clothes, lose my lube..."

"Cruising for a piece of fun" He stepped back, swaying as he tossed the broom aside, sliding in his socks again into the kitchen, pulling out a pot and filling it with water, "Looking out for number one ..."

He put it down on the stovetop next to where his frying pan was browning beef, and stepped backwards and forwards twice as he turned the burner on.

"Different partner every night ..." he sang as he turned again, reaching out for pasta and tossing the packet in the air as he punched with his hand to catch it, "So narcotic outta sight ..." he applied it to the water and bounded out of the kitchen.

"What a gas, what a beautiful ass.!"

He turned and stopped, seeing Brody standing in the doorway to the galley, looking like he was about to burst into laughter. And his heart sank and the smile on his face became forced, guilt and a wave of emotion crushing his mood instantly. He stood upright and crossed to the stereo and switched it off.

"Sorry, I was err... just..." he swallowed and lifted the pot lid to cover his boxer shorts, "...just going to get dressed..."

"By all means, don't let me stop you," Brody said, his grin spreading as he remembered the ridiculous image of Will dancing. "I'm just going to grab a shower and go; I have a date tonight."

"Nikki, right?" Will asked, painfully aware that he was still in his underwear, but realizing that a mad dash for the stairs in his pants would only result in more teasing.

"No.." Brody grinned, "I'm meeting her at the club after supper. No, I have a date with Danielle first."

"Two dates?" Will asked in shock. "You're dating two women in the same night?"

"Actually," Brody gave a sheepish grin, "I'm meeting Kat for an after-hours party over at the exchange after the club."

"Three dates?" Will's mouth hung open doing his impression of a dead fish. Sometimes Brody surprised even him. There was no keeping up with his rapidly changing love life. Will had tried to compile a flow chart of it once, but had given up when he had run out of room on the Bristol board.

"Wha?" Brody asked, trying his best to look innocent as he started towards the stairs. "I didn't do nutin', they asked me out."

The door rattled and burst open as Jared struggled in carrying a cooler, Andrew in tow. Both young hockey players stopped short when they saw Will standing in the kitchen in just his boxers, concealing himself with a glass pot lid.

Jared shot Andrew a look, "I think that's your department."

Andrew reached up a hand to cover Jared's eyes, much the way a dad would shield the eyes of a child against something he wasn't supposed to see. "Hi," he said, his eyes traveling downwards suggestively.

Will turned bright red. "Get out of my kitchen," he demanded, grabbing the only thing that came to hand, the bag of pasta; he took a handful and lobbed it at the two boys. It scattered and bounced across the floor as the two ran for the relative shelter of the living room.

Brody shook his head as he went upstairs to continue to get ready. "You're cleaning that up," he chuckled.

Will stalked into the laundry room and, finding a pair of chinos, got dressed. He walked back up into the living room to find Andrew had stretched out on the floor and was channel surfing, while Jared was sitting in the loveseat with a beer.

Andrew smirked and motioned at the TV, "I missed cable, I forgot how many channels there were with nothing on." He surfed upwards till he found the music channel and tuned into it; setting the remote down on the coffee table he grinned, "What's for supper?"

Jared looked up. "Supper?" he looked hopeful.

Will sat down with his back resting against the foot of the couch. "It was going to be pasta," he said, looking over at both of them. "That was until you two showed up."

* * *

Will wasn't sure when they had both moved to the couch, probably when the pizza had arrived and been half devoured. They were both laughing along with a senseless movie TBS was showing in their movie slot. It was the best thing on at the time. Tonight had been a particularly violent and expressive movie, where Bruce Willis's lines were replaced with a more tempered dubbed version that barely sounded like him.

"We're gonna bury them funsters" and "you melon farmer"

Will roared with laughter, it was funnier than the original; in their attempt to carefully sterilize the movie for public consumption they had turned an action film into a comedy. He shifted slightly as Andrew moved himself around. They were both lying on the couch, completely at peace with the sudden intimacy of their position, neither really noticing how relaxed they were as Andrew shifted his arm to rest across Will's.

"I love this part," he said enthusiastically, his eyes bright as they focused on the screen, trying to convey his enthusiasm across to Will as he pulled another piece of pizza from the box.

Will watched the strange young man again, wondering at how comfortable he seemed inside his own skin. Like he had said back at the restaurant when he had first gotten back, he really was indifferent. There was nothing sexual about the way they sat, they were just two buddies watching a movie and sharing a moment. But Will wasn't about to write off the fact that Andrew was sharing his couch with him. They had long ago grown indifferent to the gender barrier that was supposed to exist between two men. Andrew was infectious.

Jared, who had earlier retreated down to the basement where the computer was kept, wandered up the stairs and stopped in the doorway to the lounge; he surveyed the scene with one of his bemused looks that said he knew exactly what was going on, even when the people involved didn't. Both Will and Andrew glanced at him.

"How do you do that?" he asked, wandering to the kitchen where he dried a glass from the dish rack with a tea towel before pouring himself some Kool-Aid from the pitcher in the fridge.

"Do what?" Andrew asked, rolling a bit to prop himself up on Will's chest.

Jared waved his glass to the pair of them laying in each others arms, "That."

Andrew looked down at Will, who in turn looked back up at him. "I think he means the fact we can just sit here and watch movies," Will surmised.

"Yeah," Jared said. "I've never had that with a girl." He looked troubled, and Andrew sat up, though his back was still pressed up against Will.

"You just haven't met the right girl, bud," Andrew said, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "What about this Cynthia girl who's coming tomorrow?"

Jared shrugged, "Yeah, just forget I asked..." He looked towards the door hesitantly, "I should jet."

It was Will's turn to sit up. "You've been drinking," he said matter-of-factly. "You're staying here tonight."

Jared looked down; it was getting close to two am and he looked exhausted. He shrugged, "Sure. Carter, you mind if I borrow some sweatpants and a tee?"

Will nodded, "Help yourself, mate, you know where everything is."

Will watched as Jared wandered about getting ready for bed, finally mumbling a good night as he shuffled his way upstairs. And to Will he seemed so alone and forlorn. Out of all of his friends Jared was the one who never seemed to be able to make a relationship work. Lisa and Brody, before their break up, had shared something that would have been love if either of them could admit the fact they loved each other.

What he shared with Andrew was special. You didn't get a love like that every day, and in a rare moment of emotion Will wrapped his arms tightly around Andrew's shoulders.

"You're affectionate tonight," Andrew said, still sitting upright. "Are you okay?"

Will shrugged, "A little embarrassed about being caught without pants earlier."

Andrew snorted as he tried to hide his laughter, "Those were... interesting boxer shorts."

Will grinned, "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Andrew said with a broad grin spreading across his face as he turned to reach down and unbutton the top button of Will's chinos.

"What are you doing?" Will said, crossing his arms.

"I wanted to see those boxer's again," Andrew said, fingers finding the zipper as he began to tug down on it, all the while looking with mischievous eyes on Will's.

"Did I give you permission to take my clothes off?" Will said, faking looking stern.

"I don't need permission, I'm your boyfriend." Andrew finished tugging down the zipper and spread the flaps of the trousers open exposing the garish patterned boxers. Technicolour...

Will reached down and closed his trousers, "Nope, not till I see yours first."

Andrew shrugged and stood up, going for the button on his khakis.

"Not like that," Will protested.

"How then?" Andrew asked, still grinning.

Will reached out a hand for the remote on the coffee table; he clicked off the television and discarded it, scooping up the other one next to it. And turning on the stereo player, he fiddled with the remote till he turned on a dance CD he had in there.

"You're not serious," Andrew said, his face falling in uncertainty as he looked over at the stereo pumping out a rhythmic base.

Will shifted himself into a comfortable position and gestured with the remote, "You don't get to see mine again until I've seen yours."

Andrew licked his lips and swallowed, taking a step back, hopping up onto the coffee table. He couldn't help himself and giggled, but suggestively undid his shirt, pulling it back and shaking it off his shoulders in time to the music.

Will's ears perked up and his eyes widened happily.

Andrew spun the shirt, tossing it aside as he un-tucked his tee-shirt, sliding up first one side then the other, showing off his tight abs. He let the shirt flap fall as he hopped to turn his back to Will, except he missed his footing and fell with a crash to the living room floor.

Will sat bolt upright, trying to see if Andrew was okay.

Andrew picked himself up and shook himself off, getting back into the music as he lifted the shirt up again, this time going higher. His hips swayed in time to the beat, pulling it up to reveal his chest.

Will swallowed. "Wow," he murmured.

The tee-shirt got stuck as Andrew wrestled with it, finally pulling it free. Embarrassed, Andrew blushed a bit flipping it down and between his legs. He pulled it back and forth a couple of times in a classic stripper's move, turning and tossing it over to Will, who didn't move as the tee-shirt landed across his head.

Will simply reached up and moved the shirt away from his eyes leaving it where it had landed. He swallowed again as Andrew reached for the button to his trousers, he was certainly beginning to enjoy this...

The trousers slid to the floor and Andrew kicked them aside, putting his hands on his hips as he turned and wiggled in the bright green boxer shorts. Hypnotized, Will cocked his head to one side, his eyes locked on the delicious curve of the...

The front door opened and Brody drew up short as he stared in stark surprise at the half-naked Andrew, who, also surprised, had stopped dancing. Brody coughed once, blinked and looked over at Will, as Andrew's tee-shirt slipped off his head.