Moving On - 23. Chapter 23

Heading downstairs, Ben heard his mother taking out the plates.

“Wait here,” Ben said, “I'll see what's going on in her mind.” He gave me a kiss and he went off to the kitchen. I slowly sneaked over to stand next to the kitchen entrance and to listen to the conversation.

“Y'est où, Steph? Ch'veux qu'y soit aussi icitte, s'il te plaît,” (Where's Steph? I want him here as well, please.) I heard Mrs. Lemoureaux's voice and Ben came out to beckon me inside. Surely it won't be bad! I mean she knows Ben is a total boy screwdriver.

“Alors, pouvez-vous me dire ce qui se passe?” (So, can you tell me what's going on?) Mrs. Lemoureaux leaned against the counter.

“On dormait pac'qu'on était juste fatigué...” (We were sleeping because we were just tired) Ben said clearly. Ok that wasn't really a lie... Sorta...

“Ben, you can tell her,” I interrupted him so he could stop bullshitting her.

“Ok...” Ben began, but Mrs. Lemoureaux raised her hand to cut him off.

“J'le savais,” she grinned. Ben rolled his eyes immediately.

“Ben là, c'est-tu vraiment évident là?!” (God, is it really obvious?!) he whined.

“Ouais, t'es un fif, mon frère,” (Yeah, you're a fag, brother) Matt answered from the kitchen table and Ben shot knives from his eyes at him.

“Alors, pourquoi vous me le cachiez si longtemps?” (So, why were you hiding it from me for so long?) Mrs. Lemoureaux went on ignoring Matt's comment.

“On voulait attendre que Steph soit prêt pour ça. Tsé, y'est pas encore très 'out'...” (We wanted to wait until Steph is ready for it. You know, he's not very out yet...) Ben explained and it was a good defence. I hugged him as a result.

“Ouais, c'est ça!” (Yep, that's it!) I told her, “I didn't mean to deceive you in a bad way.”

“Chut.... It's okay,” Mrs. Lemoureaux smiled, “C'm'ere.” I approached her and she hugged me and gave me a French-style two-cheek kiss. She told us that she would tell Mr. Lemoureaux because he hardly had any clue (for once, that pleased Ben) and that would save us from experiencing another crippling awkward moment. I felt so relieved since I would no longer have to keep on playing the game with myself and knowing Ben, he would've outed himself soon. He's just a flaming boy screwdriver, that's all.

After supper. Ben and I went upstairs and cuddled to sleep while watching a movie.

“Steph... Steph...” Ben shook me awake.

“What?” I groaned and looked at the clock, “Ben, it's fifteen minutes early.” Then I went back to sleep just to use every single second of it as possible. Ben wasn't going to let me off like that, so suddenly the mattress went up and I fell off the bed.

“What the fuck, Ben?!” I held my shoulder hard to soothe the strong dull pain because I landed smack on it.

“Quiet!” he covered my mouth, “Follow me. Matt needs to be punished for that 'fif' comment last evening,” he smirked, not even trying to hide the glee that would come shortly. I followed him to the basement and he was carrying a large sport bottle of full of something very deep red.

“He just got in the shower now,” Ben explained as he unscrewed the sprout of the hot water tank and emptied the whole bottle into it, “Quick if you want the front seat!” He was starting to giggle as we went back upstairs. This is going to be interesting for some reason.

“It takes a bit of time for it to get in the pipes,” Ben smiled widely. Then a few seconds later, a deep curling scream erupted from the bathroom and the door swung open. Matt tumbled out nearly tripping on the loose towel around his waist and dripping red water all over the carpet.

“Tabarnak, y'a beaucoup de sang dans la douche!” (Fuck, there is a lot of blood in the shower!) he shouted while going in his room and closed the door hard. I went to look at Ben who was on the floor having a full blown laughing fit. He could barely breathe and was holding his legs together hard in order not to literally piss in his jammies. It started to sink in and I started laughing as well.

Mrs. Lemoureaux arrived at the scene looking like she got the living shit scared out of her and it did not take long to realize that a prank had been pulled on Matt.

“Ok, Benoît, quessé tu y as fait?” (Ok, Benoît, what did you do to him?) Mrs. Lemoureaux stood over Ben, who was heaving to get some air in his lungs.

“Y'avait du sang dans....” (There was some blood in...) Ben struggled to speak, .”.. la douche” (... the shower). Then he lost it once again laughing.

“Y'est dans sa chambre,” (He's in his room) I told her, laughing, but not as hard as Ben. She knocked on the door and opened it to find Matt on his bed in a fetal position. This was too much for Ben to look at so he had to put his hands on his crotch and run to the bathroom. I suppose he really has to piss.

“Ben... Steph, arrêtez de cette niaiserie pis préparez-vous pour l'école,” (Ben... Steph, stop with this nonsense and get ready for school) Mrs. Lemoureaux stood next to the bathroom door so that Ben could hear her as well. Then she went to Matt's room to explain to him that it was all fake.

I went in the bathroom seeing Ben composing himself in front of the mirror and then splashed some cold water on his face.

“He's terrified of blood,” he grinned at me in the mirror and went to check the shower, which was still running as Matt did not bother turning it off and just wanted to get the hell out of there.

“The water is pretty much clear again. Let's go in together 'cause there's not much time left,” Ben said.

In the shower, I was behind Ben with my cock in his ass mainly because we never really had any self-control. My left foot rested on the side of the bathtub to keep my balance on the slippery floor and I held Ben with my arms wrapped around his chest. Then without any warning, the front of the shower curtain flashed open and Matt's head appeared a foot away from Ben's face.

“RAAAAAA!!!” Matt screamed and the suddenness of this startled us. Ben impulsively stepped back and accidentally stomped my foot. Then we slipped and fell down to the shower floor with a deafening bang. I covered myself with Ben's body because I was not going to show Matt my dick. This proved to be a very wise move when I saw a light flash. Ben and I looked up to see the source and saw Matt holding a camera, grinning like an imp.

“Matt, you fucking little shit, tu vas mourir,” (... you're gonna die), Ben howled and Matt ran back to his room. Ben got up, grabbed a towel, and walked to the bedroom finding the door was lock. He yelled and banged on the door spitting out strong profanities.

“MATT! J'TE PARLE, TI-CRISSE TOÉ! OSTIE, OUVRE CETTE CÂLISSE DE PORT, MON SACRAMENT! OSTIE DE CÂLISSE DE TAPETTE À MARDE!” (Matt! I'm talking to you, you little fucker! Dammit, open this fucking door, you prick. Goddamn motherfucking shit faggot!”

“Non, c'est toé qui es un crisse de tapette laitte,” (Non, it's you who's a fucking ugly faggot) Matt shot back immediately enraging Ben even more. Ben started to break open the door with his shoulder and screamed when I heard a small crackle. We heard a voice behind us that stopped Ben on the spot.

“Silence!” (Quiet) Mrs. Lemoureaux said strongly, looking visibly angry and not at all amused with this series of morning pranks getting out hand.

“Matt nous a photographés pendant qu'on était dans' douche!” (Matt photographed of us while we were in the shower!) Ben explained quickly, “Ch'veux que cette photo soit supprimée!” (I want the photo deleted!)

Mrs. Lemoureaux took a pin out of her pocket and in a twist, the doorknob clicked. She opened the door and we saw Matt just hooking a cable to his computer. Ben and she were livid. Ben ran to yank the camera off the cable and Mrs. Lemoureaux slapped behind his head.

“Ok, les gars, habillez-vous ou sinon vous allez rater le bus,” (Ok, guys, get dressed or otherwise you're gonna miss the bus) Mrs. Lemoureaux then raised her voice to a higher level, “Pis ch'veux pus voir plus de crisses de conneries cette semaine. Ça suffit déjà! Compris?” (And I don't want to see any more of this fucking nonsense. Enough already! Understood?) We were shocked because she rarely swears like that and then we nodded.

“Alors? Dépêchez-vous!” (Well? Get moving!) she waved us away and told Ben to delete the photo. Ben did as told and handed the camera to her. Then Ben went to his room ignoring his brother and I looked at Matt.

“You know, I didn't do anything to you today to deserve this,” I told him, “I was just a clueless audience.” Matt appeared to look guilty and I went to Ben's room. That little shit.

After the first classes, me, Ben, Krist, Jake, and Alex went to the cafeteria for lunch. Menu du jour: pizza or tacos. Difficult choices. A true first-world dilemma. Ben told me that he could get the pizza and I could get the tacos and we'll split. I think this is significant.

“Fais attention ou sinon on va finir par devenir un vrai couple dans une relation stable,” (Be careful or otherwise we'll end up being a real couple in a stable relationship) I smirked and Ben snorted, “We're still too young for that.” He knew I was half-joking.

“Fuck yeah, tacos!” we exclaimed.

“Wait, where's the cheese?” Ben looked inside the shell before biting, “I should tell the lunch lady.” He took his tray with him and suddenly it was knocked off his hands as he turned around. The senior who pushed Ben some time ago was at it again. Ben stood there staring at his lunch splattered all over the floor and listened to the senior's laughter. Krist was about to get up and confront him.

“No, I got this, Krist,” I pushed him back in his seat and I walked to face the senior.

“Why the fuck did you do that?”

“Because he's a sub-human... A real fag,” he spat at my face. I rarely lose my temper big time and now. Time to release the kraken. I grabbed his shoulder and smacked my knee right in where it would hurt him the most: his balls. He winced and went on his knees holding his crotch. Then I put my foot on his chest and pushed him down to the floor. I got on him, pinned his arms down with my legs, and slapped his cheeks repetitively. He yelled at me to stop and I did not comply naturally. The whole cafeteria took notice and eyes were turning on us. Ben and my friends stared at me in shock.

Eventually I stopped slapping his face and grabbed his t-shirt.

“Wanna say that again, huh?” I growled softly inches away from his face. He winced once again still feeling the pain radiating from his nether regions and cheeks and he daren't answer that question. I lifted myself off him and kicked him in the nuts once again. He groaned loudly and was on verge of crying from the new bout of pain.

“Fuck with him again and it won't be just me who you'll have to deal with you, but also my friends here. They're Ben's friends too, you know? Then you'll learn quickly and... painfully what would happen to the zebra being surrounded by lions,” I hissed while standing over him. I was still furious and full of energy to be channelled into someone else. I looked around the cafeteria and I fixated my eyes on Ben. I grabbed his hands and dragged him to the top of the table.

“People, Ben may be the weird kid around because, as you may have heard, he's a boy screwdriver,” I shouted to the crowd and Ben glared at me for calling him like that, “I swear, anyone else who pulls this shit on him or anyone else like him, including me! Sub-human... Fag... You'll regret saying that.”

The teachers arrived to the scene confused and speechless. One of them asked what was going on. Krist was standing next to them.

“It's obvious that Steph totally lost his shit.”

“Should you have any doubt that he's not a human, then I'll humanize him right here!” I pulled Ben to my chest and pressed my lips on his making out with him for few seconds. Gasps and awes quickly filled the whole cafeteria.

“No one fucks with my boyfriend!” I concluded my speech. Ben stood there like a rock, barely trying to absorb what just happened. My friends looked stunned, except Krist who was grinning and began to clap and cheer. A few kids in the cafeteria followed and then most of them whistled and applauded.

“Alright! Enough! ATTENTION!” Mrs. Benton intervened, “What on earth is going on here?” Krist explained everything in a summary and she slapped her face with one of the biggest face palms known to humankind.

“Mother of God. It is beyond me to handle this personally. Ok, you, come with me to the principal's office, young man,” she told the senior, “Ben, Steph, and Krist, wait for me there.” Then she left the cafeteria.

Ben and I stepped down from the table and he jumped on me smiling. “Incroyable” (Unbelievable). He hugged me and whispered gently in my ear, “Merci, je t'aime.”

“Moissi...” (Me too). Holy shit, what I just did sunk in and now the whole fucking school knows. I'm out! Hell sure it's such a relief at least for me.

We went to the principal's office and waited there listening to Krist praising me and approving everything. Then he explained that I had more balls than he had thought. The door to the office opened and Mrs. Benton asked Krist to come inside.

After several minutes of waiting, the door opened again and the senior and Krist came out. The principal, Mrs. Roberts, spoke to the secretary. Krist gave Ben and me a thumb up and a wink and left the office to catch his next class.

“Will you call his mother to come over and pick him up? Thanks.” Victory. He's been suspended, but then I quickly panicked that it could also be my punishment for physically attacking him. The thought of my mother finding out this soon pushed me to the edge of a shithole. Ben saw what I was thinking and went to hold my hand.

“Fais-toi-z-en pas. Sois fort pis chu toujours là pour toi,” (Don't worry. Be strong and I'm always there for you) he whispered. Mrs. Roberts waved Ben and me to come inside.

“Please sit down,” she pointed to the seats while she was heading to her own desk chair. Mrs. Benton stood next to her observing the whole discussion.

“Steph and Ben,” she began, “Ok, he has confessed everything and Krist filled in the holes in the story. In summary, he knocked down Ben's lunch without a reason and Steph confronted him. Then he insulted Ben in front of Steph and Steph fought with him. Am I getting there?” We nodded affirmatively.

“Then Steph proceeded to make a scene on the top of the lunch table and showed the whole cafeteria his affection for Ben that was previously unknown to the entire school. Correct?” I blushed.

“Yes, erm...” I was still speechless, but she smiled and continued anyway.

“I'm not done yet. I have suspended him for two weeks for harassment or more like, bullying. It wasn't his first offence and he had been warned before. Please, be clear. Some schools may be blind to bullying against the LGBT students, but not this school. Any anti-gay harassment will not be tolerated at all. Noted?” We nodded once again.

“Good. Steph, I had a lot of trouble figuring out how to deal with you.” I swallowed and started trembling a little.

“Violence is not the answer and you should have reported this immediately. I may be a lady who won't exactly know the feeling, but I am well aware what you did to him was extremely painful to him and very unnecessary considering the offence that he had committed.” I wanted to speak, but she cut me off.

“No, wait, you'll be able to speak in a minute. However, it's very noble of you to defend your boyfriend. I'm impressed and that puts me in a difficult situation. Does your mother know?” she wondered.

“No. I'm not ready for that yet,” I replied meekly.

“Normally, I would have to suspend you for a week due to the harm that you have inflicted upon him,” she sighed and Ben muttered “Oh crisse...” (Oh fuck). I already was pale and I was waiting for the real verdict.

“I won't do that because your mother would be required to come over to pick you up and I would have to explain to her why. It's not my business to reveal your sexuality to her as that could cause a dramatic drift between yourself and your mother. It's not worth punishing you like this.” Ben and I let out a big sigh together. I've barely avoided the guillotine. Thank God.

“Thank you so much,” Ben told her on my behalf.

“Julia, let me make a proposition,” Mrs. Benton finally spoke, “I'm willing to supervise a week’s worth of detentions with extra assignments from me and his other teachers given to him.” Fuck, I said to myself in my head, but I'd rather do that than have things go the other way.

“Thanks, Joan. Yes, that would be satisfactory,” Mrs. Roberts replied, “Anything else?” she smiled again at Ben and me.

“You got lucky, Steph,” Mrs. Benton spoke to me, “It's nice to do something that takes courage for your significant other. However, what you've pulled cannot be ignored easily. You won't get off easily next time and your mother will have to be involved in this. Consider that a strong deterrent for you.”

“Yes, yes, yes, of course. You know me well enough that I wasn't even myself then. Sorry about that and it won't happen again,” I told her and Mrs. Roberts together.

“Good! Erm, did you eat? What happened occurred early during lunchtime, you know,” Mrs. Roberts asked Ben and me.

“No... Ben lost his lunch and I was... erm... 'busy',” I replied.

“Ok, go to the teacher lounge and in the freezer, there are two boxes of bagel bites. That's all I have, but at least you won't be starving until you get home,” she wrote some notes on a few small sheets of paper, “Give this to your next class teacher and this one, just a pass in case anyone sees you in the lounge. You've got about 30 minutes there and then return to class, ok? You may go.”

We got up, thanked her and Mrs. Benton, and left the office. We saw the senior's mother sitting next to him appearing to be enraged at her own son. She got up and gave us an apology.

“Wait, please. I'd like to apologize for what he just did.”

“Madam, thanks, but it should be him who should be apologizing. Don't force him though since I prefer that he do it while having remorse. That'd be an original apology then and not given for the wrong reason. I appreciate what you're trying to do,” Ben then offered his hand to her. She gave him a small smile and shook his hand.

“You're right. I assure you he's going to get it when he comes home with me. Guaranteed that his two weeks off will not be pleasant.” We waved her good-bye and left the office to go to the teachers' lounge.

We madly ripped open the bagel bite boxes. Why do they make them almost impossible to open? Kraft dinner boxes are the worst of all. We put the bites on a paper plate and set the microwave to thaw them out. The teachers' lounge looks older than the rest of the school. It's slightly darker, some cracks are visible on the marble and wooden inlays, and an aged bronze chandelier hangs over the table. The entire room is flooded by soft sunlight forcing its way into the mostly opaque windows and I can easily smell the dull cigarette smell. Isn't smoking supposed to be forbidden in schools?

While the microwave was humming, Ben sat on my lap and rested his head on my shoulder. I kissed him on the cheek and Ben grabbed my head to plant a real kiss on the lips. He broke free after a minute when the microwave beeped. He got up to get the bites, set them on the table, and returned to his position on my lap.

“You know, we're alone in the teachers' lounge,” he wiggled his eyebrows, “This would be a good story to brag about to everyone.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa... I'm in enough trouble as it is and I don't need to push my luck,” I protested. Ben pouted and kissed me again.

“Merci pour tout,” (Thanks for everything) Ben murmured and brought a bagel bite up to my mouth. Then he pushed it in hard and I damned near choked on it. Ben laughed like a child full of energy. That fucker is going to pay for that one day.

“Hey, we've got ten minutes left. Let's take a quick nap before we get back to class,” I put my head on Ben's, “I don't know how Alex and Jake are going to react to this.” Hopefully they will do so positively and then I fell asleep on the chair with Ben doing the same.