Tales of the Underground: Crestfallen - 27. A Day Off

Eli’s words echoed in my ears. I thought back to seeing the news story of Eli going missing, then to the stories of what happened, as my mind raced on I was hit with a flashback of his scars, and of the branding on his back. I couldn’t put Jayden through that. I fell silent and looked into the living room. I could make out mumbled conversation then finally Jayden’s laugh. So pure… so innocent.

“So what will it be?” Eli disrupted.

I faked a smile and turned towards him “What can I do for you next sir?” I mocked. If I’m going to be forced into illegal fighting, I’m not going to let it dictate who I hang out with, or more importantly who I care about.

Eli rolled his eye, and let out a low grunt “This shit just got a little more complicated then.”

“I’m not worried” I lied, still holding onto that fake smile.

“Don’t be stupid.” He muttered looking down at the sheet in front of him “Ignorance will get you killed.”

As we worked I could feel the underlying tension cutting into us. Every answer was met with awkward eye contact or trailed off sentences. He handed me his paper as we finally finished up, and for a second I swore he was going to say something important.

“Alright” he let out standing up “It’s time for me to go.”

“Are you sure? You’re welcome to stay. You’re fitting in perfectly with everyone.” I offered, once more trying to leave everything in the past.

“Yeah I’ve got other shit I need to get around to. And you apparently need to work through something before you and I can be comfortable around one another again.” His words stung the open air, finally calling out what we had both been dancing around.

“So you noticed it too then?” I asked, trying to meet his intensity.

“Of course I did.” He hissed “Ever since last night.”

“It disappeared for a little bit today though.” I offered, trying to show some hope.

“Well it’s back now isn’t it?” he growled

I shook my head at his words “I just need to know who you are…I thought I knew…but after last night…I don’t.” I stuttered, trying to figure out where the pressure was coming from.

“And you never will.” He denied, walking towards the door. “Thank you for having me over…it was…interesting.”

As I heard the front door close behind me, I couldn’t help but feel left caught off guard. Fuck that! I will find out just who he is…and why he is like this. Even if I have to overturn every single stone I come across…I’ll find out.

I put away the papers, and finally rejoined everyone else in the theater. I let myself slouch right next to Jayden on the couch I had originally been laying on.

“Where’s Eli?” Jayden poked.

“He went home” I shrugged.

“Ohhhhh” Henry began “So he hit it and quit it.” I looked back and gave him a flash of anger “Geez sorry. You make one joke.”

“Why is that always your defense?” Jayden laughed

Henry lightly kicked the top of our couch “That’s like the first time I’ve said that.”

“No it’s not.” Jayden teased. Henry pouted even more as Ivy began to laugh. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to…” Jayden’s sentence was interrupted as Ivy began to laugh even harder.

“Jesus Ivy, it wasn’t that funny.” I remarked, confused as to why she was laughing hysterically.

“I’m just glad that someone called Henry on his shit.” She let out in between laughs “and of all people It was Jayden!”

Jayden shrugged and looked back “What? I notice things too.”

“You’re a weird kid you know that?” Henry mumbled, laying back.

I shifted my mouth, beginning to grow defensive “Bite me” Jayden argued, before I even had the chance to speak.

“Oh great, now you sound like Aidan.” Henry muttered “Proud of yourself Taylor?”

I nudged Jayden “Yup, that’s hard work coming to light”

Jayden giggled lightly and looked over at me. It took everything within me to fight the urge to kiss him. I tried to mask a sigh with a laugh and looked away. My eyes connected with Ivy’s, and she let out a short grunt. I straightened myself up, realizing how obvious I was being, and redirected my attention to the big screen in front of us.

“So Jayden” Ivy began, with trouble in her eyes “You and Aidan are getting pretty close huh?”

His eyes connected with mine, and I gave him a silent warning. “I guess” He cautiously replied, treading lightly.

“I don’t think I’ve seen him this invested in someone else…well…ever” I could tell she was getting at something, but wasn’t quite sure just what it was “So what’s the secret? Whys he want to help you so bad?”

“Help me?” Jayden repeated, giving her a confused look.

“Yeah, I mean he’s training you right?” Finally I figured out what she was trying to do, Jayden looked down unsure of what to say “Wait, is that not…”

“No he is.” Jayden interrupted, finally realizing what she was up to “I don’t know, Aidan why do you want to help?”

I couldn’t help but smile, as he dragged me in, in an attempt to get us out of the hole she was digging. “Guess I just see myself in him.” I shrugged “besides I like challenges.”

“Challenges?” Jayden interrupted, acting as though he was offended.

“Yes challenges” I teased

“You’re not all that easy to deal with yourself.” He teased, finally derailing Ivy’s question.

I bumped him with my shoulder “What’s that supposed to mean.”

“It means you need to brush up on your history.” He went to return the shoulder, but bounced off of me. As he hit the side of the couch both of us couldn’t help but laugh. We’re so different, and yet so similar. “Whatever I didn’t need to hit you anyway.” He resolved between laughs.

“Oh no?” I asked keeping him pinned to the side of the coach.

He squirmed a bit, before coming up with a plan of his own. He grabbed onto my arms with his hands and gave me a grin “Too bad you hate being touched.”

“You’re gonna have to do better than that.” I teased, keeping the pressure in spite of his contact. Finally he swatted one of his hands up and caught me on the top of the head. I flew back onto the other side of the couch, setting him free. “You dick!”

“Ha! You’re still not okay with me touching your head!” He taunted.

“I’m not okay with anyone touching my head.” I corrected, trying to sound like things between he and I were just friendly.

“Yeah?” Henry poked “You won’t even let me touch your arms.”

“That’s because you’re always sweaty.” I teased “Wash your hands once in a while, then we’ll talk.” Henry let out mimicking noises, but still failed to see what was going on right under his nose. Ivy on the other hand had front row seats, and was sniffing out every second of our secret romance. Our eyes locked, and I tried to force her to stop but I could tell she was enjoying having the upper hand for once.

The rest of the day went by with a lot more hijinks, and a lot less sabotage. It was good to just be a kid and not a fighter for once. I love training and all, but spending time with friends…well there’s nothing quite like it. When Ivy’s mom finally came to scoop them up Jayden informed them that his mom was coming, but would just be a few minutes late. I’m not sure when he had learned how to lie…but I think I better start keeping a closer eye on him. He flashed me a smile as he realized it was finally just the two of us.

“Come on” I offered “I want to show you something.” I slowly led him down to the basement, and into a room that not even Henry or Ivy knew about. The small room was decorates with medals, trophies and pictures of me from any big fight I had fought in.

“What is this place?” Jayden asked, in almost shock.

“It’s my trophy room; none of my friends have ever been in here.” I sighed “My dad started it so that I could always remember what I’m capable of. He says that this will remind me of how great I can be, of how much potential I have.”

“That sounds nice.” Jayden smiled “I really can’t tell if you like him or not.”

I uneasily shifted my weight “It’s hard, but it is what it is. I mean I guess he means well…he just has really high expectations of who I and what I can do. Sometimes I think he forgets I’m only 15.”

“Is he why you fight?”

I thought about it for a few seconds and shook my head “No.” I took a deep breath, and faced the reality of what drives me to fight “I fight to prove to myself I can. When I was younger I wasn’t brave…I wasn’t strong. Then one day I got my ass handed to me by some bully…I really really got messed up.” I explained with a shaky voice “That’s when I met Henry, and he began to teach me how to stand up for myself. My dad caught wind of it, and introduced me to a family friend who was in the army. Man he was so cool.” I smiled thinking back “He taught me what a hero is.” I looked up and the smile fell from my face “He never made it home after his deployment. From that point forward I’ve had some fire lit in myself…a fire that tells me I have to be more…that I have to do more. I’m gonna be a hero just like that solider.” I decided, confident smile returning to myself “I guess maybe I do fight for my dad, but I also fight for myself, for my friends…for anyone who needs it. I’ve been given a gift J, I’m gonna make something great out of it.” I had never really shown anyone that side of me to anyone…it felt good to say it all out loud. It felt good to remind myself why I had gotten involved in all of this. It’s been so long since I really thought back to those days. I mean sure when I first met Jayden I got bursts of flashbacks…but never really thought about all of it. I suppose at some points I’ve even forgotten about it, but not anymore. I have to center myself…I can’t lose sight of this.

Jayden took a few seconds to let all the information seek in. “So that’s why you took me here?”

I nodded “Before we move forward at all…I guess I just wanted you to learn more about me…about why I do what I do. I can seem like an ass sometimes but I promise you I mean well…I just don’t always know how to show it.”

“Like on Thursday?” he laughed

“Like on Thursday” I repeated with a sigh.

“I mean that was just so unlike you.” Jayden reflected “You spent the whole day sulking and pouting about your wrestling match.”

“I know” I muttered “I just needed to work through it. It might be hard to understand, but the only thing I really know is winning. It sounds spoiled and cocky but it’s true, that’s the first time I’ve lost since…since I was like 8 or 9.I guess I let all the different criticisms just finally get to me ya know? I just needed to hit the gym to feel good about myself again.”

“You really do get spun out by one bad thing don’t you?” He questioned, noticing one of my few weaknesses. I shrugged but didn’t answer. “It’s alright Aidan, are you strong? Yeah. But even the strong get tired every now and then…even the strong fail…it’s okay for you to fail.” His voice grew light and shaky “You have me to fall back on.”

I reached out and embraced him without thinking “Thank you Jayden.”

He let himself melt into me, and absorbed the hug “Actually…can we talk about us?”

“Sure.” I agreed, letting him go “Let’s go get comfortable first.” As I led him back into the theater I could feel my nerves growing with each step. What could he possibly want to talk about? Did I jump the gun here? Am I about to get the talk about being just friends? My heart raced out of my chest, as he sat next to me on the couch we had spent the day on. Not sure what to do with my hands, I pulled the plastic lever, sending the foot rest flying up.

Jayden jumped in surprise, before growing more comfortable “that could do that all day and you chose to show me it now!” He yelped.

“Yeah” I laughed, calming down a bit “What did you want to talk about?”

“I’ve been thinking about before…I’m sorry I didn’t trust you…I mean you’re right, I know you would hug me and all in front of everyone if I let you…and I haven’t.” His voice began to grow shaky, and he struggled to sit still. He rested his head against my shoulder in an attempt to calm himself down. “It hasn’t been long but maybe it’s about time we do make this thing official.”

“Are you sure?” I let out shocked at what I was hearing “I don’t want to force you into anything.”

“I’m not…I mean I still don’t know if I’m necessarily gay. I’ve found girls attractive before and all, but I’ve also found guys attractive…but no one as cute as you.” He shyly admitted “I think I really like you.” He confessed “You’re not forcing me into anything, I promise.” I felt his arm slowly wrap around me so he could get closer “It’s time I let you know it…that way you don’t go anywhere.” He joked.

I slid my arm around him, and let him get as close as he wanted “I’m not going anywhere without you that’s for sure.” A warmth grew in my heart I had never felt before. I looked over and our eyes connected, both our blushes seemed to fade and I let our forehead meet “You’re a weird kid, you know that?”

“You’re a piece of work, you know that?” he fought back, in a flirty tone “But you’re my…boyfriend.”

“Damn straight.” I let out in a light laugh “So what do you want to do about it? Is it okay if we tell people? Do you want it to stay between us?”

“I haven’t really thought that far ahead.” He giggled “We can tell Ivy and Henry, and you can tell your sister and Perry if you want, but I want to keep it quiet until my Parents know.” His nerves returned, and I held him a big tighter “Maybe you could come over a few times in the next few weeks and my parents can get to know you well enough…then I’ll explain it to them.”

“Yeah?” I asked starting to get nervous myself.

“Yeah” he reassured “Don’t worry about it, they’ll love you. You’re confident, well spoken, a good fighter…”

“You won’t say smart!” I interrupted

“We’ll work on that.” He giggled

“You’re annoying.” I laughed. I heard a light knock on the door, and Jayden went to pull away, but I held him tightly. “Come in.”

“I’m about to leave…” Perry began, but stopped as he saw us “Sorry sir, I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“You’re fine.” I reassured “What were you going to say?”

He nodded, and a smile crossed his face as he realized what he was seeing. “I just got home with Madam Brooke, and am about to go home for the night as long as that is okay with you.”

“Yeah that’s fine. Goodnight Perry.” I replied with a smile.

“Goodnight” Jayden added, finally speaking.

“You have my phone number should you need it. Be safe and behave.” He lectured. I could see a sense of pride beam off of him as he shut the door to leave.

“He didn’t seem surprised” Jayden concluded “You told him.”

“No I didn’t” I laughed “He’s really involved in my life, and we were pretty obvious. I can bet you Ivy’s already caught on as well.”

“You’ve had to tell her.” He exclaimed, making a face.

“I told her I thought you were cute when we first met and all, but I thought I had convinced her you were straight.” I confessed “You’ve been pretty obvious about it this past week.” I taunted

“Me?” he giggled

“Yes you!” I squealed “You touched me a few times and I never let anyone touch me.”

“I’m touching you now.” He laughed

“Exactly my point!” he went to touch my head but I grabbed his hand before he could “No!”

“What do you mean no?” he laughed “So I still can’t touch your head?”

“No.” I pouted “You don’t need to.”

“So defensive” he smiled “One day you’re going to let me.”

“Not any day soon.” I warned

“We’ll see about that.” He let out in determination.

I couldn’t help but laugh along with him “I’m gonna have to lock my door tonight aren’t I?”

“I’ve been thinking about that too.” He confessed “Maybe we can sleep together tonight.”

My face turned a bright shade of red “Okay!” I encouraged, a little more excited then I meant to “I mean if you think you’re…”

“I mean literally sleep” he sighed turning red.

“Oh” I mumbled, turning just as red as him “So did I.”

“No you didn’t” he giggled “You so thought I was talking about doing other stuff.”

“I don’t know what other stuff is.” I teased “Besides don’t act so innocent. I’ve seen you staring at my fights!”

He attempted to hide his face, but I let my head rest against his “I don’t stare….I just look at you and sometimes I look longer than I probably should…but hey! I’m allowed to now, aren’t I?”

“Yes” I comforted “You’re allowed to stare, as long as you don’t get mad when I stare back.”

He blushed at my words and giggled. “There’s nothing to stare at.”

“Sure there is.” I chuckled “Trust me I’ve been staring since day 1”

He rolled his eyes, and shook his head. “I’ll be ready for that type of stuff eventually” he silently resolved, getting serious “maybe just not so soon…I mean we’re young ya know?”

“I understand.” I supported “Besides I think I want to get closer with you first. I want to know I love you before we do anything major.”

“Where have you been these past few months?” he wondered, getting even more comfortable.

“Right here.” I answered with certainty…right here.