Aedan's Story - 13. Chapter 13: Braces & Best Friends

Aedan gets braces, deals with his bratty younger brother, and takes his friendship with Jake to an interesting place... Also, happy birthday, Jake!

Oct 13 2017

At 4pm when school was over, I was waiting with River outside the front of Avalon Middle School. We were waiting for my mom to pick us up to bring me to an orthodontist appointment to get some rubber bands on my teeth to prepare for braces being put in in a couple weeks. River was wearing a grey hoodie and baggy orange basketball shorts. He looked a little underdressed for a cool Connecticut fall day, but I guess I wear similar clothes for basketball practice so whatever. River was eating some peanut butter crackers, and I was hungry since lunch was 3 and a half hours ago. But I couldn't eat my snack until after the appointment.

"Yum..." River taunted me. He knew I was hungry...

"Shut up, twerp," I rolled my eyes. "And don't you have detention today for shoving Zach into a locker?"

"Nah I'm skipping."

"Dude, you can't skip detention..."

"If I remember correctly, you did, last month, like four times..."

"Yeah, and I got my crap together and now I rarely get in trouble. So go... seriously... unless you want reform school." After that, River went back inside. Thank god... he won't be annoying me no more...

When mom arrived, I sat in the front and it was a fairly normal ride to the orthodontist. At the office I brushed my teeth before the doctor put in some tiny rubber bands into my mouth. Then right before Halloween I'd get my braces put in. It was a bummer I couldn't eat all the candy I got. Only the really soft stuff. But getting braces was still cool and exciting. Most kids hate them but I looked forward to them and I think my little bro River was also wanting the braces too. The doctor also took some teeth x-rays to see if my overbite and few crooked teeth changed at all, which they hadn't, at least not by much.

After the appointment I ate my snack on the ride home through our town. At home I ate a handful of cereal out of the box as an extra snack. (I'mma growing boy, don't judge me!) Violet was hanging out with her girlfriend, Kayley. It was kinda weird seeing two girls kiss, but whatever. It's not like I'd be totally opposed to kissing Ian Voss. Speaking of him, I'd been watching and attending all his flag football games on Thursday nights, except for that week I was suspended.

I went upstairs and got in the bathtub. I was sore after a long day, and I didn't have a chance to shower after gym class earlier, so I was quite sweaty and gross. For a while I was just relaxing in the warm water, with the shower curtain closed and the lights off (except a few candles on the counter) to make the bathtub dark and quiet. My arms and shoulder blades rested on the cold porcelain rim of the tub. It was a nice relaxing time, and I had begun pleasuring myself in the dark when the light turned on. I peeked around the curtain to see Jake there, lowering his jeans and boxers to take a piss. Oh, that's right... Jake has to use my bathroom while his is being painted...

Apparently, I made enough sound to startle Jake. He jumped a little bit and pulled up his pants and opened the curtain. "Aedan?"

"I... I'm taking a ba..." I stuttered.

"Shit, I don't need to see that," he looked down and he immediately walked out, shutting the door behind him. I chuckled a bit at his abrupt reaction.

Now the light was on and I couldn't relax. I quickly used the aloe scented soap to clean myself and some shampoo for my hair. I took some time to massage my sore feet in the warm water.

After the bath, I put on some fresh boxers, a plain white tank top, and some sweatpants and sat on my bed for some geometry homework about the Pythagorean Theorem until it was dinner time. Jake's parents were making a rare appearance for once. I felt a bit silly at a dinner table in such a nice house in my pajamas, but Jake said it was fine.

"Aedan, have you been getting weird emails too?" Mom asked me as I sat down with a plate of roasted chicken, mashed potatoes, and broccoli.

"Mhm, yeah," I nodded. "From lawyers. Some of them want me to testify against dad. Others want me to testify for him. And they're offering me money too if they end up winning the case."

"Don't respond..." mom said. "Lawyers are master scam artists. They're trained to persuade people."

"Not all lawyers are that way, sweetie," Mrs. Grant said to me. "I used to be one. We just seek to find the truth through evidence."

"I'm not that interested in dad's issues anymore really," I looked down at my bare feet. "Anyways, um, I'll say grace..." Jake's parents weren't too keen on the idea of grace before dinner. But my family is Southern Baptist, so we usually pray before eating. Jake seems to like it too.

"Could I come to church with you guys this weekend? It seems interesting." Jake offered after I recited the Lord's Prayer.

"Sure, hun. Everyone's welcome in the House Of The Lord." Mom said.

"You really think it would be interesting to attend a conference of superstition?" Mr. Grant asked in his posh accent. "I would find it rather amusing and silly." He chuckled.

Oh great...

"Well, you are entitled to your opinion," Mom said.

"How was work today, mom?" I asked between bites, quickly changing the subject.

"Well, we saved a patient today. She was suffering an ectopic pregnancy. Highly dangerous for her..."

"So you performed an abortion?" Violet asked, rather upset.

Shit... we can't avoid the controversial topics tonight...

Oct 30 2017

The day went by slowly, but Jake and I finally turned in our hand written essays at the end of ELA class 7th period. After this, it was off to the orthodontist to get my braces put in. I was a little nervous but I was also kind of excited too. Jake offered to come with me and I let him cause he's a good friend. And, we hadn't had too many chances to hang out since starting 8th grade.

"Are you ready?" Jake asked as we sat on a bench outside the school to wait.

"Mhm," I nodded. Jake was eating a protein bar, and I, as usual, couldn't eat to keep my teeth clean for the braces operation. The weather was damp and cool for eastern Connecticut. I was wearing a red tshirt and jeans. Jake had on a blue hoodie and grey jeans. A few minutes later my mom came to pick me and Jake up to go to orthodontist. River had to go to basketball practice after school at the rec center and got a ride from a friend's dad. "Thanks for offering to come with me today," I thanked Jake as I climbed into the back seat of mom's car.

"No problem," Jake smiled. "I didn't have much going on this afternoon, and yeah. I wanted to support you" The blond teen blushed.

"That's very sweet, Jake," mom smiled. "How was school, honey?"

"it was a'ight," I buckled my seatbelt. "Usual school boringness. I enjoyed art and basketball though," I gazed out the window.

Jake and I goofed off on the 10-minute drive across town to the orthodontist office. I brushed my teeth before getting in the chair. Jake sat on a swivel chair in the corner of the room and mom sat in the waiting room, reading a book. When the doctor came in, I got to pick which colors I wanted on the braces. I went with purple and green. And I'd have to come in every couple months to get the braces checked and change the colors. While the braces were being put on my teeth Jake watched for a bit, but mostly browsed flutter on his phone. He had braces previously, up until this April, and still wears his retainer at night.

When all was said and done, my mouth felt weird but the braces were on pretty good. They made my teeth hurt. And I couldn't eat solid food for a few hours, unfortunately, even though I'm pretty hungry.

"Can we get smoothies?" I asked mom when we got to the car.

"Sure," she nodded. We went to a local smoothie shop and I got a blackberry and raspberry smoothie. Jake got strawberry and banana. The cold drink felt nice in my sore mouth but I'm glad I got to spend the day with my best friend.

Nov 10 2017, Norwich, Connecticut

I straightened up my shirt collar in the bathroom mirror and made sure my bowtie was tied up correctly. I rarely ever wear nice clothes, so this was new for me. I'm usually in sweatpants, shorts, t-shirts, and hoodies, but tonight, for the fall art festival, I had to get dressed up. I had on khaki slacks, boat shoes, a purple dress shirt, and a grey bow-tie. I finished preparing by spraying some minty breath spray in my mouth and gelling my shaggy hair. I exited the men's room and I saw Nina waiting in the hall. I saw her cheeks blush. "Oh my gosh, Aedan! You look so cute!" She ran over and pinched my cheeks.

"Hey, stop," I whined. "You look cute too," I smiled at her pink knee length dress and we kissed. Yeah, I think we got back together earlier this month. Anyways, we were at the Norwich Art Center for the fall festival. I thankfully ended up finishing my piece by the October 27th deadline. A bunch of other middle school and high school artists also had pieces to present tonight. Today was River's twelfth birthday as well, so it was a big enough day for my mom to take the day off from her evening shift at the local hospital. Thankfully, I had my first basketball game earlier in the week to avoid time conflicts. Outside, the sun was setting, even though it's barely 5pm. We had come to the Art Center straight from school on a bus, so we had to change here. I got my painting from the teacher. I was really proud of my work. I had painted a local Wampanoag village in the evening in a forest of bright fall colors. I painted based on a photograph of course, but it still turned out really well.

"Holy crap..." Vincent said, setting up his piece next to mine. "You're like some kind of art prodigy, bro."

I sat in the car on the way home, holding my award. My eyes were a bit red from tears from having won. I had the highest score among the 8th grade students at the showcase. There were other winners from the other grade levels. "Where do you want to go for dinner?" Mom asked from the driver's seat.

"It's my birthday..." River complained. He had turned 12 years old today. "I should pick!"

"How about you both pick somewhere nice to go," mom said. In the car was Violet in the passenger seat, and River, Jake, and I in the back. Nina had to go with her parents to catch the second half of her older brother's high school football game.

"Ugh whatever. This is so unfair...!"

"Bro, seriously, stop being a brat!" I growled at him. "There's no reason we both can't pick somewhere we both like..."

"Right, Aedan..." Riv perked up a little. "You know what I'm thinking?" It took me a minute to process, but I caught his drift.

"Yeh, bro. Say it in three... two... one..."

"OLIVE GARDEN!" We exclaimed in unison.

"You two are obsessed with that place, I swear," Violet chuckled.

"Because it's good!" I defended.

"They do have the best breadsticks..." Jake pointed out. I nodded.

Dec 2 2017, Avalon, Connecticut

I woke up at around 9AM. I was at Jake's bedroom for a birthday sleepover. Jake had a large bed so we slept together in the same bed. Jake was still asleep next to me as I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I scratched my bare chest and noticed I had a bit of a morning wood that my pajama pants didn't even try to hide. It was Jake's 14th birthday, but I became a little curious. I had never kissed a boy before, and a shirtless boy was sleeping next to me. I had never really thought of Jake romantically, but a little experimental kiss wouldn't hurt anyone. I quietly sat on my knees, trying to not wake him up. I carefully brushed the blond bangs out of his face. I leaned in and kissed his lips. They were soft, but it wasn't a good kiss. Which, I was fine with, as he has always been my friend, and I'd be fine with staying that way. That's when I saw his grey eyes immediately open. He freaked out and shoved me off the bed. There was a thud when my 115 pound body hit the carpeted floor. "Ow," I groaned. "What was that for?" I rubbed my back.

"What did you do?" Jake asked. "Why the hell did you kiss me?"

"I was curious," I stood up and dusted myself off.

"I guess I seem like a homophobic asshole now, don't I?" Jake blushed, shoving his hands into the pockets of his Star Wars pajama pants.

"A lot, actually, yeah," I scoffed. Was I really going to lose my best friend over this? There was a moment of silence.

"So, uh, you're gay, Aedan?"

I nodded. "Yeah, kind of. I'm bi..." I blushed. "But, I swear to God, don't tell anyone, okay? You're the only one who knows." I got back on Jake's bed.

"Aedan, you know I wouldn't tell anyone," Jake nodded and smiled. "And, uh, do you... have... a crush on me?"

"No. Not really. I just like you as a friend. I... I do like Ian a bit though."

"Ah, right. Ian's so gay. You two can kiss and make out together..." Jake laughed. Did he seriously just say make out? Yuck...

"EW GROSS!" I laughed before getting his head in a chokehold and using my less dominant right hand to give him a noogie and ruffle his hair.

"Get off me," Jake and I wrestled on the bed for a bit until I heard his stomach growl. "I'm hungry. Wanna go get breakfast?" he asked. I nodded. "Race ya downstairs!" Jake took off running out the bedroom door. I ran after him down the hall.