Sync - 2. Chapter 2

“No, it’s because my mom was pissed that I was up late on the phone.” Ava explained the next morning before school.

“Phone sex?” Kelly teased, receiving a swift swat on the arm. They fell into an easy banter, bordering too much on flirting for Dexter’s comfort. Unnoticed, he pulled his headphones back over his head and hit the play button of his iPod through his pocket. He bobbed and swayed slightly, watching the now mute conversation between Kelly and Ava.

Damn, they could smile and laugh a lot when together. Why weren’t they dating again?

Only a minute or two of blissful music before Dexter felt a large hand clamp over his shoulder, startling him. He jerked and turned, yanking his headphones off to see Sam. “Oh,” Dexter softened a little, though it was awkward after all their anonymous conversations over text. “Hi, Sam.”

Sam nodded his greeting and looked over to Kelly and Ava. “Hey,” he said and Dexter figured that had been said to him too—he just hadn’t heard it.

Kelly and Ava made a small pause to wave and return the morning “hi” before returning to playful bickering. Dexter was ready to put his headphones back on, but Sam tapped his shoulder. Dexter glanced over at him, maybe a little irritated now. Sam motioned down the hall for Dexter to follow.

Sighing, Dexter picked up his backpack and slid it onto his shoulders before following Sam. Sam lead the way into an empty hall, as they all were this early. Mostly the commons were filled with people, and only a few early birds in the halls.

Sam started to fiddle with his locker awkwardly. “Did you tell Kelly?”

“No,” Dexter answered. “He didn’t ask much about it when I said I met you online or anything.”

Sam nodded mutely, pulling open the tan metal and moving textbooks from his bag and into his locker.

“He knows I’m gay,” Dexter continued. “He doesn’t have a problem with it, if you tell him.”

“It’s not him I’m worried about. Kelly I know is cool. Rest of the football team…” Sam sighed and slammed his locker shut and turned around to lean back on it and face Dexter. They fell into silence as someone walked by, and waited until she was a safe distance away before speaking again.

“I was thinking maybe after the season was over. We’ve just been getting good with this new coach and all, and I don’t want to fuck it up with drama. I’m not into any of them like that, but…” Sam trailed off. They had had this conversation before, too.

“But all the egomaniacs who think they are hot shit assume you must be lusting after them?” Dexter filled in the rest; a bit more crude than Sam would have put it. Sam chuckled awkwardly, nodding.

“You don’t have to tell everyone right away.” Dexter pointed out. “Maybe just Kelly for now. You two are close.”

Sam nodded again, scratching the back of his head. “Yeah… uh, maybe.” The bell rang, which meant the hall wouldn’t be so private soon. “Want me to walk you to class?” Sam offered, straightening up to his full standing of over six feet.

He wasn’t a bad looking guy—light brown hair that fell in a wave over his eyes to a sharp nose, with green eyes peeking out. Dexter liked green.

“I have first period with Kelly,” Dexter drifted to Sam’s side of the hall as people started to fill in. “So unless you really want to walk me to class…”

“Maybe lunch then?” Sam tried again, lowering his voice. Dexter’s lips quirked briefly, meeting Sam’s eyes. Sam only looked away quickly.

“Asking me out?” Dexter teased.

“If lunch counts,” Sam grumbled and kept his gaze elsewhere.

“Yeah, it does.” Dexter backed off a little. “Meet me by uh… the library, after sixth. You’re buying then.”

Sam nodded and went the opposite way for his class. Dexter wove through the people and up to English, where Kelly was already seated. “Where’d you disappear to?” Kelly asked as Dexter swung into his seat.

“Oh, you noticed?” Dexter complained playfully.

“Sorry, I had coffee this morning. I was a little hyper. Still am.” Kelly gave up a feeble excuse. It covered why he had been able to match Ava’s energy level this morning.

“So you said you two dated, right?” Dexter leaned across the aisle. “You two should try going out.”

Kelly gaped at him, blushing. “It doesn’t work out. We always end up fighting over something.”

“Try taking her out to lunch,” Dexter suggested. He needed to get them not asking questions if he and Sam went out together. Kelly frowned and turned in his seat, trying to ignore the conversation. “And to encourage this, I won’t be going out to lunch with you.” Dexter added.

“I’ll get Sam.” Kelly protested.

“He’s in on this too.” Dexter smirked when Kelly’s scowl deepened. “Come on, thirty-five minutes alone with Ava is not going to kill you.”

Kelly sighed, giving in without a word. After a few minutes, though, he seemed a bit happier about it. Dexter fiddled with his phone, sending Sam—OtherTeam17—a text announcing they were clear for lunch.

“Dexter!” The teacher shrieked. Wonderful, she had already learned his name. “Put that phone away or I will take it. And turn your music off; I can hear it all the way up here!” And she had picked up that it was his headphones, too.

Dexter glared her down as he pocketed his phone, slowly, and pulled out his iPod to turn it off. Kelly was snickering from the next desk over.

And then the teacher announced a seating chart, separating Dexter and Kelly. Dexter was second row, center of the room, right in line of sight from where she stood. That was intentional, and he debated just staying in a seat next to Kelly. Kelly got back of the room to the right, at least closer to the door. Dexter had four rows between him in the door, not that he cared.

And so Dexter refused to take notes the whole class. That only aggravated the teacher even more, the teacher not knowing that he absorbed vocal lectures exceptionally well without notes. He wouldn’t let her know that, though. He’d let her waste time and piss her off.

She demanded he take notes twice, and to pay attention, as she couldn’t see where he was looking very well because of his hair. Kelly sat on the other side of the room laughing, until he ended up getting sent to the hall.

Their English teacher was not a morning person.

“That was a nightmare.” Kelly complained outside the class. “I got kicked out for laughing!”

“Poor baby.” Dexter pouted playfully. “I get to have fun with her.”

“You’ll get kicked out too, you know.” Kelly warned in the hall.

“I’ll call… discrimination.” Dexter waved over his dark clothing. “I haven’t done anything, aside from forgetting to turn off my music and, god forbid, looked at my phone the first two minutes of class.”

“And we always talked,” Kelly added. Dexter chuckled and waved as Kelly headed down a different hall.

Kelly pulled out his homework first thing and handed it to Sam, who started to copy. “Wow, you did your homework!” Sam remarked sarcastically.

“Yeah, well Dexter helped me with it last night.” Kelly said and sat sideways in the desk. Sam paused and glanced up for a moment before returning to his work. “So you threw me under the bus for going out to lunch with Ava?” Kelly frowned.

“Uh…” Sam pretended to look guilty, though he had no idea what Kelly was talking about. All he had heard was “Ava” and “lunch”, which meant he and Dexter were all clear.

“Bastard.” Kelly chuckled playfully and watched the teacher carefully. “Hurry up,” he demanded a minute later as the teacher started to wander. Sam passed the sheet back over, and showed it to the teacher a few minutes later.

And of course, more homework was given at the end of the class. Both Kelly and Sam complained on the way out—easiest math class, but it still gave homework apparently.

Sam made sure to double check that Kelly was going out with Ava for lunch before leaving. The next three periods passed slowly, and Sam only stared down the clock. Hell, he had to be the king of luck. He had asked Dexter out twice over the computer, but the other teen refused to date over the Internet.

Sam was giddy with the chance, finally, to date another boy… and probably his closest friend, at that.

When lunch finally rounded the corner, Sam near bolted down to the library. Dexter was already outside, headphones on, as he stared down at his iPod with intent focus. Sam snuck up and poked Dexter in the side. Dexter yelped and nearly toppled over another kid, causing the shorter one to frighten.

“Freshman!” Dexter screamed after the other boy as he ran down the hall. He turned back to Sam, trying to look angry. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I wouldn’t be able to sneak if you didn’t murder your ears,” Sam retorted happily. Dexter rolled his eyes, though still trying not to smile.

Sam showed the way up a back stairwell, leading outside a few yards from the front doors. “This is a less crowded way after school,” Sam explained and pointed back to the doors as they left. Dexter nodded, trying to work his headphones so that one was over his ear and the other was open to hear. He eventually gave up and let them hang around his neck, music loud so he could hear it.

“Tool,” Sam recognized after a few notes. He hadn’t been much into rock or metal, and still wasn’t, but there were some bands he listened to after Dexter recommended them. Dexter nodded.

“Did I tell you about what happened at my old school?” Dexter grinned devilishly. Sam only shook his head and found his car in the parking lot. “Well, there’s a jam band like Tool called Phish. Spelt ‘Ph’. Well, sheltered schoolteachers as they are, some get an e-mail ‘Let’s go Phishing!’. They thought it was the band, opened it, and got the whole school system hacked across the county. Even I know that’s a hacker!”

“I haven’t heard of the band, but you’re right, even I would know that’s a hacker…” Sam answered as they got into his car and went off campus. “Did Kelly say where they were going?”

Dexter was silent. “Shit. No. Um, Wendy’s? I bet Ava was a chocolate shake.”

Sam chuckled and drove a little further, not too fond on the idea of going out to eat publicly. He didn’t want people overhearing or anything—he liked his privacy. He drove back to his house, not too far from school. Inside the kitchen, he started to fix two sandwiches while Dexter wandered around the house. “So where’s your porn?” Dexter yelled, loudly.

Sam managed to choke on his saliva, half laughing and half panicked. His parent’s weren’t home, but still, it was an abrasive question. “Nothing you get to see!” he yelled back.

Dexter came back into the kitchen, pouting. “Lies. I know you have it somewhere. You told me about it!”

Sam gawped awkwardly for a moment, still trying to cope with the strange online-to-real life transition. Usually he told those things expecting never to see the person in real life and having to face it.

“Sorry,” Dexter admitted. “I guess that’s a bit much.”

Sam shrugged and went back to slapping jelly over peanut butter. Dexter helped himself to a bag of chips on the counter, shoveling some into his mouth.

“So, you help Kelly with his math?” Sam asked, breaking the silence. Dexter could only nod, starting to look for something to drink. Sam pointed to the fridge. “You think you could help me, too? I mostly just copy his homework anyway.”

“Bad,” Dexter chastised after he had gulped down half a glass of milk. “Yeah, I’ll help. Come over to my place after practice.”

Sam nodded happily. Kelly would be there, but maybe he could stay longer to hang out. Sam distributed the sandwiches, which brought another silence as the two inhaled the food. Sam added more for himself by eating half the chips and some granola bars.

“No wonder you’re so big,” Dexter complained. “You just ate the equivalent of two of my meals for lunch.”

“I have football before I can eat dinner. I’d get hungry otherwise.” Sam pointed out and poured himself a glass of milk. He glanced at the microwave for the time—they had probably five minutes before they needed to leave for school. He glanced down at Dexter’s slighter frame… thin shoulders and a narrow back and waist.

“Maybe you should eat more,” he coughed out awkwardly, trying to clear his throat. Dexter grunted unhappily. Glancing at the clock again, Sam wrapped his hand over Dexter’s and started to lead him toward the front door. “We should be getting back.” And he had been looking for an excuse to touch Dexter.

Dexter followed obediently back out to Sam’s car. They drove back to school and sat in the parking lot, hidden between cars. Sam finally gathered up enough courage to lean over and land a chaste kiss on Dexter’s cheek. Dexter stiffly returned it before settling back into his seat.

Sam forced himself to get out of the car, hearing the bell ring off in the distance of the school. Dexter trotted to catch up before falling into stride with Sam.

“Maybe I can hang out some after Kelly leaves,” Sam suggested hopefully.

“That works.” Dexter bounced ahead some. “Anyway I need to get to class or Ava is going to be all over me for being late.”

Sam nodded, uncomfortable at the mention of the girl’s name. He had been groped a fair number of times by her. “After school then. Text me your address.”

The last period of the day went by fast, as Sam fell asleep. He got woken up by the kid next to him, kicking him across the aisle a minute before the bell rang. Sam nodded his thanks and bolted from the class and to the locker rooms.

Kelly showed up a few minutes later, but Sam was already dressed in pads and a jersey for practice. Sam waited for Kelly and a few others and filled up water bottles on their way out to the practice field. They waited for some runners on the track to jog by before crossing the black track to the football field centered in it.

The varsity practice lasted three hours usually, though half of that was spent kneeling and getting lectured. The early fall heat didn’t make it any better, either. Everyone was sweaty and hot by the end of practice and retreated back to the locker rooms. Some of the boys showered and changed into regular clothes while others left for their cars to shower at home.

Sam and Kelly both showered in the locker room before changing. “I’m coming with you to Dexter’s house after this,” Sam called out into the locker room.

“Alright.” Kelly’s voice replied back in the emptying locker room.

The two left together, and Sam loaded his stuff up into his car. “I need to follow you; Dexter never gave me his address.”

Kelly just nodded and climbed into his own car, waiting to give Sam time to fall into tow. Sam followed on the ride over to Dexter’s house and went up to the door with Kelly. After knocking, Jared opened the front door for them. He eyed the second, newer boy suspiciously.

“He’s here for math help too,” Kelly announced and pointed to the basement. “Is Dexter down there?”

“Yes but he’s in the middle of an episode,” Jared grumbled and went back to the kitchen.

“Huh?” Kelly asked, but got no reply.

“Law and Order,” Sam answered instead without much thinking. He knew Dexter was obsessed with the show. Kelly headed for the basement, with his backpack still slung over one shoulder. Sam trotted after, down into the sounds of an interrogation.

Dexter had his feet up on the couch and knees clutched to his chest as he watched the darkly lit interrogation on TV.

“Dexter,” Kelly called out.

“Hm?” Dexter didn’t even look over.

“Homework…” Kelly held out his backpack. Dexter finally looked over, only now realizing who it was.

“Oh, right.” He glanced back at the TV, then back at them. “Fifteen more minutes on this.” Sam held back a grin and snatched the remote. Dexter glared up at him. “What are you doing?” Dexter growled.

“Another episode will start right after. I’ll be ready to turn it off in between.” Sam smiled triumphantly. Kelly sighed and rolled his eyes, tossing his backpack down and claiming a seat next to Dexter. Sam squeezed in on the other side.

The two football players shared a look across Dexter, grinned, and started to sandwich Dexter. Dexter tried to elbow them away without paying much attention to them until it got tighter. “What the fuck are you guys doing?” Dexter demanded and tried to wiggle out.

Neither Sam nor Kelly answered, trying not to laugh as Dexter fought his way out. Finally he got his torso out and they closed in on his legs, holding him upside down on the couch. Dexter huffed and gave up, setting the top of his head on the floor.

After a minute of no reaction Kelly and Sam let go, and Dexter righted himself on the floor. “Dicks.”

Once the episode finished, Sam promptly turned it off and started to go through his backpack. “You two are in the same math class, right?” Dexter asked and watched them pull out worksheets.

“Yeah, same period,” Sam mumbled and handed the paper over. Dexter skimmed over it while Kelly produced his own copy. Sighing, Dexter laid out Sam’s paper on his lap and started to point through the steps. Kelly watched and copied down the work while Sam hovered over Dexter’s shoulder.

The three spent thirty minutes going over the worksheet before Dexter started to help with some of Kelly’s test taking skills, writing down step-by-step instructions for him to follow on his own and memorize. Closer to dinner, Kelly had to go home.

“I didn’t think it would take that long,” Sam complained, inching a little closer to Dexter.

“Well Kelly needs some help with test taking… I can help you, too, if you need it,” Dexter answered awkwardly, shifting on the couch as Sam invaded his personal space bubble. Sam closed off the last gap with a solid, flat kiss over the lips.

Sam pulled back without letting it go much further. “You think they’re still running Law and Order?” he asked.

“Of course they are!” Dexter chuckled and reached for the remote on the other end of the couch. He flipped on the TV and leaned onto Sam’s shoulder. Sam meekly pulled his arm out from under Dexter and instead draped it over the slight shoulders.

They sat through two hours of Law and Order, until it dark outside. It was only interrupted when Jared made his way down the stairs, immediately sending Sam a look. “Did I miss something?” Jared spoke loudly, making Dexter jump guiltily. “I thought we had an agreement that you would let me know if you were dating someone.”

“Well it only happened this morning,” Dexter huffed. “I didn’t have a chance to tell you.”

“Between watching Law and Order and doing nothing,” Jared teased.

Dexter rolled his eyes and tried to ignore his stepfather by turning toward the TV. Jared rounded the couch, standing on Sam’s side, who was still a little too shocked to say anything. “Do I need to make the basement off limits?” Jared asked protectively.

“No,” Dexter grumbled. “Jeez, relax. It’s not like I’m getting pregnant anytime soon.”

Jared flushed uncomfortably at the comment, but kept his guard up. “Well if I think I need to limit you two to the living room or something, you need to respect that. Okay?”

“Have you had a problem with that before?” Dexter glared up at Jared, getting irritated now.

“Well, no,” Jared shrugged slightly.

“So you know I understand the whole rule thing then. We’re watching TV. We did homework earlier. Nothing to be concerned about.” Dexter scowled and folded his arms over his chest.

Sam cleared his throat, finally managing to speak up. “Uh, Kelly doesn’t know.”

Jared rolled his eyes. “I’m not telling, but I’m not going to lie either if he asks,” he said and went back to the stairs. “If I hear any strange noises I’ll be coming down here.”

***

Kelly dished up another full plate of spaghetti for himself and grabbed another slice of garlic bread for a second serving. His youngest stepsister, Jamie, was only eleven and right there with him on a huge second serving. Sometimes he felt a little awkward around the house—all three of his stepsisters were overweight and ate as much, if not more, than he did sometimes.

The table was silent aside from some, “get your elbows off the table,” warnings from his stepmother—Brenda. Kelly finished eating and took his plate into the kitchen, followed by his father. They rinsed their plates off in the sink and loaded them up into the dishwasher.

Christine and Drea, his middle and oldest stepsisters did the same routine after. Brenda started to put away the leftover food, which wasn’t much, as some of the girls were already looking for dessert.

Brenda and her three girls had all moved out from California a few years before, so were a bit more naturally tan than Kelly and his father. The four had the same dark black hair, though Drea had a head of curls. Brenda, oddly enough, was much skinnier than her daughters. Kelly found that weird sometimes, but then he remembered that their father had been overweight too.

“Kelly,” Brenda spoke up as she looked into the dishwasher. “You put your plate in wrong.”

Kelly sighed but didn’t say anything.

“You need to make sure they are all facing the same way, so they wash better.” Brenda continued to pull out his plate, turn it, and slide it back in with the others.

Did it really matter which way the plate faced in a dishwasher? He sent his father a wary look, but the man only seconded what Brenda was saying.

Kelly retreated upstairs to his room, the massive house feeling awkward. He still hadn’t gotten used to it. It had a basement, main floor and second floor like most houses, but had extra rooms. Four upstairs bedrooms, two of them with an attached bathroom. The downstairs had a more formal dining room, next to the kitchen and another smaller dining room. There was a huge living room with a section couch. The basement was fully furnished with another three bedrooms and one bathroom, and an entertainment center. Most of the space was just empty with high ceilings and tiled floors.

He pulled out his backpack and set to work on his sketchbook, drawing out a rough sketch of just… awkwardness. It wasn’t even a solid form like he usually did.

Ava had asked him out again over lunch, but it still just didn’t feel right. They had tried often enough so they both knew that one more time would end the same way as all the others. Ava had accepted his no easily, or at least Kelly hoped she did.

He liked having her as a friend. She was one of the only ex’s that Kelly was still on speaking terms with, andthey were best friends even.

Kelly plugged in his iPod when he began to hear the faint noise of Christine’s music drifting up through the vents and into his room.

Before bed, Kelly took a long and hot shower. The scalding water stung his skin, but he ignored it and let the bathroom steam up. He dried off and crawled into bed, Christine’s ever-annoying music still carrying faintly into his room.