The Long Way - 17. Dealing

I followed Aiden through his front door as he flicked the light switch. As soon as the door was closed he pinned me to it, pressing his entire body against mine as he kissed me, locking the door at the same time.

I went with it, wrapping my arms around his waist and parting my lips, inviting him in. Aiden slowly pressed his tongue forward, against mine, before pulling back, nipping at my bottom lip.

I smiled at the playful look on his face and laced my fingers with his as he took my hand and pulled me further into his apartment, leading me to his room where he silently closed the door after me. I wondered if he was used to being quiet at home, because of his mom.

"Did you take the pictures in your living room?" I asked. I was referring to the black and whites that seemed to line the walls in the other room. I had been meaning to ask since the last time I had been in his home.

"No. Those were my dad’s." he replied, turning to face me as he lifted the bottom of my shirt. I dutifully lifted my arms so he could remove it, and tried to speak through the fabric as it came over my head.

"Um, I’m just curious, but if your mom hates your dad so much…"

"Why does she still have his photos up?" Aiden finished for me, dropping my shirt on the ground and looking me in the eye as he began to unbutton his own shirt. "Well, first, I wouldn’t say that she hates him. But those pictures are the only things of his that she keeps around the house. I never did understand why she keeps them. Only, that’s the one nice thing that my mom ever says about my dad anymore; that he was a great photographer. She says that I have his eye for things."

Aiden smiled to himself and for a moment his fingers paused on a button half way down his shirt. I reached out and took over for him, my fingers fumbling with the buttons as he let his hands drop to his sides.

"I don’t know anything about photography." I said, "But I like you’re pictures. It seems like everything you see is beautiful."

Aiden gave me a pointed look and smirked.

"It doesn’t hurt when I’m looking at something that is beautiful." He remarked. And damn it, he had me blushing again. I bit back the ridiculous smile trying to make its way onto my face as I finished unbuttoning his shirt and pushed it off his shoulders.

"Those pictures in the living room are the only things of my dad’s that my mom can stand to look at anymore." Aiden continued. "It’s the same thing with Asher. She won’t even put up old pictures that he’s in. I guess looking at me is enough to remind her…" He looked sadly towards the old family portrait on his wall. "That’s the only one I can put up without her throwing a fit. She doesn’t even look at it when she comes in here, though. But, I do have a few things that were my dad’s…and Asher’s. I just don’t take them out very often, you know?"

I nodded as he reached for the string on the sweatpants I was wearing and began to untie it, and absently I reached to unbuttoned his jeans.

"Yeah." I replied "I have these boxes under my bed. It’s like, everything from my old life is in them. I haven’t even opened some of them since I’ve been here. I think, in some ways, I’m afraid that if I do, I’ll have to go back there…"

"Would that really be so bad?" Aiden asked as he took a step back, kicking off his shoes and pushing down his pants and his boxers in one quick motion. I watched as his semi-hard erection bobbed up towards his stomach before he stood straight again and came towards me. "I mean, I know that things were bad, with your parents. But, wasn’t there something in your old life that was good? I mean, there had to have been, right?"

"I do have good memories." I admitted as he hooked his fingers in my pants and pulled me up against him. My arms automatically wrapped around his back and my hands slid down to his ass. "I guess it was just that, it all ended badly. Really, badly. Sometimes it’s hard to remember the good, remembering how it all ended."

"Do you think you’ll wanna tell me about it sometime?" Aiden asked as his fingers slowly worked their way under the sides of my sweatpants and he started to push them down, lower on my hips. "I mean, not tonight or anything, I know were already dealing with a lot…"

I smiled. I was so used to being afraid of people who wanted to learn more about me. But with Aiden, it felt good that he was interested, even if that meant he was also interested in the worst parts of my past. And it felt good to know that I had the same interests in him.

I leaned forward and just barely brushed my lips against his before pulling back again.

"Yeah." I said, "I’ll tell you about it. Maybe you can tell me about Asher too."

Aiden grinned and I placed my hands over his as he pushed my pants down, over my ass and as soon as I stepped out of them he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me up against his chest. I sank against him, resting my head against his shoulder and closing my eyes. It had been such a long day, and now I just wanted the comfort of being close to him.

"I’d like that." Aiden sighed, "I wonder about you, you know?"

I opened my eyes and pulled back to look at him. I’m sure I looked confused. Aiden just smiled at me, taking my hand and leading me towards the bed, where he pulled back the covers. I climbed in first, just like I always did when we were in my bed, and when he turned off the light and climbed in, I wrapped my arms around him, facing him as I trapped one of his legs between my thighs and he lightly pressed his forehead against mine, so we could see the shine of each other’s eyes in the dark.

"You never talk about who you were before you came here." Aiden explained. "I mean, I know some of it. But you don’t really talk about it unless you have to…you said that there was someone special back home. Do you miss him?"

"Hmm." Dan. He meant Dan. I had told Aiden that I’d tell him about Dan sometime. I just didn’t expect it to be now. But, it wasn’t as if Aiden knew that Dan was a sad memory for me. He was just trying to learn more about me. The least I could do was answer his questions. "I miss him." I admitted, and found myself pulling Aiden closer as I said it. "Dan was special. He was the first person I ever came out to. For a long time, he was the only one who I could talk to."

Aiden’s hand was on my back. His fingers were rubbing in small circles and it was incredibly relaxing. Such small gestures seemed to put me at ease, and I found that instead of thinking of Dan as a sad story from my past, I was looking at it as a past experience that I was sharing with my boyfriend.

"Were you in love with him?" Aiden asked, almost cautiously.

"No." I replied, "I did love him, but not like that. To be honest, I’m not even sure what we were to each other… I’m not very proud of the way that I treated him, Aiden… I used him. At the time, I didn’t realize that I was doing it, and I wasn’t trying to be malicious. But, he was the only one I had to go to…he was the only one who knew the real me. I was even using girls as a cover when we were together. I didn’t even stop to think about how that made him feel."

"It couldn’t have been easy on you either." Aiden said, "You had to hide, right?"

"Yeah." I sighed, "But I was still wrong, for treating him the way I did. I knew he had more feelings for me than I did for him. I just didn’t want to admit it."

For some reason I expected Aiden to move away from me. I mean, after all, if I was an asshole to Dan, why wouldn’t Aiden have the right to believe that I could be the same way with him? It was bad enough that he was being outed at school and I was still hiding, instead of standing with him. At least, I felt guilty about that.

But, Aiden didn’t move away. Instead, I felt his lips brush against my cheek and I closed my eyes, grateful for the affection.

"Can I ask you something, Owen?"

"Sure." I mumbled. I was beginning to feel tired, and the sound of his breathing and his chest heaving against mine was slowly lulling me to sleep.

"Do you remember when we were in the shower last night?"

I opened my eyes and grinned at him.

"Are you kidding?" I laughed. Just thinking about being in the shower with Aiden again had me pressing my half inflated cock against his thigh.

"Okay," Aiden smirked. "That’s not what I meant…do you remember when I tried to touch you?" he slid his hand down my back and rested it on my butt, just to make his point, "You sort of…jumped."

I frowned, unsure of how to respond. I was still a little embarrassed about that.

"Look, Aiden, I’m sorry about that. I didn’t mean to…"

"It’s okay Owen. I was just curious, that’s all. I mean, did something happen between you and this guy…Dan? I mean, you seemed kinda, freaked out."

"I was freaked out." I admitted, "But not because…I mean, nothing like that happened with Dan. He never touched me…there. No one has. Ever."

"So you’re a virgin?"

"No!" I stated. Why is it that when you’re a seventeen-year-old boy, being called a virgin, sounds like an insult? "I’m not. We had sex, but I did him. He didn’t do me. He never even touched me like that. I mean, we only did it once, but…"

Aiden’s laughter interrupted me, and before I could ask what the hell was so damn funny he leaned closer and kissed me on the lips. It was just soft, and slow, nothing lustful about it, just a sweet gesture that silenced me, and my ramblings.

"I was just curious." Aiden replied when he pulled back. "And if you’re not ready for something like that…"

"Wait…I mean, it scares me." I admitted, "But with you, I want to try new things, you know?"

"What new things?" he asked innocently, all the while moving his hand over my ass, cupping the back of my thigh and shifting his leg between my thighs, purposely pressing up against my cock.

I responded by cupping the back of his head and guiding his lips to mine. But, I wasn’t trying to assault him with a heated make out session that would turn into something more. I had a feeling that there would be plenty of those in our near future. Right now we were both exhausted, perhaps both physically from our jobs, but more so emotionally from the trials of what our everyday lives had been lately. And right now, I just wanted to let him know how I felt with him. Content.

I kissed him just as gently as he had kissed me only moments before, trapping his bottom lip with mine and flicking my tongue out only lightly to trace the crevice of his mouth. He opened just as tentatively, and our tongues met for a small taste of each other before our lips pressed together again in a more lingering touch. I moved my hand down to cup his neck and my fingers mimicked the small movements that his made on the back of my thigh.

"This is new to me." I whispered, "Just being with you, like this. I’ve never had anything like this before."

I wasn’t sure if I was explaining myself very well, but maybe what I was feeling couldn’t be explained in words. Something told me that Aiden understood though; they way he snuggled in closer, relaxing against me and closing his eyes.

This closeness I shared with Aiden, was definitely not something I had had before. The only thing I could compare it to were two separate aspects of my past, the first being Nicky; my best friend, the one who was there for me despite not knowing everything about me. We had laughed together, formed our bond in friendship and had a respectful understanding of each other.

And the second had, of course, been Dan. Our relationship had been mostly of a sexual nature. I never learned his favorite color or the names of the people he spent most of his time in school with, but despite that, there was a bond between us. Dan had understood me. The real me. He shared my troubles and understood my fears.

I had all of these things with Aiden. I can’t say that he was a replacement for two of the most substantial relationships in my life, because that wouldn’t be fair. Aiden was something completely different. But he did provide me with all of those things. More even.

Being with Aiden was like feeling whole, or at least, he felt whole to me. There was always something missing with both Dan and Nicky, and I don’t think I ever really understood it until Aiden Knightly walked into my life, or until I came charging into his, depending on how you want to look at it.

But, despite all of our recent troubles and the uncertainty of what the next weeks would bring, I was happy now. And, even if it was only a temporarily feeling, in that moment just lying there with Aiden, I decided that it was time to stop worrying about the future and to start enjoying what little comfort I had in the present.

At least, I could try, until the next crisis came along. And let’s face it, when you’re a teenager, there is a potential crisis in just about everything.

……………………

"Shit." I heard Aiden curse under his breath.

He was getting frustrated, and it was frustrating me. Aiden had always been so laid back. He was the one who claimed that he wasn’t concerned about the consequences of being outed. But, now, I was seeing the same thing that I saw in him the night before when he was talking to Tony, Jake, Leo and Ben. He was hurting and he was afraid. Everything was changing for him, and it was changing fast.

It was my second day spending lunch with Aiden, but today was different. Today, more people walked away when they saw him coming with his camera. There weren’t the usual smiles flashed his way. Now people were avoiding his eyes. And he hated it. I could tell he hated it. I hated it too.

I hated the defeated look in his eyes that had gradually appeared over the last hour. He wasn’t even lifting up his camera anymore. It was just hanging around his neck, untouched. Too many people had already turned away from him, or held up a backpack or a book so that he couldn’t take they’re picture. And the childish displays were pissing me off.

To make things worse, Janie had been nearby all through lunch, with the same group of girls as before. I would say that she was following us, but then I’d sound paranoid. But, she did turn up around every corner to throw self-satisfied looks our way. Mostly Aiden’s way. Looks that said, I did this to you and I’m damn proud of it. And her laugher after whispering to her friends was sickening. I hated that bitch, and I think Aiden was starting to.

The way he looked at Janie had changed. He no longer seemed sad when he saw her, the way he did yesterday. I’m sure that he was still mourning the loss of a friendship that had meant a great deal to him. But now, he looked at her like he’d never seen her before. But beneath that, there was disgust. Aiden looked disgusted with Janie. It was the same look of disgust I had seen in Adam’s eyes. Only this time, I think that the disgust was warranted.

We had just run into Janie again, which is probably why Aiden was mumbling under his breath. We had walked to the other side of the courtyard after I suggested that he might be able to get pictures there. I hated the way that his beloved camera was just dangling untouched around his neck, and I thought that if he could just get a few shots, then maybe he would see that not everything had to be so bad. Maybe I’d see it too.

But there Janie was again. Probably waiting around to watch as Aiden was rejected by even more of his piers. When Aiden saw her, he didn’t even try to keep going, he just turned around and I was left to follow him.

"Aiden." I called.

"Why is she doing this?" he called back, frustrated. "Wasn’t it enough that she had to tell everyone that I’m a queer?" He had said that last part rather loudly. It was like a damned announcement, actually. And I’m sorry, but I didn’t like it. I looked around like a deer in the headlights at the people who had stopped to look, hoping that they didn’t think that he meant me too.

My own feelings made me feel like a coward. But I couldn’t help it. It was enough that Adam had spoken to Phil Clayton about me. And I was lucky, that so far, no one had really put much effort into spreading the incident in the hall. If anything, they were talking about how Phil started a fight with Ryan.

If anything was being said about me, then I didn’t know about it. Aiden was getting the brunt of things. The claim that he was gay had more bearing because it was coming from Janie, the one person who everyone knew, knew Aiden better than anyone. Not to mention the fact that he had just announced it to everyone who had bothered to listen.

"Aiden…" I started again.

The sound of Janie’s laughter, like nails piercing my brain, interrupted again. But, before I could look back to see what her problem was this time, Aiden took me by surprise as he whirled around and lifted his camera. I realized that he was photographing Janie, with another one of those self-satisfied expressions on her face.

Janie seemed as surprised at the sudden click of the camera as I was. Why was he taking a picture of her? I sort of wanted him to explain to me that he planned to sell the picture as a warning label for toxic waste.

"Shouldn’t you be taking pictures of other boys or something?" Janie laughed, "I mean, I didn’t think that women interested you, Aiden."

Did she just refer to herself as a woman? I could think of a few other words more suitable to label Janie with.

Shit. She was coming our way now, and worse, Aiden was walking over to meet her. Once again I was left to follow, and I wasn’t sure I liked where Aiden was leading me as he stopped about ten steps away from Janie. People were watching again, as I looked around, wishing that we were all invisible.

"I wanted a picture of you." Aiden replied quietly.

"You did?" Janie smirked, but there was something in her voice that said she was interested to know more.

"Yeah." Aiden nodded.

I watched him, watching her. He seemed calm, peaceful again. But I couldn’t read him. I couldn’t tell what he was thinking.

"Why?" Janie asked, sounding almost hopeful. It was revolting. "Are you going to keep it? I mean, I thought you were a fag, Aiden. Did you change your mind?"

I wanted to laugh in her face. At least, I wished that Aiden would do it. But instead, he just slowly shook his head, completely indifferent to the fact that there were witnesses everywhere.

"No." he replied, looking at his camera fondly, holding it in both hands. "That’s not something I can change about myself. I wanted this picture for the yearbook." He looked up pointedly at Janie again, but spoke so only she and anyone really close could hear. "So everyone can see how ugly you are right now."

I wanted to smile at the way that Janie’s face dropped, but really, there wasn’t anything funny about it. Because Aiden was hurting. This time when he turned around and walked away, I didn’t follow behind him. I walked with him.

"What would you know faggot?" Janie screamed after him, obviously too simpleminded to realize that he hadn’t been attacking her physical beauty - not that she had any that I was willing to admit to.

We just kept walking, and when I realized that Aiden was walking nowhere in particular, he was just numbly wandering, I placed my hand on his shoulder, drawing him to look at me.

"Hey, come on." I said, nodding towards the school.

Aiden silently let me take the lead and I took him inside, where it was quiet. We sat at the bottom of the wide stairway, leading to the second floor, sitting so that our knees brushed together as we listened to the silence of the halls, every once in a while hearing the echoes of other students that would come and then fade away again.

"I’m sorry, Aiden." I said, not that it helped any.

"I knew it was going to happen." Aiden frowned, "I just didn’t think that it would happen so fast. Do you see the way people are looking at me, Owen?"

"Hey," I insisted, placing a hand on his back, "Maybe it’s not so bad. It could blow over once people get used to the idea."

Aiden cut me a look that made flinch. But, I couldn’t blame him for being annoyed with me. I didn’t exactly believe my own words, and coming from a guy too afraid to come out, they probably didn’t mean much.

"Sorry." I sighed, "I know. I have no right to try to make you feel better, because I’m not the one going through this."

"No. You’re just trying to help." Aiden shook his head. "I’m the one who keeps saying that I can deal with this. It’s just harder than I thought it would be. Anyways, maybe you’re right. Maybe when people get sick of talking about it, it’ll blow over. I mean, at least no one’s been violent yet. It’s just been dirty looks and a few people talking shit, right?"

I just watched him as he tried to convince himself that his situation wasn’t terrible. I wished there was something that I could do or say to convince him that everything wasn’t so bad. But, how could I convince him if I didn’t believe that myself? I thought Aiden’s situation sucked. And it pissed me off. He was such a good person, and I hated that not everyone could see that, and I hated how people who did see it before, suddenly looked at him like he was from another planet.

Aiden abruptly stood up and I followed, still watching him as he turned around to face me, one of those forced smiles on his face.

"Bell’s gonna ring in a few minutes." He said, "I’m going to head for class…are you meeting Ryan?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "But I don’t have to today. If you want I can stick around here."

"No, go." He smirked. "You could probably use the break. I’ll see you later?"

I nodded and reached up to touch his shoulder as he brushed by me. Aiden paused for a second, under my hand, before he kept going, and I couldn’t help wishing that we’d stayed in bed this morning. Last night and this morning had been happy, comfortable. Now I just wanted to get back to that.

The rest of the day went on too slowly, as far as I was concerned. Going to Ryan’s house was only a small distraction. When we got back to school I couldn’t find Aiden before my next class started. I was disappointed, wanting to know how he was doing.

I noticed some things during my next few classes. People were still talking about Aiden. It was probably because he was so known around the school, with his camera, and since people knew him, they felt the need to talk. But, most of the talk seemed like curiosity. Some people claimed that they knew it all along, while others questioned whether or not it was true.

As for me, I got a few strange looks, but no one really said anything about me. Actually, a few people included me in their conversations about Aiden, trying to get information. I didn’t tell them anything, of course. I figured that if they wanted to know something they should have the guts to ask him on their own.

But, I have to admit that I was relieved when no one in my classes seemed to say anything malicious or threatening about Aiden. Of course, I was also concerned how Janie’s rumors- true or not- had spread so fast. I was sure that a few ‘wrong people’ knew by now. I was practically waiting for Dennis Gordon to try something with Aiden. Actually, I was surprised that I hadn’t seen Dennis yet, after Adam’s little talk with Phil Clayton. I figured that a rumor like that would have been the perfect excuse for him to start a fight with me. Again.

But when I did see Dennis between classes he actually walked away. And he saw me too. I know he did because he stopped and stared before he walked away. Not that I was complaining, the last thing I wanted was trouble with Dennis. I just didn’t understand why he wasn’t trying to start trouble. It seemed out of character for Dennis. But, then again, the way that Adam tried to hurt me by going to Phil Clayton was completely out of character for him. I guess people can always surprise you.

I didn’t see Aiden again until after school, and it was only long enough for him to tell me that he was going straight to work, so Leo was going to take him. I didn’t have to work today. So, needless to say, I was disappointed. I offered to drive Aiden to work myself, but since Leo was already going that way, Aiden insisted that he ride with him.

I didn’t argue, but as I went home by myself I wished that I would have.

……………

I shoved the last book for the evening back into my backpack, relieved that I was finished catching up on homework. It had been a good distraction, but one that caused a headache.

I shoved my backpack off my bed and rolled onto my back as I glanced at the clock. I still had about three hours to wait before Aiden got off work. I wondered if my next distraction should be a nap. I could probably use one.

"Owen?" I glanced through my opened bedroom door and saw Chris coming down the hall.

"Hey," I yawned, sitting up on my bed, "What are you doing here? Isn’t it a little early for you to be home?"

"I’m not going in tonight." Chris shrugged, "Actually, Tony’s watching the club tonight. I think he’s trying to find ways to spend more time with Jake."

"I wonder what Aiden would think if I got a job at the grocery store." I pondered.

"So I guess that means Aiden’s working tonight?" Chris laughed.

"Yeah." I nodded.

"Then come on." He said, turning and walking back down the hall.

"Huh?"

"Come on." Chris called again, "We’re going out."

I shrugged to myself and then followed Chris. At least going with him would help pass the time. Besides, I hadn’t exactly spent much time with Chris lately. He was always working at the club and the only time I ever saw him was occasionally in the morning when he’d get up and see me off to school.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I joined him in the living room.

"Well, I’m not sure about you, but I’m starving and have no intention of cooking tonight, so unless you’re going to do it, I say we go out."

"We go out." I voted.

"Hey, if we go somewhere quick we can catch a movie too." Chris suggested, "That way we’ll still be back with plenty of time for you to go pick up Aiden when he gets off work."

"Oh, Leo’s picking him up." I replied.

"Why?" Chris asked, "don’t you want to?"

"Yeah, but Leo always picks him up."

Chris rolled his eyes at me and I watched as he went to pick up the phone, and after dialing a number he brought it to his ear, looking somewhat impatient until someone answered.

"Leo? Hey. Uh-huh. Look, don’t pick up Aiden tonight, Owen wants to do it. Uh-huh. Yeah. Uh-huh. All right. No problem." Chris hung up the phone and looked at me again, "You’re picking up Aiden. Leo says to get Ryan too."

"Fine." I laughed, "You know I could have made that call myself."

"You never would have thought to." Chris smirked as he slapped my back and gave me a small shove towards the door.

"That’s because he wouldn’t let me drive him to work." I replied, "I figured that he wouldn’t want me to pick him up, either."

"You don’t have to ask his permission, Owen. He’s your boyfriend, right? I’ve seen the way he looks when he’s around you. I don’t think he’ll mind a surprise visit."

I smiled at that. Chris was probably right. And it got me thinking. I wanted to do something nice for Aiden. With everything going on between his mom and Janie he probably needed a break anyways, maybe if I took him out it would get his mind off things.

"Hey Chris? Would you and Tony be okay with it, if I went away for a weekend? I wouldn’t miss any school and I wouldn’t be getting into any trouble…"

Chris stopped short of opening the front door and turned to look at me.

"Go?" he repeated, looking a little worried. "What do you mean? You’re not thinking of…I mean you’re not planning any visits back home, are you?"

"What? Home? No! I wouldn’t go back there, Chris, this is my home now."

"Hey," he smiled, "Sorry. I was just wondering. Tony and I talked about that a while ago. We figured that sooner or later you might want to go back there."

"Why?" I asked incredulously.

"Because we did." Chris sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"About a year after we left." Chris shrugged. "Tony and I were both homesick. We missed mom and dad. We missed you… I think it was around Christmas. We called home to see if mom and dad would be willing to try…you know, work things out maybe. I think Tony was really hoping that a year would have been long enough for them to accept having a gay son."

"What happened?" I asked, even if the answer was obvious.

"I called." Chris frowned, "I got to talk to mom for about fifteen minutes. She actually sounded happy to hear from me…but then dad got on and said that he’d love to have me back home."

"But not Tony."

Chris shook his head.

"No. Not Tony."

"Do you…ever regret it?" I asked hesitantly. "I mean, they were our parents. And they were willing to accept you… do you ever think…"

"No." Chris stated. "Maybe at one point they were our parents, but I’d never turn my back on two brothers just to make them happy, Owen. Back then I refused to do it because Tony was more my family than they ever were. Now, you and Tony are my family. Not them…but, that doesn’t mean that I still don’t wonder about them. Tony thinks about them a lot too. Maybe you haven’t reached that point yet, where you wonder about going back…Tony and I just wanted you to be prepared if you ever do reach that point."

"I won’t." I said confidently. "There’s nothing there for me to go back to anyways. They already made that clear. I don’t need to go back to double check."

Chris gave my shoulder a squeeze and shot me a sympathetic look. We both knew that I had it harder there than Tony or Chris ever did, specifically towards the end.

"Let’s go to dinner." Chris smiled.

I nodded and he opened the door, but before we could even step out we had to stop before we plowed right into the unexpected visitor about to knock on our door.

"Oh. Hi Adam." Chris said, "Owen and I were just about to go grab something to eat. You wanna come?"

"No, he doesn’t." I answered quickly.

Adam looked just as surprised to see us as I did to see him. And Chris didn’t seem surprised at all with the hostility in my voice. He knew that Adam and I were fighting. Tony had told him. But Chris probably didn’t know about Adam’s little talk with Phil Clayton, otherwise my brother probably wouldn’t have been so quick to be friendly.

"Um…I didn’t realize you were busy." Adam replied, looking nervously back and forth between us. "Um…Owen, I was hoping we could talk, but…"

"Did you walk here?" Chris asked, and then without waiting for an answer, "Owen, why don’t you give Adam a ride home? We can meet at the restaurant. We’ll go for Italian, I think."

"There’s a bus stop down the street." I replied coldly.

"Excuse us, for a sec, huh Adam?" Chris said, pulling me back inside and closing the door.

"I’m not going anywhere with him, Chris." I stated, "You don’t know what he did."

"Maybe he’s here to apologize." Chris suggested.

"The last time he apologized he ended up trying out me to Dennis Gordon’s best friend." I retorted. "I have nothing to say to Adam."

"I think you have plenty to say." Chris replied, "That’s why I think you should try and talk to him."

"Chris…"

"No one’s forcing you."

"That’s funny, because it feels like you are!" I retorted.

"I’m just making a suggestion." Chris smirked. "So, are you going to point Adam in the direction of the bus stop, or are you going to give him a ride home?"

I really didn’t want to talk to Adam. The last few times I talked to him hadn’t turned out so well. I didn’t care to repeat another conversation that would leave me pissed off and depressed.

But Ryan had talked to Adam yesterday. Maybe he talked some sense into him. Maybe we could still work things out.

Damn it. I was giving Adam the benefit of the doubt again. I needed to stop doing that. The little fucker didn’t deserve it after what he did. But, despite that, as I walked past Adam I looked back at Chris and said, "See you there." And then I headed for my truck, leaving Adam to follow.

When we were both seated in my truck, I couldn’t get it started fast enough. I just wanted to get Adam home and away from me. I probably should have just sent him to the bus stop.

"Look, I’m sorry, okay?" he said after a moment.

"No, Adam, it’s not okay."

"I know you’re angry, Owen…"

"Understatement." I snapped.

"Okay, can I at least explain?"

"What’s there to explain?" I demanded, "You went to Phil fucking Clayton!"

"And I’m sorry! I know that was wrong, I was just so angry…"

"Would you still be sorry if what you told Phil was true?" I demanded. "Would you be here apologizing if you knew for a fact that I was fucking around with Aiden Knightly?"

"But your not."

"That’s not the fucking point Adam! What you did was just so…so…fuck! You’re a fucking asshole, you know that?"

"Yes. Okay? I was. There’s no excuse for what I told Phil. I was angry, Owen. I didn’t understand how…"

"If I hear you say anything remotely close to faggot one more time I swear I’ll throw you out of my truck and run you over." I snapped.

I really hadn’t expected to get this angry. But damn it, I was. I was tired of trying to be nice and understanding. The truth was, I didn’t understand people who thought the way that Adam did and I was tired of trying.

"I don’t understand being gay." He said carefully, "and I didn’t understand how you could keep hanging out with Aiden knowing that…that he likes you! It’s just so disgusting. What if he tries something, Owen? Do you really want that?"

"What, like you think he’ll try to hump my leg or something?" I sarcastically remarked.

"I don’t know!" Adam sounded exasperated. "I’m just saying I don’t understand it, okay? Ryan told me some stuff yesterday that…I don’t know. I have some stuff to think about. I’m not saying that I’m okay with que-gays, Owen, because I’m not. But, I am sorry that I talked to Phil about you."

"Fine, you’re sorry." I frowned, "It changes nothing between us, though. We can’t be friends. Not right now."

"I know." he sighed.

The next five minutes were filled with a deafening silence, before I pulled up in front of Adam’s house. I was grateful that Janie wasn’t there this time, and believe me, I checked before I stopped. If I’d seen her, Adam would have been forced to jump out of a moving vehicle. But, once I did stop he just sat there for a minute, looking out the window.

"Everything Ryan told me, is just so different from what I’ve been taught." Adam said quietly, causing me to look over at him. "I just need time to think, you know? This kinda stuff…it’s just hard. I don’t understand it, Owen."

"I don’t see what there is to understand." I replied. "There are people out there who are different than you, Adam. Either you accept them or you don’t."

He gave a small nod and then turned to look at me again.

"I know we can’t be friends…not right now, after what I did…and I have some thinking to do. But, do you think maybe…can we talk again, Owen?"

"We’ll see." I muttered, not really sure what Adam and I would ever have to talk about after this.

"Owen?" Adam called, just before he closed the passenger door, "I really am sorry."

"I believe you."

……………………..

"It wouldn’t kill you to chew your food before you inhale it, you know." Chris laughed as I gulped down another huge bite of lasagna.

"Sorry," I smiled, lifting my napkin to wipe my mouth, "I’m starving. I skipped lunch today and never ate after working out with Ryan."

"Why’d you skip lunch?"

"Aiden wasn’t hungry." I shrugged, "It was sort of a long day at school. Janie’s been running her mouth and Aiden’s officially been outed. He’s having a tougher time with it than he wants to admit."

"How are you doing with that?" Chris asked.

"I don’t know." I frowned, "It’s frustrating, Chris. Aiden kept saying that he could handle this, but today was really hard on him. You know, people would turn away or get pissed when he tried to take their picture for the yearbook. I mean, shit. Do they think they’ll catch something through the camera lens? It’s bullshit. I just wish that there was something I could do to make it easier on him…I keep feeling like I should come out too. At least that way he wouldn’t be going through it alone."

"Hmm. You’re feeling guilty for being afraid?"

I nodded.

"I’m the last person who can give you advice about coming out." Chris said, "But doesn’t Tony always say that coming out should be about you, and no one else?"

"I guess." I nodded, "But I care about Aiden. And I hate feeling guilty."

"I don’t think Aiden would want you to feel guilty, Owen. Have you talked to him about it?"

"No." I sighed.

"You should. It might help."

"He’s going through the same thing that I did." I said. "With Anna. It doesn’t seem fair, Chris, that I get to have Aiden and keep my secrets while he has to deal with this shit and then tell people that we’re just friends."

"I guess it doesn’t seem fair." Chris nodded, "But I can’t tell you what to do here, Owe. I think you should talk to Aiden, though. And just don’t rush into anything. You might be with us now, but there are still some things we can’t protect you from."

"I know." I nodded. And I did know. Just like I knew that I couldn’t protect Aiden from what he was going through.

"So, where do you plan on going?" Chris asked after a minute.

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to go away for a weekend." Chris smiled, "Tony and I took a few weekends when we were your age. Good times. I figure since you’re not planning to go back home, you’ve got something fun in mind."

"Oh, yeah." I smiled, "Actually I was thinking that I’d take Aiden somewhere. I think he could use a break…I just want to do something nice for him."

"Did you have something in mind?"

"Yeah." I smiled, "I do."

………………

"Stop kissing!" Ryan groaned out in a childish drawl.

Aiden and I pulled apart and glanced back to where Ryan was cramped in the back seat of my truck before I pulled away from the grocery store and started to drive.

"You’re worse than Ben and Leo." Ryan pouted, "I’m starting to feel like a third wheel."

"Sorry." I laughed.

"Don’t worry about him." Aiden remarked, "He’s just jealous."

"Damn straight." Ryan concurred. "I want to kiss someone too."

"Kiss whoever you want," I replied, "As long as you keep your mouth away from Aiden’s. Those lips are spoken for."

Aiden grinned at me as I watched Ryan’s eyes widen through the rear view mirror. He took a few minutes, looking back and forth between the backs of mine and Aiden’s heads.

"Damn it Knightly! You told him about that?" Ryan suddenly demanded.

"And I totally agree with you Ryan, Aiden’s a great kisser." I laughed.

Ryan shoved the back of my seat and then glared at Aiden, but he wasn’t angry, there was laughter in his eyes and his left dimple was showing.

"I can’t believe you told him about that." Ryan shook his head.

"Owen was curious about you." Aiden shrugged.

"Oh?" Ryan smirked at me.

"Only because Aiden once mentioned the two of you sleeping in the same bed." I replied.

"Sleeping." Aiden reiterated quickly.

"Oh, yeah." Ryan grinned, "I remember those sleepovers. Damn, we should do something like that again sometime, just stay up all night like we used to. Of course, you’re invited too, Owen."

"Gee, thanks." I smirked.

"Seriously though." Ryan insisted, "We used to have a lot of fun. Maybe we should get together this weekend or the next."

"Nope." I stated, "Not next weekend."

"You’re working again?" Aiden asked.

"No." I smiled, "Actually, I thought we could go somewhere."

"Where?" Aiden asked.

"It’s a surprise."

"Oh?" Aiden laughed, "So you’re not gonna tell me?"

"Um, nope."

"You know I’ll find out." Aiden insisted, "Who do you think you’ll have to ask for directions when you get lost?"

"Hey!" I laughed.

"You’re seriously going somewhere next weekend?" Ryan asked.

"If Aiden wants to." I replied. Aiden just smiled at me.

"Well shit." Ryan sighed, "I guess that means this weekend it is. You guys come over."

"I think we’re a little old for sleepovers." Aiden remarked.

"We’ll party then. Think about it." Ryan grinned as we pulled up in front of his house. "See you guys tomorrow?"

"Bye." I waved as Aiden got out and pulled up the seat for Ryan. I watched as Ryan gave Aiden a goodbye hug, and whisper something into my boyfriend’s ear that made him laugh, before Ryan waved to me and moved towards his house.

I watched Aiden buckle up before I started to drive again, and as we traveled down the dark street I glanced over him with a smile and took his hand when it was offered to me.

"Were you serious?" he asked.

"What do you mean?"

"About going away next weekend."

"Yeah. If you want to. I thought it could be fun."

"And you won’t tell me where?" he laughed.

"Hey, you got to plan the last date," I reminded him with mock annoyance, "And, you didn’t even bother to tell me that I was on it."

Aiden laughed and brought my hand to his mouth, kissing my knuckles.

"Fine," he smirked, "Don’t tell me…it’ll be kinda fun, not knowing."

"Good." I smiled. I was glad that the idea of getting away was appealing to Aiden, and I hoped that the idea of a small trip might take his mind off everything else, because although he was smiling now, I knew what he was thinking about. He was thinking about tomorrow, and what would happen at school, and who else might shun him now that Janie had gotten her way.

"So what did you do today?" Aiden asked, interrupting my thoughts, and my smile faded as I wondered whether or not I wanted to tell him about talking to Adam again.

……………………..

Aiden laughed as I turned my head and kissed his neck. We were right back where we had started that morning. In his bed. Only, now we were fully clothed and the light was on as we lay there, with our arms around each other and our legs intertwined.

And, I had told Aiden about Adam after all. Only, what could have been a serious conversation about my ex friend who had betrayed me, had taken an unexpected turn. At some point, while I was venting my frustrations and repeating most of the conversation I had had with Adam, word for word, Aiden had started laughing.

"You told him that you’d throw him out of your truck and run him over?" Aiden asked, and then sarcastically added, "I’m sure that was real effective."

I tickled his side when he started laughing him again, causing him to squirm until he was more on his side, facing me as I wrapped my arm more tightly around him and quickly kissed the tip of his nose.

"It’s not funny." I insisted, "I was just really mad."

"Hump your leg?" Aiden smirked, repeating another part of what I had told him as he suggestively thrust his hips against my thigh, which was trapped between his legs.

I gave in and laughed with him for a second before I moved my hand to the back of his head and pulled him forward. Aiden’s whole body seemed to move with my hand and he rolled until I moved onto my back and he came over me, one of his knees still planted between my thighs as he lowered his mouth openly, sealing it over mine and thrusting his tongue between my lips.

I moved my hands over his jean-clad ass, down into his back pockets and squeezed, pulling him down, more firmly against me, and grinding his cock against my hip. I could feel his organ hardening against me as he closed his eyes and moaned against my mouth, and when I slid my hands up to his lower back, he continued to press against me.

I slid my fingers up his shirt, grazing his sides with just the tips as I pushed the material up, letting it bunch together under his arms as he trembled against the feather light touches of my fingers. I moved over his chest, letting my thumbs circle his nipples and flick over the hardening little beads and Aiden kissed me harder, humming his approval against my mouth.

I wrapped my arm around his back and pulled his chest against mine as I turned him onto his back and Aiden moved with me, tilting his head back as I pulled away from his lips and kissed down his chin, over his throat. I moved my tongue over the spot between his shoulder and his neck and suckled the skin there, as I slid my hand over his chest and rubbed his flat stomach. Aiden arched his body upwards, his hand moving to cup the back of my head, grabbing my hair and holding me against his neck, wanting more contact. But I kept my touches light, enjoying the way that he squirmed and the way that his hip would brush against my inflating member every time he arched up.

I took hold of the shirt, bunched under his arms and began to push it up. Aiden lifted his arms, assisting me and jumping when my thumbs moved through the soft, dark hair under his arms, and while I pushed the shirt over his arms I lowered my head and placed a wet kiss in the center of his chest, and then kissed my way to his nipple, flicking my tongue against it before closing my lips over the tip and sucking it into my mouth.

Aiden’s chest arched up as I settled my body alongside him, closing my teeth over his nipple as I slid one hand back down his side, sending a chill through him as my fingers made their way over his naval and came to the button of his jeans.

I listened to his small gasps and moans as I gently chewed his nipple and unfastened his pants, carefully lowering the zipper down over his ample bulge.

I moved my mouth to his other nipple and gave it the same treatment as the first, while I pushed my hand under the elastic band of his boxers and cupped his erection, fondling his balls with my fingers.

Aiden arched up into my hand and his chest began to rise and fall with deeper breaths. I released his nipple from my teeth and lightly blew over the reddened nub as I removed my hand from his pants and began to push his shirt up again, over his head, and when his arms dropped back down he wrapped them around my neck and pulled me to him, dropping a kiss on my lips before pushing me back by the shoulders and looking up at me.

"Stay here tonight?" he asked.

I smiled and then shifted to pull off my shirt as a response. He didn’t even have to ask. I had no intention of leaving him tonight. And, if I did go home, I’d probably insist that he come with me. I didn’t like the idea of Aiden being alone. Especially right now. It was probably a good thing that his mom was gone for the time being, but I could imagine that he’d get lonely at night, being alone in his apartment.

"I’m not going anywhere." I replied as his hands began to move over my bare back. "But hey, why don’t you come stay with us again? You’re mom will be back in another week and a half, and you don’t know how that’s going to work out yet…"

"I can’t just move in with you guys, Owen." Aiden frowned.

"Sure you can." I smirked, "We’re sleeping in the same bed every night anyways. There’s not much of a difference. Besides, I kinda like the idea of being able to take advantage of you anytime I want."

"Take advantage of me?" Aiden laughed, grabbing my wrists and suddenly dragging them over my head, as he turned, moving over me and pinning me on my back.

I began to kick, laughing as his fingers assaulted my ribs and I moved my arms down, trying to block him as he tickled me. I stopped laughing when his hands moved down and unfastened my jeans as his mouth dropped down over my neck, kissing me.

I sat up on my elbows and kicked my shoes off and lifted my hips as Aiden pulled off my pants and my boxers. He even took the time to peel off my socks before he shucked the rest of his clothing and then moved down onto the bed again, his knees landing on either side of my thighs, straddling me.

I reached for him, my eyes on his erect cock as it swayed against his abdomen, swollen and hard as a bead of pre-come leaked from the head, but Aiden grabbed my wrists and pinned them against the mattress.

I lifted my head to meet him as his mouth moved over mine and I thrust my tongue up, between his lips, feeling his press back against it as a strand of his hair fell from it’s tie and tickled my face.

Aiden broke away from my lips as he released my right arm and held my left up, and his mouth closed over my left nipple, sucking it into his mouth as I gasped and my chest arched towards him. He pulled the hardened little bead between his teeth, flicking his tongue over it as I writhed beneath him, grabbing his hair with my free hand and holding him to my chest until he freed my nipple and kissed his way to the next one.

I pulled my left wrist away from his grip and slid my hands down his back, cupping the cheeks of his ass, kneading with my fingers as his mouth moved over my stomach, his wet kisses and warm breath sending a chill through me.

I sat up, watching intently as he reached my cock and his lips teasingly closed around the head as he peered up at me from under thick eyelashes, watching my reaction as he slowly slid down my shaft, swirling his tongue against me as he sank lower. I let out a small moan when I felt his throat tightening around the head of my erection and his nostrils sucked in a breath against my pubic hair.

I could feel my breathing becoming deeper, just watching him was so hot. He lifted his mouth off my cock until only the head remained in his mouth and he swirled his tongue around it, flicking against my slit before he quickly went down again, drawing another gasp from me as I let myself fall back against the bed, arching my hips up towards him, thrusting my erect member up into his mouth as I closed my hands over his head, dislodging the tie holding his hair back and tangling my fingers in the long, soft strands.

"Aiden," I breathed, "come here."

That was about as many words as I was able to get out at the moment, the way his mouth was assaulting my erection, sending a jolt through me and causing my entire body to break out in a cold sweat.

I was glad when Aiden didn’t wait for further instructions. He released my cock and turned his body until I was able to reach one of his knees and guide it over my head so that he was straddling my face, his cock, hard in front of my eyes, pointing towards my chin.

I sucked in a breath as Aiden closed his mouth over my erection again and I felt him tremble as I rubbed my hands over the back of his thighs, up to his ass. I dipped my fingers into his cleft, prying him apart as I pulled his hips down towards me. I tilted my head back and parted my lips; opening wide, and I used my tongue to guide the head of his erection into my mouth.

His tip of his cock was barely past my lips before Aiden suddenly thrust downwards and I was forced to swallow or have a hole drilled down my throat. I definitely wasn’t expecting it, and when I choked Aiden started to pull back, but I gripped his ass and held him where he was as I adjusted.

It didn’t take long for me to relax as Aiden continued to swallow my cock, pushing his tongue against it as he fondled my balls, dipping his finger back against my perineum and causing me to arch upwards.

I loosened my grip on him and I began to trace his crack with my fingers, tilting my head back as Aiden thrust in and of my mouth. I found his hole, and circled with my index finger, pressing against the tiny knot of rough skin teasingly, until Aiden’s thrusts became deeper and his hips began to wriggle above me. He moaned against my cock, the vibrations causing me to arch up again while he pushed further into my throat.

I brought my index finger to my mouth, forcing it in, alongside his shaft as I wriggled it against my cheek, soaking up my saliva before I moved back to his ass, tracing a wet trail down his cleft and pressing against his sphincter.

Aiden pushed back against me and I felt his hole twitch. When he thrust down again I held his cock in my mouth, sucking as hard as I could, and pressed my index finger against his enterance, surprised at the resistance as I worked my way in.

For a moment I wondered if I should stop, but the way that Aiden tried to push back against my finger, despite the resistance, was like and invitation, so after pressing in to my first knuckle I pushed in further, feeling his body clamp down as I wriggled my digit inside him, loosening him up and searching for his prostate. I knew I found it when Aiden’s body suddenly arched up and my cock dropped from his mouth. He groaned as I thrust my finger in, repeatedly seeking out the same spot as he bucked back.

I felt Aiden’s fingers wrap around my cock as he tried to regain some composure, but before he could guide me back into his mouth I wrapped an arm around his back, pulling him down and holding his rigid member in my mouth, the head of his erection pressing against my throat as I pushed my middle finger against his hole, working it in against my index finger, stretching him wider and then thrusting in with long strokes.

Aiden pushed back, whimpering as his head dropped and he rested his forearms on my thighs, his back arched and his ass lifted, back against my invading digits. I had to lift my head to reach his cock, sucking the head into my mouth before I licked down his shaft and suckled his balls.

I felt Aiden shifting again and then I gasped, as my own throbbing member was welcomed back into his warm, wet, mouth. He took me down to the hilt, burying his nose against my balls as his finger moved back against my perineum.

I noticed that he was brushing against my hole, and I was angry with myself for becoming tense over it. I had told him that I wanted to try new things with him, but my body seemed to have a natural reaction to that type of contact. He only circled my sphincter though, lightly brushing over it but never applying any real pressure. I was able to relax quickly and just enjoy the sensations swarming from my ass to my cock.

I began to thrust upwards into Aiden’s mouth as I continued to work him. He hummed his approval against my cock, sending another vibrating jolt through me that had me arching off the bed as I took his erection back into my mouth.

The moment the head of Aiden’s cock slipped between my lips I felt his body tense and clamp around my fingers as he spent himself in my mouth, and it only took a few more moments of his mouth around me before I followed suit.

Aiden released a small whimper as I withdrew my fingers from his entrance and then I let my head fall back on the mattress, recovering from my own orgasm as he turned his body to straddle my hips again.

I opened my arms and closed them around him as he sank down against me, burying his face against my neck and tilting his head to place gentle kisses against my jaw. I turned my head to kiss him, accepting his tongue into my mouth and turning us onto our sides, where Aiden grabbed one side of the blanket and pulled it over us, and then we almost immediately drifted off to sleep.

……………

The next days at school confirmed that the word about Aiden had spread. He was back to putting on a brave face, but now during lunch we actually sat down and ate, instead of Aiden dragging me off to take pictures. I enjoyed the time with him, but on Thursday when he stored his camera in his locker and came to lunch without it, I was beginning to worry.

"It’s hard to take pictures when people run away from the camera…or the photographer." He said when I asked him about it.

"Aiden…" I wanted to tell him that things would get better, that he shouldn’t have to stop doing what he loved the most because of a school full of childish assholes.

"Please, Owen, can we not talk about it?" he asked, and then he smiled and changed the subject, "You still want to go away next weekend, right?"

"Yes," I smirked, "and no, I’m not telling you where. But you are bringing your camera. Maybe you can’t take your pictures here, but…" Aiden had turned his head and had stopped listening to me. Something else had caught his attention, and I just hoped that it wasn’t Janie again. "Aiden?"

"Huh? Oh. Sorry Owen." He smiled sheepishly as he turned back to me. "I’ll bring the camera if you want me to."

"What’s up?" I asked, looking in the direction that he had been looking in.

"Nothing." He shrugged, "I was just wondering about the new kid, that’s all."

"New kid?" my eyebrows flew up, "Should I be jealous?"

"No." he laughed, kicking me under the table, "Besides, didn’t you mention that my lips are private property, last night with Ryan? Wouldn’t want to argue with that."

"Okay." I smiled, even though I definitely was jealous. I didn’t like the idea of Aiden showing interest in other guys. "So what’s the deal with the new kid?"

"He’s over there." Aiden pointed.

I had to look twice before I realized that the kid I was looking at was the same kid that Aiden was talking about. He definitely wasn’t the type I would have guessed that Aiden would be interested in, and my ego went right back to being confident again.

The kid that Aiden was referring to was a thin, short little thing with thick glasses and an asthma inhaler, which he was using at the moment. Not that he wasn’t cute. Actually, with his curly blonde hair and big blue eyes there was an attractive charm about him. But, in today’s society, the kid was still a geek.

"I helped him out earlier today." Aiden explained, "Dennis was giving him a hard time. I felt sorry for the guy, I swear when I got there he was about to piss his pants."

To be honest, I wasn’t that surprised. This kid was a walking bully magnet, and shamefully, in another life I could have just as easily been the one to take a crack at him. But, this new kid was forgotten as soon as it registered that Aiden said that he had encountered Dennis Gordon.

"What about you?" I asked, "Did Dennis give you any trouble? I mean, now that everyone’s talking…"

"Dennis was the same as always." Aiden shrugged. "Called me faggot, but nothing new about that."

"Do you think he’s heard yet?" I asked.

"I think everyone’s heard." Aiden frowned, "But Dennis didn’t mention anything. I think he was just pissed that I took away his entertainment." He glanced over his shoulder at the new kid again, "He had Reilly really scared."

"Reilly?" I repeated.

"Yeah, that’s his name. Reilly Chesley."

"Hmm." I hummed. I wasn’t really interested in Reilly Chesley. I was interested in Aiden and his safety when it came to Dennis Gordon. "So you don’t think Dennis is going to try anything? With you, I mean."

Aiden looked up and smiled at me.

"Stop worrying, Owen. I’ve been blackballed, but I don’t think anyone’s going to try anything. Not even Dennis. Besides," he smirked "Dennis is too busy trying to throw his fists at you to bother with me."

I smiled back at Aiden. I knew he was kidding, but there was some truth in what he said. And, to be honest, I’d rather Dennis Gordon come after me than Aiden. Not that I didn’t think that Aiden couldn’t handle him. He obviously had, just earlier today. But, the thought of anyone trying to hurt Aiden was enough to piss me off, and if Dennis was going to fuck with me instead of Aiden, that was just fine with me.

"So, about this trip," Aiden said, changing the subject again, "If you aren’t going to tell me where we’re going, are you at least going to tell me what to pack? If we’re leaving town I should at least know what to wear."

"And who said you’d need to wear anything at all?" I grinned lecherously at him, earning me another kick under the table.