Aedan's Story - 18. Chapter 18: Summer Of Love

Aedan attends his first pride event! (Don't worry... it's family friendly )
Also, Jake gets his first girlfriend... and Aedan... well... we'll see what he thinks about his best friend's new GF...

June 16, 2018, Whalebone, Mass.

I had nailed in the last nail on the new deck for the beach house before wiping the sweat from my face. Jake and I were helping Mr. Grant replace the deck after several winter storms broke the old one due to coastal flooding. I grabbed my tank top and hung it on my shoulder before Jake helped me up. The project had taken a few days of working, but I was getting good pay and a good workout out of it. Jake did a lot of the screwdriver stuff since he has smaller hands.

"Thanks again for the help, lads," Steven Grant said in his British accent. "What do you want for dinner? There's a Chinese place in town."

"Chinese sounds good," I nodded.

"Yup, that sounds good," Jake smiled with a voice crack. He had hit a growth spurt over the past week. I think he finally started puberty. Jake and I placed our orders and Steven went to pick it up in town. Inside, I was very thankful for air-conditioning and flopped onto the couch. The cold leather felt nice on my bare chest and stomach.

"Bruhhhh I am so tired... sore... and sunburned!"

"Yeah, you got a bit pink on your back," Jake laughed. He grabbed some aloe vera gel from the kitchen and began putting some on my back.

"Dude that feels awesome..." I smiled in relief. Jake's massage and the soothing green gel relaxed me and I soon fell asleep.

I awoke to the smell of Chinese food. Jake and Steven were eating. I got up off the couch, grabbed my food and sat with them. I got shrimp, white rice, and broccoli along with a spring roll. "Hey, sleeping beauty," Jake teased, his mouth full of rice and wok beef.

After eating, Jake and I played some Pirate101 on our laptops. I had a swashbuckler character and Jake had a musketeer. "Dude, I can't believe we'll be in high school in 2 months." Jake's voice cracked.

"Yah, it's crazy," I picked some of the rice out of my braces. "High school actually seems kinda scary from what Violet's told me," I blushed a little bit. "She's going into senior year."

"The girls will be hotter though," Jake smiled. "And I'm finally in puberty so hopefully I won't look so young." He paused. "Hey, um, what's it actually like having a girlfriend?" Jake asked with a blush.

"It's so awesome, bro. You get to make out with a cute girl. And you get to comfort her when she's havin' a bad day. And, believe it or not, girls like it when a boy gushes his emotions to her too. It's kinda a two-way street. And don't worry about it. You're just a late bloomer or whatever. My mom said yer fine."

"And, uh, what's it like having a crush on a boy?"

My face blushed. "Ummm... liiike... you get turned on by seein' other boys."

"Do you have a crush on... me?" Jake asked. "Like do you find me cute or something?"

"This again? Come on Jake... You know we're best friends and that's that," I huffed and logged off the game and turned off my laptop. "I'm gonna get to bed," I said, stripping naked and heading into our bathroom to brush my teeth and shower. I felt a bit bad for snapping at Jake. After showering, I noticed Jake still on his laptop. "Hey, I'm sorry for snapping at you. I just get a lot of comments at school about people thinkin' we're gay together."

"It's okay, Aedan," Jake smiled slightly. "No one finds me attractive... I'm just a little kid to everyone... or just a friend..."

"Hey, don't talk that way. There're girls out there who do like you." I pulled on a fresh pair of boxers and climbed into bed. "I cain't say who cause I promised not to tell you her name."I spoke honestly. Bailey Wilcox had confided her crush to Jake when I had flirted with her back in March. I smiled when I saw Jake blush and grin. "And shower's all yours bro..." I rolled onto my stomach and browsed social media while Jake went to shower with his newfound confidence.

June 29 2018 Avalon, Connecticut

My yard work was finished by noon. It was hot and it felt great to work with my shirt off. Also helped me work on my tan. When I confirmed I was truly alone, I dropped my shorts and boxers and jumped in the pool naked to cool off.

I blushed as River entered the pool grotto with Jake. "Hey, Aedan," River's voice cracked. "Jake and I... Holy shit bro you're naked!"

"Yes. Is that a problem bro?!" I paused. "And hey Jake."

"Hi..." Jake's cheeks flushed a bright shade of pink as he dribbled his basketball a couple times. "Riv and I are gonna shoot hoops. I'll see you later," he smiled and walked off with my brother.

I got out of the pool soon afterwards and dried off with my towel which I tied around my waist as I walked inside, with my dry clothes resting on my choulders. I left my flip flops in the laundry room, threw my clothes in the hamper before returning to the kitchen for a sandwich for lunch. As I ate, I scrolled through the Flutter app on my phone.

Ian Voss had tweeted a cute pic of himself in a tye-dye rainbow t-shirt and the caption said "hey everyone gonna be at the avalon pride parade this afternoon" along with the rainbow flag emoji.

I suddenly had the urge to go attend this event. I think Violet was going?! I REALLY wanted to go meet Ian though. Hopefully he'd take his shirt off... it's a pretty warm day... NOPE, mind out of the gutter, Aedan!

I quickly finished my food and went to Violet's room. I knocked on the door. "Violet!"

"Aedan? What is it, pest?"

"You're going to that Rainbow Parade thing, right? Since you're a lesbian?"

"Uh, yeah..." she shrugged and rolled her eyes. "My girlfriend's coming to get me at 1..."

"Great! Can I PLEEEASE go with y'all?!" I begged. "I promise I won't be annoying!"

"You've got some crush on a guy who's going right?" she practically read my mind (what the heck Violet?). I nodded sheepishly. "You can ride with us... just... separate from us as soon as we get there... okay?" I nodded as she shoved me out of the room and closed the door. I quickly showered. I smelled like disgusting sweat and chlorine. After my shower I got dressed in a clean pair of grey Under Armour shorts and a pink Southpole tank top. I put on deodorant and a couple sprays of cologne and gelled my shaggy hair. I had to look nice for Ian!

Kayley came by a bit later, and Violet and I got in her car. I remained quiet on the short car ride to the Avalon Commons, which was a small grassy park in the middle of town. Kayley parked on the street, I thanked them, and went off to find Ian. The park was full of people. At least half the town was here. Kids ran around playing and people talked with their friends. Music was playing from a band on a stage. I saw quite a few same sex couples, unafraid to be themselves. Sometimes I wished I was that confident.

I eventually found Ian sitting in the shade of a hemlock tree. His skin looked so tan, and his eyes were a deep blue. "Aedan?!" Ian smiled. "Hey!"

"Oh, hey, Ian..." I stuttered. "Fancy seeing you here. I didn't think you'd be at the pride event."

"You liked my tweet earlier, dude," Ian chuckled before I sat next to him and kicked off my flip flops.

"Oh, right," I blushed. Damn it, Aedan... you're being foolish!

"So, how's your summer been so far?" Ian asked, resting his hand on his cargo shorts.

"Pretty normal. Spent some time at the beach house. Did some yard work. Gone swimming in the pool. Excited to start Lacrosse in a couple weeks."

"No karate?" Ian asked.

"Nah. I kinda lost interest in that after last summer. Reminds me too much of my dad."

"Oh, shit... sorry..." Ian blushed.

"It's okay," I nodded. "How's your summer been. You got a tan going..."

"Oh, yeah," Ian smiled. I went up to Maine and helped my cousin build a tree house!" Suddenly Hayden came with a couple hot dogs. "Oh, you're back!" Ian smiled and took a hot dog from the hispanic teen. "Was the line long?" Hayden nodded in response. "Thanks for waiting," Ian kissed him. My heart shattered.

I tiredly plopped onto my bed that night. I reluctantly spent the entire afternoon and evening with Ian and Hayden, being a stupid third wheel. The three of us went to get Korean Barbecue for dinner at the restaurant owned by Brandon's parents, the Lee's. I sighed loudly. Violet was on a date with Kayley so I had no one to vent my not-straight issues to.

"Hey, Aedan..." I heard my mom say. I rolled over onto my back. Mom was in her scrubs, as she had recently returned from work. "How was the pride festival?"

"Hey, mom," I sighed. "It was a'ight..."

"What's wrong, hun?" she came in and sat at the foot of my bed.

"Ian makes me all crazy!" I huffed. "He was kissing Hayden! And I felt like s stupid third wheel all day!"

My mom chuckled. "And you like this Ian, right?"

"W-what?! No!" I stammered and blushed. "What makes you think that?!"

"Aedan, baby, you were at a pride parade," she giggled. "It's okay if you're gay or bi. I'm your mom. I support you always. Just like your sister." She paused. "Was the rest of the event fun?"

"I guess. There was a cool band and stuff. And I got to see other friends from school. Jake didn't come, though. He went to Kevin's place. It would have been cool if Jake was there," I leaned back on my pillow. "Thanks for, uh, accepting me. I am bisexual, mom."

She hugged me and planted a kiss on my forehead. "And that's okay, hun. Your father would have a much, much, different opinion of course. We grew up in a small town where all your classmates are either missing teeth or are your cousins."

"Why'd you end up so cool, and he became such a loser?"

"That's a great question, hun," mom laughed. "I'm not sure. But, I should probably eat some dinner. Did you eat?" I nodded in response. She left and I went over to River's room to join him in playing video games.

July 9 2018

Jake and I entered the gym hallway in Avalon High School. Today was the first day of sports camp. "Hey, here's the full list of sports they have," I picked up a pamphlet from a table manned by an older student. Jake grabbed one too and read over it.

"What?! There's no ultimate frisbee team?!" Jake asked the older teen.

"Uh?" He blinked. "Yeah, we don't have that. It's, like, for little kids. This is high school."

"No flag football either?" I asked.

"We play REAL football here..." the teen said. "Geez, these freshmen... so cringe..." he rolled his eyes.

"Flag football can be real!" I muttered to myself. "Yo, Jake, ignore him, he's just a jerk. You can ask a coach if you can start a team or somethin'," I playfully punched his shoulder.

"Oh, okay. I may need your help though..."

"Maybe later. Connor and I wanted to get to Lacrosse practice. Sorry, Jake!"

I caught up with Connor and we went outside for the Lacrosse part of the camp, which was on a section of the football field. I didn't have much practice with the sport but I picked it up rather quickly. The weather was hot and I was damp and sweaty by the end of practice. Back in the gym, some guys, like Ian, Matt, and Hayden, were playing basketball, while Jake was sitting on the bleachers.

"Hey," I smiled and sat next to him. "How'd it go with the coaches?"

"They rejected me, saying there isn't enough interest to create a frisbee team."

"Oh..." I shook my head. "I'm sorry."

"You should be. You could have backed me up." Jake stood up in a huff and walked away. I took a deep breath.

July 29 2018

I sat at my desk, continuing to work on my drawings. They were really improving, especially with my shading and depth perspective. I had my earbuds in and listening to music from my laptop, so I didn't hear Jake when he entered.

"Hey, Aedan, whatchudoin?" he asked.

"Gah!" I jumped in my seat. "You scared me, bro..." I pulled out my earbuds and Jake took a bite of apple. "I'm just drawing." Jake peered over my shoulder to watch. "Hey!" I scoffed.

"Sorry," Jake stuttered. "I just really like looking at your amazing art."

"It ain't finished. But yer my best friend, so you can have a quick peek." I let him look for a couple seconds before shutting the sketch book with a smirk.

"Hey!"

"I said a quick peek, Jake..." I rolled my eyes. My best friend chuckled. "Wut's funny?"

"Your voice crack... jAAAke..." he tried mocking me. I blushed

"Stop it!" I laughed as I sat on the bed.

"AAAAyedhnnnn" he tried imitating my southern accent.

"Jayyyyke..." I laughed as he tackled me onto my bed. We wrestled for a bit. "Dude, yer getting' strong..." I said between breaths as my best friend was winning for once. Usually I won our little wrestling matches. "Gah!" I muttered as I fell off the bed when trying to roll out of Jake's grip. I landed on the floor with a thud and sat up panting. "Geez, dude... when'd ya get so damn good?"

"Everything alright in here?" Catherine appeared in the door. "I heard a thud."

"Oh, uh, yes ma'am... Jake an' I was just wrestling."

"Rasslin'," Jake mocked me and I laughed as I got up on the bed."

"Well alright..." Catherine said as she walked away, rolling her eyes. Jake and I both laughed and I laid back.

"Dude, yer so cringe," I laughed. "I don' sound like that."

"Yas you do aYdEn..." Jake teased in his fake accent. "You like it. Admit it."

"It's pretty damn funny bro," I chuckled. "Now go stargazing or somthin' so I can finish my art."

"Okay then... I guess you'll miss out on reading my girls swimsuits magazineeeessss..." Jake said

"Ew, Jake, that's creepy!" I laughed, but also, I made a mental note to go get those from his room later.

August 23 2018

High School Orientation made me nervous. We were in groups where older student "mentors" basically told us freshmen how awful it was going to be. We also got our school ID cards and a tour of the school. Jake was in a different group than me, so when orientation finished, I was eager to find him.

After dropping my sports physical forms in the coaches' office, I found Jake at the front of the school kissing Bailey Wilcox, the girl who had a crush on him. "Hey, Jake," I said.

"Who's this?" Kevin, Bailey's twin brother, asked.

"Aedan, hey," Jake smiled. "Bailey, Kevin, this is Aedan Jackson, my best friend, and kinda roommate. He lives with me."

"We've met..." Bailey rolled her eyes. "He's a little womanizer."

"Wow... harsh..." I scoffed. "People change, y'know. That was in March."

"Dude," Kevin stepped forward. "Don't mess with my sister, like, ever again..."

"Is that a threat?" I asked. "Don't worry, I won't. She's rude to me. I won't say a word to 'er..." I then turned to Jake. "Text me when it's time to go. I'mma go catch up with some other friends." Jake nodded silently. Thanks a lot for standing up for me... I thought sarcastically.

I slumped down in a seat in the high school's library. Today was awful. I wanted to draw to pass the time and express my frustration, but I didn't have my sketch book. I buried my face in my arms and took deep breaths. "Hey Aedan... you okay?" I heard a voice after a few minutes.

"Mmmh..." I hummed as I looked up. She sat across the table from me. "Kelly?"

"Yeah, I'm volunteering in the library this week helping them get ready. Why are you in here all sad?"

"You wouldn't get it..." I mumbled. "Everything just sucks and I wanna disappear." I pulled my hood up over my dark black hair.

"I won't ask for details... but high school may seem sucky at first... but it gets better. And you're too cute to just disappear."

I blushed and tried to hide a smile. "Thanks..."

"I'm going into eleventh grade this year, so I know a bit more than you fish."

"My sister, Violet, is going to be a senior."

"I know of her, but I don't think I've met her," Kelly thought. "What's your schedule?"

I fished in the pocket of my jeans for the folded-up class schedule and handed it to her. "I am on the freshmen boys lacrosse team for fall. And I'm in honors art as well."

"That's good," Kelly said. "You're not in any other honors classes, so it's good you're into sports and art."

"So, um, I'm single right now," I blushed. "Is that gonna kill me socially?"

"What?! No!" She laughed. "Plenty of guys are single."

"Thanks, for, um, talking to me," I stuttered. "My best friend kinda ignored me for his girlfriend."

"Well, you can come with me to get smoothies then!" She smiled. "I'm finished here for the day."

"Sounds like fun." I stood up, trying to keep a grin off my face.