The Scarlet F - 17. Chapter 17 - Aliens uh? I'd give it a shot

You would think that I would be excited that my loss in a dream brother was standing in front of me. But at that moment, I felt angry. Pissed. Pissed that he wasn't standing here when my mom left or when my dad was drunk.

"We need to talk," Brian whispered trying to calm me down.

It didn't work. I stormed out without looking back.

***

"So how was your day?" Donovan asked at dinner.

"Fine" I shrugged.

We heard a knock on our door.

Tony got up to open the door...and Brian was stepping into our living room.

"Get out."

"Jimmy please."

"Who is this?" Donovan whispered to me.

"Brian," I whispered back.

"Brian? Brother Brian?"

I nodded.

"Get out," I repeated.

He bit back, "I wanted to see you."

I rolled my eyes.

Brian bit his lip, "Ok I just wanted to tell you that. I'm now living in New York. I thought I would visit my birth father. My mom gave me this address...I see that my father is not here. So..forget it I'll just go."

He grabbed the doorknob. Then he turned back to me and murmured, "I just thought we could have dinner or something."

I heard him clearly but said nothing back. Brian shook his head and stepped out.

***

"No, why should I try to have a relationship with him?" I ranted to Matt and Tony.

"You should try it. Brian seems pretty nice and it sounds like he wants to know you." Matt said as he sat next to me on the couch.

"If he's sooo nice then why didn't he write me back...at least once?"

"Maybe you should ask him," Tony budded from his chair. "I bet there's a lot that you two need to talk about."

"I ain't talking to him."

"Ain't?" he bit, "Really ain't?"

Oh, that's right. I was living with an English teacher.

"Sorry," I smirked.

"You should get to know your brother while you have the chance...So why not try it?"

Matt wrapped his arm around my shoulders, "Jamie, you have spent all of these years dreaming of what kind of big brother Brian would be. You owe it to yourself to find out." Matt said, and then...he smiled at me.

Damn it! Why am I so weak to that smile? I got up and walked to the phone. Brian had insisted on leaving a number and I called it.

"Hey Brian, it's James."

Brian cheered, "Hey."

"Hey...um, I've been thinking." I closed my eyes and took a breath, "So...does the offer still stand?"

"Yea." he said, "How about you come to my apartment for dinner?"

"Sure," I answered.

***
The next night I met Brain's roommate, Owen. He and Brain seemed to be total opposites. Brian was lean and had spiked brown hair and blue eyes. Owen was a little chubby and had brown eyes and wavy shoulder-length blond hair.

"So if aliens came to earth and told that they would pay you a million dollar to study your brain, would you do it?' Owen asked with pizza bits falling out of his mouth.

I laughed, "Aliens uh? I'd give it a shot."

"I don't get it," Brian said shaking his head. "There is no logic in any of that. How did they get to earth? How would they know of American currency? And out of all of the people in this world why would they choose our brains?"

I covered my mouth and laughed.

Owen leaned into Brian's face, "Why does everything have to be logical with you, Bri Bri?"

Owen smiled at him, "You're probably the smartest guy I've met. Why can't aliens study your beautiful brain? I would want to study your brain."

Brian blushed.

I felt something strange was happening, but I didn't want to think too much into it.

"Um...Brian," I spoke up, "Why don't you ask one?"

Owen sat back in his seat still smiling at him.

Brian swallowed his bite and nodded, "Okay, what do you want for yourself this year?"

"Wow," Owen laughed. "That is so guidance counselor."

"Well, I just thought it would good for all of us to get to know each other on a deeper level." Brian said, "Owen, do you even have a deeper level?"

Owen sat there quietly biting his lip. Owen had no snappy comeback. He just stayed silent staring as if Brian had taken his tongue away.

Brian turned to me, "What about you?"

I knew what I wanted to say. What I wanted was not to be gay anymore. It had caused nothing but pain for me.

I just shrugged and said, "I don't know."
***

I was leaning against a locker with some girl whose name I don't even remember. Her time was up. Two dates were all I could stand of her.

"Well, time is up." I waved her away.

"Aww please, what if I blew..."

I held up my hand in her face. I hated it when girls tried sexual offerings. By that point, it just annoyed me.

She walked away defeated. I felt sorry for her, but I wasn't going to show it. I just shrugged and whispered, "So who's next?"

Then I heard a loud laugh. I turned around to see this black girl watching me. She was wearing a hippie-like flower pattern flowing shirt and jeans. Her straight black hair went a little past her shoulders, and a headband with a similar hippie pattern. She was really beautiful. I mean that.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh, just watching the great James Esposito at work." She sarcastically smirked.

"Oh really," I smirked right back about to walk off.

Then she dramatically said, "Th' expense of spirit in a waste of shame. Is lust in action, and till action, lust."

I stopped, "That's Shakespeare."

"I know." She smirked, "It's about horn dogs like you."

Wow. Wow. If she only knew.

I nodded, "Yea kind of, it's about lust and how it can be shameful and twisted." I swallowed and looked straight at her. "Maybe that's what I do, but the girls for some reason keep coming...I don't know why but they do."

"Well, you're kinda cute, you know, for a white boy." She joked.

This girl was confusing the hell out of me...but I was too curious to walk away.

"Well, you're kinda cute too, you know, for a black girl." I chuckled.

She laughed and snapped her fingers.

Then I did something that I had done many times before...but this was different.

"Hey, would you like to go out with me sometime?" I asked.

Not for a cover-up. Not to prove something. I asked her out because I really wanted to get to know her.

She smiled, "Okay, I'll give you a date or two."

"Oh by the way, what's your name?"

"Shawna."