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Stories posted in this category are works of fiction that combine worlds created by the original content owner with names, places, characters, events, and incidents that are created by the authors' imaginations or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, organizations, companies, events or locales are entirely coincidental.
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
One Time - 2. Aftermath
Joseph sat at the edge of his bed, the house quiet, his mother out with friends from work for a party. It was four minutes to midnight...people all over the east coast of the United States gathered to celebrate the ushering in of a new year. Sandra had gone across the bay to Bayfront Park, where Miami annually gathered to ring in the new year with the traditional dropping of the orange. Joseph could see the smiling orange lit up brightly on the side of the International Hotel when he had debarked the bus on South Beach.
In four minutes, he would hear fireworks exploding, people cheering, noisemakers spinning, cars honking. In four minutes, the first decade of this millennium would be closed.
The last two days of school before holiday vacation had been entirely forgettable. Joseph had not felt the need to speak with anyone and had barely remembered Sandra’s Christmas party the day after. He spent the entire party sitting alone in her family’s dining room wearing the festive red sweater-vest his mother had bought him. Christmas with his mother fared little better. She had cooked a ham and they had traveled to her job to have a workplace Christmas party. Secret Santa gifts had been exchanged, many people commented on how big Joseph was getting, how proud his mama must be of him - but Joseph remembered little else.
In the Tapia household that new year’s night, the only thing that signified the arrival of January 1 was a lonely beep issued from his bedside clock at the stroke of midnight. Joseph glanced over to view the 12:00 displayed there as the sounds of cheering, honking, and fireworks began to pour in through the open window next to him.
Sandra always sent out a mass text message to everyone she knew wishing them a happy new year, but Joseph could not get it this year. His smartphone had gone missing and the new phone he had received for Christmas had not yet been activated. It was a horrid cheap flip phone, his mother’s way of teaching him a lesson for losing an expensive piece of technology.
So the phone remained dead and silent sitting in its box next to the clock. Joseph’s mind absently wandered to the two items buried at the back of his bottom dresser drawer. Two items he felt both blessed and cursed with. Two items he tried to pile as many other items in front of as possible, but could never forget they were there, exactly as he had left them just over a week previously.
A black t-shirt with multi-colored diagonal stripes and a complimentary pair of dark jeans.
---
“So what gives, Joe? I’m getting tired of this bull.”
Joseph snapped to reality, the familiar sounds of a bustling school cafeteria around him. Sandra was looking straight at him, standing across the table, her lunch tray set down in front of her and supporting her forward lean. Her eyes were locked onto his and had a hardness to them that would have scared him under other circumstances. At the moment he did not give it much credence.
As his eyes broke contact with hers, she sat down in a huff, reaching across and tapping him hard on the back of the wrist, “Wake up, jerk, you haven’t spoken to me in weeks. What the hell is wrong with you? I’m starting to take it personally.”
A small ripple of annoyance came across Joseph’s features. “I don’t feel like talking to anyone right now.”
“You don’t talk to anyone ever, Joe. You’re staring off into space in class, everyone was asking what was wrong with you at my Christmas party. Instead of enjoying myself, I had to field questions on what was up with my ‘emo best friend’.” She continued to stare straight at him.
Joseph wrestled with his thoughts as to whether or not he should respond before replying, “I’m sorry, Sandra. I’ve had a lot on my mind.”
“So tell me, Joe. What could’ve happened that threw you into this funk? You always tell me everything.”
The boy squirmed under her gaze. Part of him genuinely wanted to spill out the whole story, right there, regardless of who might be listening. But another part of him just wanted her and everyone else to leave him alone in a hole somewhere with his thoughts. “I…”
The bell sounded, signaling the end of lunch and calling everyone back to their classrooms. Sandra did not move. Joseph nervously glanced at her to see what she was going to do, and a dread formed in him when he realized she was not going to budge. He started to stand…
“Nope.” Sandra roughly yanked his wrist back downward, causing him to awkwardly fumble back into his seat. “Not until you tell me what happened.”
“Sandra, come on, we’re going to be late for class…”
Her gaze didn't waver, “What do you care, you’re just going to space out again. Might as well just skip it.”
Joseph looked around fervently to see the last of the students file out of the cafeteria. Nobody seemed to notice they had been sitting there alone. Where was a teacher when you actually wanted one around?
Sandra loosened her grip on his wrist. “Joe, it’s me. Tell me what’s bothering you.”
The two halves of his mind were locked in combat, to tell her or to keep it all tucked away safe inside his brain. If he told her, he would have to tell her everything. If he kept quiet, he could avoid her judgement. She did tend to be strongly opinionated…
“I…” the battle in his mind only strengthened, “...I...met someone…”
Sandra shook her head quickly, trying to riddle out what he was trying to say, “Met someone? Like, an after-school club met someone? Like a guy, met someone?”
At her reference to him being gay, his eyes widened in shock, gesturing for her to keep it down, “Shush, don’t say that so loud…”
“So you met a guy?” Sandra’s face lit up with genuine happiness, but quickly turned back to skepticism, “So why are you so down? Was it a quick fling and he dumped you?”
Joseph continued to beat around the bush. “Sort of…”
Sandra’s face became angry again. “Joe, I swear if you don’t…”
“I met Justin Bieber,” he blurted out.
His best friend’s mouth hung open in a manner that - in other circumstances - would have been comical. Joseph watched her eyes darting unfocused trying to think of how to respond. “You...met...Justin Bieber? The Justin Bieber, the singer? Oh my gosh,” her face lit up with recalling a memory, “I remember this now, that was him you ran into on your bike?”
Joseph kept his eyes on the table, but nodded.
“And he actually showed up at your house that afternoon? I spent that whole day thinking about how miserable you were going to be when you got stood up by the random bike thief that you thought was Justin Bieber…” Her face was still disbelieving. “Are you sure it was him?”
Joseph nodded again, keeping his eyes turned to the lunchroom table.
The girl worked her jaw in thought for a few moments. “Follow me.” She stood up and walked straight toward the cafeteria exit.
Joseph barely remembered to grab his book bag as he scrambled after her.
They sneaked through the empty school hallways and out onto the athletic fields. Sandra led the way across the football field and ducked behind the bleachers. Joseph was startled to find a pair of girls at the far end of the bleachers with cigarettes hanging between their fingers. The two girls nodded to acknowledge the newcomers’ presence, then went back to staring out across the field.
Joseph looked around with confusion, “What are we doing here?”
Sandra smacked him on the side of the head. “What do you think, dingbat. Can’t continue to have a conversation inside, they’d make us go to class. I come out here when I skip…”
Finally, Joseph looked her straight in the eyes, “Since when do you skip class? You never told me that…”
“Guess we both have some secrets,” she rolled her eyes at him. “Well, my secret’s out, so now it’s your turn. Everything, go.”
Joseph sighed and gave in, starting the story from when Justin knocked on his door after she left. He told her about the invitation, the drive to the arena, the screaming girls outside, the backstage crowds, Rob and Shayna, Justin letting him pick out clothes to wear - though he neglected to mention the part where they got changed together - the concert, the private viewing box, and the after party.
“He just...took my hand and...we sang, and we laughed, and we danced. I felt so...normal. So free, so liberated, like I couldn’t do anything wrong no matter what. There was a moment, when I looked at him, and his eyes looked back at me...it was…” Unbidden, his voice caught up in his throat and a pair of tears were released from the edges of his eyes. “I mean it’s all ridiculous, right? Justin Bieber wouldn't be interested in me...” He sniffled and rubbed at his nose with his sleeve, swiping away the tear streams with the back of his hand. “Just...for a moment, I almost believed it.”
Sandra pulled her best friend to her and wrapped her arms around him. Joseph clutched onto her tightly and let loose the pent up sobs into her shoulder as she gently swayed side to side. She whispered soothingly into his ear, “Let it all out, Joe.”
After a minute or two, Joseph took one final swipe at the tears on his cheeks and smiled up at Sandra. “I actually feel a bit better spilling it all. What do you think?”
Sandra rolled her eyes, “Joe, you know I hate Justin Bieber and think his music is absolute talentless garbage. He is a cutie, though, and I can see why you were crushing on him so bad.” She shook his shoulders with a smile for reinforcement. “You gotta be real, though. The odds of Justin Bieber being gay are kinda a long shot. He’s what, 16, and he’s probably had more girlfriends in his life than you or I have met girls. He felt bad for taking your bike and wanted to repay you by showing you a good time. Accept it for what it is, and let go of what it’s not.”
Joseph nodded in agreement, sharing her smile. It had been the night of a lifetime, hanging out with one of the biggest superstars of today. He could truthfully tell anyone he met that he had spent one incredible concert evening with Justin Bieber. Knowing, however, was not quite as powerful as believing. Deep down, Joseph still felt a pang of hurt when he pictured Justin’s face crystal clear, the sounds of the club all around them. He pushed that pang as far down as it would go. No sense dwelling on impossibilities.
The two of them made their way back to the school building just in time for the next bell and went their separate ways to class.
---
The cicadas in the palm tree grove down the street were the only soundtrack after dinner that night. Joseph sat at the edge of his bed, fumbling around with his stupid flip up cellphone. He flipped it up and watched the screen take - at least what felt like - an eternity to finally come to attention. He thumbed through using the directional buttons trying to get the thing to store some kind of music. He was going absolutely crazy without having any tunes to listen to.
Sandra’s conversation with him from earlier rang in his head, but he continued to wrestle with the ramifications. So what, he had met Justin Bieber, and had private access to backstage, his staff, the green room, and even got to keep some of his clothes.
A stray thought shot through his head about how much they’d sell for on eBay…
Joseph physically shook his head as he laid back, tossing the phone to the far end of the bed. He knew he’d never be able to get rid of them. They would continue to stay safe at the back of his drawer, a reminder of the best night he’d experienced in his young life. A memory tinged with sadness, sure, but he decided a good one.
In the droning sound of the insects down the street, Joseph’s mind just wandered aimlessly, and in the space of a single blink, the room illuminated so suddenly he sat bolt upright in alarm.
Joseph noticed that the sound of the cicadas was gone, and there was sunlight streaming in through his bedroom window. Had he just fallen asleep? What time was it? His eyes took a moment to focus on the room around him. He was still wearing his clothes from last night. His eyes wandered around the room, taking in its bare essentials before moving over to his nightstand. As they settled on his small alarm clock, his eyes shot open and he let out a low groan.
Jumping out of bed, he quickly tossed the clothes from yesterday on the floor and yanked on a fresh set. Opening the door to his room, he noticed that there were no sounds from his mother watching television or cooking breakfast. A note on the table by the door that read, “Working early again, mijo. Te quiero mucho.”
Joseph grabbed his book bag and hopped on his bike, taking off through the back roads of South Beach toward his school a little over a mile away. Pedaling through the familiar thoroughfares of his hometown, he had a brief flash of reminiscence of the last time he had been pedaling quickly. The day he’d crashed into an opening door…
Joseph shook his head to banish the memory.
Pulling up to the schoolyard only a few minutes after the bell had sounded, Joseph quickly locked his bike into the bike rack and hastened into the hallway. As he trotted as quickly and quietly as he could down the main hallway, he spotted classrooms all full of students already in session.
Maybe his teacher would have mercy on him for only being a few minutes late.
Looking down at his feet for a brief moment in thought, he did not see the door in front of him fly open until his head collided with the person emerging from the classroom.
Through the confusion, a single thought flew through Joseph’s head.
Again? Really?
As he hit the ground, he was facing into the classroom, and all of the students were leaning as far forward over their desks as possible to see what had just happened. A shock of blonde hair moved into his range of vision and a hand extended toward him, “Are you okay?”
Joseph cursed himself for his foolishness and felt his face flush with embarrassment, “Yea, I’m fine.” He took the hand offered to him and pulled himself up to his feet, “I wasn’t watching…”
The identity of the person he had run into came to the forefront of his still-ringing thoughts. Of all the people to run into.
Alex Mavers smiled back at him, “It’s cool, here…” he held out Joseph’s backpack to him.
It was Alex. The Alex. The Alex from show choir. The Alex that Joseph had harbored a dreamy crush on for almost six months now. The Alex he had just headbutted while not watching where he was going. A fresh splash of color washed over Joseph’s features as he looked around wildly trying to think of a way to get out of this situation.
Without committing to a particular course of action, Joseph absently took the pack and watched as Alex turned and walked away down the hallway. His eyes followed the blonde-haired boy - in what seemed like slow motion - until he turned into the boys’ restroom and disappeared.
In a daze, Joseph made his way to class. As he pushed open the door, Sandra looked up from her phone in the back corner and shot him a questioning look. Joseph avoided her gaze and simply made his way to the nearest empty seat.
The rest of the day was in a hazy blur as Joseph replayed the collision in his mind. He quietly cursed himself for having to run smack dab into the one boy he’d ever had a crush on.
His thoughts swelled to the forefront unbidden, Well not the only one…
Again, he pushed those thoughts away and took a deep breath.
As the final bell rang to close out the school day, Joseph snapped back to reality. He grabbed his book bag and began to make his way toward the front of the school. Standing just inside the front set of double doors was a girl with a large pin on her shirt that read “2011/2012 Show Choir.”
Joseph stopped walking. He had completely forgotten about the show choir auditions.
Sandra was waving at him from behind the front doors, but he gestured for her to wait a moment as he pushed his way through the sea of students over to the table set up in the corner. The girl with the button saw him coming and walked up to him. “Hi there, are you going to audition for show choir this coming school year?”
“Uh, yes...what do I have to do?”
She flashed a very plastic smile and led him over to the table where two other girls sat with their large buttons proudly displayed to the throng of schoolkids going past. “Just fill out this little form here and you’re all set! We need your name, graduating class year, phone number, and e-mail address. Auditions will be on January 29, so this is the last chance to sign up!”
Joseph was slightly taken aback by her bouncy and bubbly spirit, but reached for the clipboard nonetheless. He slowly scrawled his name and other information onto the form and handed it back to the smiling girls behind the table.
That was it, he was going to audition. He took a moment to mentally kick himself for forgetting to tell his mother about it. Sandra shot him a questioning look, but refrained from actually saying anything. The half smile on Joseph’s face was the furthest the corners of his mouth had traveled in the last few weeks and she did not want to risk ruining it.
--
“Let me hear something else, another genre.”
“Like what?” Joseph asked back to Sandra as they sat together in one of the school’s private rehearsal rooms. The sounds of other singers and instrumentalists were barely audible through the heavily soundproofed walls. Sandra sat on the bench of the piano that she could do little more than poke at. Sadly, since Joseph was no better tickling the ivories, this rehearsal session would be an a capella affair.
She pondered a moment, resting back on the palms of her hands with her arms outstretched. “Mm, maybe some classic rock. Some Beatles or,” her face lit up, “how about Kansas?”
Joseph chuckled, “Who and who?”
She reached forward and playfully pushed him. “Don’t insult my musical tastes, jerk. You need to branch out from this pop crap you always listen to. For your information, show choirs aren’t always like what you see on TV, performing only the latest hits to get ratings.”
With a sigh, the boy gave in, “Okay, fine, let me hear one of them.”
Sandra pulled out her cellphone and yanked out the earbuds. Joseph felt a quick pang of annoyance at having lost his own portable jukebox, but refrained from letting it trace onto his features. A technical but simple acoustic guitar riff filled the room before the lead vocals came in, warm and passionate…
‘I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moment’s gone. All my dreams pass before my eyes a curiosity.'
Joseph let the notes of the song wash over him as he closed his eyes to listen. The acoustic guitar’s rolling backdrop, the passionate violins weaving a beautiful counterpoint to the simple pattern. As the song drew to its close, Joseph felt his emotions stirred in his mind.
‘Dust in the wind. Everything is dust in the wind.’
Sandra looked at him to gauge a reaction, but he refused to meet her gaze. The way the song was crafted, the way it was executed. There was something beautiful and moving about how it flowed together and it had caught Joseph completely off guard.
At that very moment, there was a knock on the door. Joseph, currently facing away from the door, looked up at Sandra to see her looking at him with a demeanor of mischievous scheming. Interest now piqued, he turned around to look at the small slot window to find a recently familiar face looking at him. His heart leapt up into his throat and he felt his face flush with embarrassment.
Joseph was sure he heard Sandra chuckling quietly as he reached for the handle and twisted it open.
Alex smiled at him and just leaned into the room, “Hey, was that Kansas?”
Sandra nodded, “Good ear. And good taste, you into classic rock?”
The blond-haired boy nodded his head, “Of course.” He turned and looked at Joseph, recognition sliding onto his face. “Hey, you’re that guy I ran into a few days back, right?”
Joseph was completely mortified that he remembered his face and was now standing here talking about it. He somehow managed a nod.
Alex laughed, “Sorry about that, I really had to go.” He rolled his eyes at his own ambiguity. “You know, go, like go.”
Sandra waved his explanation away with one hand, “He gets it, he’s just quiet around new people.”
“Oh, sorry!” Alex seemed genuine. “So...are you guys auditioning for the show choir next year?”
Another question. Joseph just wished he would go away before the heart beating in his body exploded. Unfortunately, Sandra’s I’m-about-to-put-you-on-the-spot- and-I-know-you’ll-hate-me-for-it look was immediately apparent to Joseph. “I’m not, but he is.”
Alex looked back at Joseph and flashed that smile that Joseph found intensely beautiful and entrancing. “Awesome. Good luck, I hope you make it in. And if you ever have any questions or want to do like a rehearsal or whatever, let me know. I’m a constructive judge.”
Joseph again could not find the ability to speak. Sandra again - to his dismay - spoke for him. “Sure, he’ll let you know.”
“I mean it, anytime…” his eyes were locked onto Joseph’s for an uncomfortable few seconds. They seemed to be looking for something, and Joseph immediately felt exposed in front of the older boy. He could not look away from those beautiful blue eyes, though...
Alex playfully pushed Joseph’s shoulder. At the moment of contact, Joseph felt a spark of energy jump into his arm and send his pulse accelerating. “So does he talk, or what? I don’t even know your name.”
Great, now he had to say something. Sandra answering that question would make him look like an absolute nut. “My...my name’s Joseph. Er...my friends call me Joe.”
Alex nodded. “Well, Joe, I’m Alex, and it was a pleasure to meet you, and again, open invitation any time.”
The door closed and Joseph let out all the air he had been holding in his lungs in a single whoosh of breath. Sandra began to laugh hysterically.
---
Joseph took another fork full of the mixed vegetables and rice and brought them to his mouth. The dinner with his mother was very quiet, as it usually was. She would ask how his day had gone, what he had learned about in school, how Sandra was doing. All of those questions had been asked and answered, and now they were just enjoying her marinaded pork in silence.
But Joseph knew he had to tell her. He had already reasoned with himself almost a month earlier why it was important for their relationship. He had already signed up, that meant she had to let him audition, right?
Another mouthful of the tasty rice did nothing to assuage his fear that she would be angry. When he was younger and had first developed an interest in singing, he has asked her for music lessons. That had led to a long and arduous discussion about how the musician’s life is one of hard work, little to no pay, and being walked all over by the industry and venues alike. There were no guarantees, there was no security, and she did not want that kind of life for him. That life was a torturous journey with no foreseeable rewards.
Tell that to Justin Bieber, Joseph thought before again shoving the memory of his beautiful face to the back of his mind. But this time, something different happened. Instead of leaving a vague ache far back in his psyche, another image swam up into his consciousness. The image made Joseph tingle all over.
Alex pushed a few stray locks of his blond hair aside and smiled at Joseph in the practice room.
The memory began to scare Joseph. He had been so close to Alex, the boy of his dreams, somebody he had been desiring to know for so long. They had talked, Joseph had even revealed his name.
Alex knew his name.
Well, Justin knew his...no, Joseph refused to let that thought finish. Justin Bieber probably did not even remember the name of the boy he borrowed a bike from. For the first time, Joseph indulged the memory of Alex as it swam around in his head. He replayed the whole conversation but juxtaposed himself with a far more confident and outgoing self. He answered all of Alex’s questions and then proceeded to invite himself to a private faux-audition. Just the two of them in a practice room together. His pulse began to accelerate.
“Are you finished, papi?”
Joseph’s eyes found focus on his mother as she was reaching for his plate in front of him. He looked down and found there was still food there, but he had long since lost his appetite. “Si, mama. I’m...going to go work on my homework.”
She took the plate and set it beside the kitchen sink, turning on the water as she prepared to wash the dishes.
Joseph closed the door to his room behind him and laid down on the bed. The memory of Alex was still fresh in his mind, but there was a barrier preventing it from taking over Joseph’s thoughts entirely. He could not stop thinking about the two articles of clothing at the back of the drawer in his dresser.
---
The day had finally arrived. A day that a portion of the school’s population rigorously enjoyed. A day that the larger percentage of the school’s population enjoyed simply because they did not have to do school work. It was a day where challenges were met and overcome, where prizes were awarded, where teamwork was applauded, and where hopes of winning were crushed.
It was Field Day.
And, being South Florida, it was pouring rain and lightning outside, meaning the entirety of the school’s population was now inside the gymnasium and sports complex. The sound of middle and high school teens yelling and frolicking in the gymnasium provided a deafening din to all in attendance, but the physical education staff attempted to salvage the day and organize as many events as they could.
The best they had managed so far was having a large group of kids shooting basketballs at the hoops at either end of the court.
Joseph adjusted his shorts for the fourth time since sitting down at the upper end of the bleachers with Sandra not even an hour earlier. The last time he had worn this school-issue physical education uniform was last year...during Field Day, naturally. He had grown a bit since then, and the clothes were slightly smaller than he would like them to be.
Sandra was still wearing her street clothes after arguing with the teachers that she had no school uniform to change into - she had forgotten it at home. Joseph knew for a fact she was lying, as her mother was practically on a first-name basis with the Miami-Dade District Schools Events Calendar, but admired her for getting away with it anyway.
“Which song are you going to do for the audition?” Sandra shouted over the slamming noise of basketballs on the laminated floor and seventh-graders screaming and yelling.
Joseph shook his head, “I’m still not sure…”
She whirled and smacked her thigh in annoyance. “You know, Joe, that’s just like you. Grow a pair and make a decision.” She threw a deliberate glance to the area between his legs. “Your pants are tight enough I should be able to see ‘em, just proving my point.”
Immediately red with embarrassment, Joseph slammed his knees together and turned away from her. She began laughing and slapping her leg. “Seriously, though, I know it’s only once a year, but you need to buy a new uniform.”
“Hey Joe!”
Unbelievable. The sheer chances of their meeting were so slim, so remote, that Joseph began to feel that the fates had it in for him. Perhaps some unseen deity was sitting up there laughing hysterically at the chess pieces arrayed in front of him on a representation of the earth’s surface. He thought it would be funny to slide the pieces of Joseph Tapia and Alex Mavers together...again…in those sizes-too-small uniform shorts.
“Hey...Alex…” Joseph stammered back, making a deliberate effort to keep his legs closed and turned away from the blond boy making his way up the bleachers toward him.
Sandra was gasping for air between fits of laughter. Joseph shot her a poisonous glance.
Alex stopped one level below where Joseph was sitting and propped his leg up one tier higher. Joseph took a moment to take in the view in front of him. Alex was slim, a good hand taller than he, blond hair, creamy white skin, and his physical education uniform somehow made him look even more beautiful. His legs were long and protruded from his thin-material shorts, drawing the gaze down their length.
Joseph shook his head slightly to keep himself from staring. Alex started to speak, “A couple of the guys from the show choir are over in the racquetball courts, just singing some stuff, having a good time. I was heading there and I saw you sitting here, wondered if you’d like to join us?”
Sandra had stopped laughing and was now intently listening from behind Alex to what Joseph’s answer would be.
Joseph was taken in by that million-dollar-smile, and quickly looked from Alex’s face to Sandra and back to that gorgeous smile. In his mind, he built his resolve, manifesting itself in a physical sense by him setting his jaw. “Sure, yea, that sounds good.”
Alex seemed almost relieved to hear it. “Great, let’s go.” He started hopping down the bleachers two at a time. Joseph stood up and looked over to see Sandra’s final reaction and was horrified to see her blowing a kiss at him.
Joseph bounded down the bleachers and caught up with Alex. Walking next to each other, he was able to definitely draw a bead on their height difference. A brief mental image of Joseph standing up slightly on his toes, Alex looking down at him from above…
He shook his head to clear that thought away.
They rounded a few corridors in the sports complex before they reached the indoor track. Along one wall of the track were glassed-in racquetball courts. Two of the three were in use by small groups of students, but the far right one was obviously not being used to play a game. A group of high-school aged boys were standing in a small group and swaying from side to side. The sounds of their voices began to materialize as they approached the court and became clear as Alex pulled the door open.
Joseph was immediately faced with the prospect of having to meet and greet each of the guys in the room...and possibly sing in front of them too. Mild panic began to tighten a knot in his stomach and his footsteps slowed as he crossed the threshold into the court.
Alex closed the door behind them and immediately joined into the song they were singing.
‘And if someone like you found someone like me, then suddenly nothing would ever be the same. My heart would take wing, and I’d feel so alive - if someone like you found me.’
Joseph smiled and enjoyed the cumulative performance, but his eyes were constantly locked onto Alex alone as he swayed and gestured while singing in their informal gathering. He brought such passion to his vocals, and his voice was clear as a bell drifting through the air to Joseph’s ears. Such a sweetness was borne on it that Joseph was swept away in its beauty. At one point in the song, their eyes met, causing the panic that had been subsiding to once again seize up in Joseph’s body. He was also acutely aware of how tight his uniform felt at that moment...
The first song ended dissolving into side conversations and laughter as they discussed rehearsal schedules and the upcoming auditions. Alex walked over to Joseph, “So what do you think? Any good?”
Joseph smiled up at the taller boy, “Of course, you guys sound amazing.”
Somebody at the far side of the court struck up a song that gave Joseph pause. The lyrics were intensely familiar, having played on his Pandora playlist a hundred times.
‘How many “I told you”s and “Start over”s and shoulders have you cried on before? How many promises? Be honest girl, how many tears you let hit the floor?’
Without even thinking about it, Joseph’s mouth began to silently mouth each word, an odd tugging at the pit of his stomach. He looked around for the person who had started the song, and found himself looking straight at Alex, who was watching him mouth the words.
Joseph instantly pressed his lips closed, terrified that Alex would think he was an idiot for singing a Justin Bieber song. Alex seemed to have a questioning expression on his face as soon as Joseph closed his mouth. It only lasted for a few moments before he turned around and began to loudly join in with the first singer.
‘Saw so many pretty faces before I saw you, now all I see is you. I’m coming for you.’
Slowly, a few other of the guys in the room realized he was not kidding about singing the song and joined in with some semblance of harmony. Alex turned back to Joseph and gestured that he should join in. Joseph was slightly suspect, thinking it may be some kind of trick to make him look silly.
But as the song lyrics went on, Joseph could resist no longer and he quietly began to sing along.
‘I can fix up your broken heart, I can give you a brand new start, I can make you believe...’
Alex walked over and pulled Joseph up to the rest of the group as they continued to sing through the song. Joseph felt the moment wash over him and the hesitation began to melt away. Alex continued to smile down at him as the song came to a close, dissolving into laughter from all the other members of the group. Alex, however, was not laughing. He stepped closer to Joseph.
“You..like video games?”
Joseph almost laughed at the image of himself playing video games. The small games off the app store on his old phone was the most he had managed, and even then he did not play them much. His mother could not afford expensive consoles or computer systems for games. Sandra had let him play her Super Nintendo when they were younger, but that was the breadth of his gaming experience.
But, the person asking him being Alex, he lied, “Yea, of course.”
Alex seemed to study his face for a few moments. “Would it be cool with your parents if you came over after school to play some games? I just got a new racing game for Christmas…haven’t had a chance to play with anyone yet...”
Joseph had no idea what that was, but an opportunity to spend more time with his blond beauty? “Sure...sounds fun.”
“Awesome. See you after school.”
The group launched into a new song that Joseph did not recognize, and shortly after that the teachers came in to try to wrangle all the teens into some kind of group activity. Needless to say, the planned activity never actually happened. But as the day drew to a close, Joseph began to feel that tugging in his stomach again.
He ran into Sandra again in the hallways outside the gymnasium. She ran up to him, eyes sparkling, complexion aglow, “So, what happened?”
Joseph sighed, knowing exactly what her reaction would be when he told her the truth. “He…”
“Joe, tell, now!”
One more eyeroll before he spoke, “He invited me to his house.”
Sandra’s hand shot over her mouth in surprise, “No way! Did he...did he say anything?”
“No,” Joseph hastily cut her off, “it’s not like that. He just wants to play some video games…”
Sandra gave him a sly look, “Is that what they’re calling it these days…”
Joseph walked briskly to get ahead of her in the queue to exit the school.
Outside, Joseph nervously scanned the faces around trying to spot the now-familiar contours of Alex’s. After a few moments of looking around, Joseph was confused. Maybe Alex had just been kidding with him, after all. Maybe it was some kind of joke to psych him out before the auditions in a week.
Why on earth would a gorgeous guy like Alex even be interested in Joseph? He was almost two years younger, a noticeable amount shorter, not in the show choir, and not particularly popular amongst the student body. The soft glow inside Joseph started to die down the longer he searched.
A peculiar motion caught his attention and he saw a pair of waving arms down by the student pickup area. Attached to them was a face crowned with blond hair leaning out the driver’s side window of what appeared to be a brand new Cadillac coupe. The car was in Radiant Silver Metallic paint that glistened in the sunlight breaking through the stormy clouds above. Leave it to Florida to be pouring rain scant two minutes before sunlight breaks through the heavens.
Joseph realized that Alex was waving at him. As the blond boy confirmed he had been spotted, he smiled at Joseph and pulled his head back inside the car. Joseph made his way down the steps and reached into the door handle recess. As he fingers touched the rubbery surface inside, the door opened with a pop without him even having to pull. Revealed by the opening door, Alex was sitting in the driver’s seat, just grinning at him. “Get in, let’s go.”
Somewhere in the back of Joseph’s mind he felt his mother had said something discouraging him from driving with other high schoolers, but there were more present thoughts running through his mind right now. All of them involved blond hair.
As they drove out onto the highway that runs back into South Beach, Alex spoke, “So, you need to call your folks or something?”
Joseph was almost embarrassed to pull out the dinky flip phone in his pocket but knew he had no choice. Ever since his failure to contact her the week before Christmas, she had him on a short leash where going out was concerned. He thumbed through the contacts list hoping that Alex would not think less of him for having such a simple phone.
It took three rings for her to pick up, and from the sounds in the background she was watching television at home. “Alo?”
Joseph cleared his throat. “Mama, soy yo, Joseph. I…” he hesitated, wondering if his mother would let him go to a friend’s house. On the other hand, if he told her he was going to study with Sandra, would Alex think oddly of him? Dammit, “I’ve been invited to a friends’ house this afternoon. I don’t have any homework today because it was field day…”
He mentally crossed his fingers.
“Ay, no se mijo, I was going to cook tonight…”
“Mama, please? Just for this afternoon, I’ll be back early.”
There was an uncomfortably long pause during which the only sound was the droning of the tires against asphalt. Joseph knew she was replaying the weekend before Christmas in her mind right then on the phone. Finally, she spoke, “I guess, papi. Call me and let me know if I should cook or not.”
Relief flooded Joseph’s veins, “Gracias, mama. Te quiero mucho.”
“I love you too, papi.” She clicked off the line.
Alex was looking expectantly at Joseph as he clicked the phone shut. “So, is that a yes?”
Joseph turned and smiled at him, “Yup.”
The drive to Alex’s house only took an additional five minutes, but as Joseph knew they were drawing closer to the destination, the ramifications of what may happen started to build up in his mind. He was going to be alone in the house of a - admittedly gorgeous - boy he had just met briefly through happenstance collision at school. At least his parents would be there…
“My parents are out at some party tonight, I hope that’s cool?”
Well damn. Turning through the residential streets at the south end of the island made Joseph want to melt away into the very comfortable leather seat of the Cadillac with the dread that was mounting in his gut. Alone? With Alex?
Joseph attempted to swallow the lump in his throat as the garage door opened to a beautiful two-story house. The house must have been built recently, with a magnificent smooth stone-looking facade and a large ornate front door. The entire house looked warm and modern, a veritable palace to Joseph’s eyes.
The garage door banged shut behind them and Alex got out of the car. Joseph fumbled around to unhook the seat belt, that very moment realizing that his hands were shaking slightly. He closed his eyes to mentally talk himself toward a more calm demeanor, but the door being opened next to him prevented it from happening.
His fingers finally found the release and the seat belt popped free. Joseph stood up outside the car to see Alex standing on the other side of the door holding it open. “You okay?”
Joseph stammered, “Yea...I’m fine...thanks.”
Alex led the way into the house through what appeared to be a laundry room with a bathroom attached to it. That room gave way to a beautiful stainless steel and marble topped kitchen. The refrigerator had double doors and the lights were suspended from the ceiling above the center of the kitchen.
Beyond the serving island the carpets began, a simple beige, flowing under the furniture of the living room. A staircase at the far end of the room had a pair of family photo portraits showing that Alex was an only child and his mother and father appeared to be in their mid to late forties. A large sliding glass door gave way to a screened-in pool area with an asymmetrically-shaped pool and elevated jacuzzi. The initial impression of the house was a bit overwhelming for Joseph - especially the wide open spaces and vaulted ceilings.
Alex gestured from the base of the stairs. “Come on upstairs, the PS3 is in my room.”
At the top of the stairs, Joseph had a beautiful view of the living room and kitchen sprawled out beneath him. More family pictures, these more candid, adorned the walls of the hallway that wrapped around the upper perimeter of the large central space. Various rooms connected to the walkway via closed doors at irregular intervals along the outer wall. Alex disappeared into the third one along and Joseph slowly followed.
Rounding the corner, Joseph blinked several times to assure himself of what he was seeing. Alex tossed his shirt into a small hamper in the closet, leaving him completely bare-chested as he turned and smiled at Joseph. He spread his arms in a gesture encompassing the room, “Welcome to mi casa. That’s the right word, right?”
Joseph laughed, flattered but not sure what to make of his attempt. “Technically you should’ve said that when you were downstairs. This would actually be tu dormitorio.”
Alex smiled and sat down on the edge of his large bed, covers neatly arranged and pillows fluffed, “I stand corrected. First things first, tell me about yourself Joe. What are you into?”
There was a look in his eye that seemed to hold deeper intention, but Joseph could not place what it might be. He stood awkwardly in the doorway for a few moments trying to avoid Alex’s staring gaze until the blond stood up, “My bad! Here.”
He grabbed the rolling chair from in front of his computer in the far corner by the window. He shoved it toward Joseph. The chair rolled to a stop right in front of the smaller boy, who then proceeded to thankfully sit in it. The weight of Alex’s gaze did not leave, however.
“Well...I’ve lived in Miami my whole life. I live with my mom about a mile from the school. I uh...I like music, as I’m sure you noticed.”
Alex smiled. Joseph continued, “That’s...about it really. How about you?”
The blond scooted himself back so he was fully on the bed, legs stretched across, his bare back against the wall. “Well, I’m first tenor in the show choir, as I’m sure you’ve noticed,” he gestured toward Joseph, making the other boy laugh nervously, “and I’m actually big into films, cars, and video games. Not necessarily in that order, but I love ‘em all. Was actually born in Philadelphia, but my parents moved down here with my dad’s work. He manages large-scale construction projects around the country and his company felt Miami was a good market for it when I was young. So here I am.”
Alex leaned forward, “But we came here to play, right?”
Joseph nodded, his eyes still darting to Alex’s bare torso.
Alex pulled out two controllers and the television was turned on. The warm sound reminiscent of a symphony tuning up greeted them as the PlayStation 3 booted itself up. Joseph smiled at the musical attention to detail. The game disc was inserted and Joseph only half followed the instructions on how to use the controller for this particular game.
Alex put the game into two-player split screen mode and started a new race, they picked their cars, and off they want. The problems were apparent almost immediately as Joseph’s virtual car careened from wall to wall on the racetrack, falling far behind Alex’s vehicle. After a minute or two of struggling to get the vehicle to go straight down the road, Alex seemed to take pity on him, “Here, let me show you.”
Joseph nearly leapt out of his skin as Alex walked up behind the rolling computer chair and put his arms on either side of Joseph and rested them on his shoulders. His hands landed atop Joseph’s holding the controller, his fingers lining up perfectly with the smaller boy’s. Joseph was hyper-aware of his own breathing - which was accelerating - and Alex’s bare chest - which was very nearby.
Alex spoke quietly. “You push this button to go forward…” he demonstrated by applying pressure to Joseph’s finger and the virtual car began to go forward, “...while steering with this thumb…” His left thumb rubbed across Joseph’s and pushed at the directional analog stick, causing the vehicle to swerve in a gentle “S” shape down the road. Joseph was not paying any attention to the game, really.
“See? You can do it.” Alex let go of Joseph’s hands and the sensation of his body heat vanished as he went back to his spot on the bed.
After a half hour or so of playing, Joseph was finally able to get the virtual vehicle to make it a full lap around the track without catastrophic tragedy, but his lap time was almost three times as long as Alex’s. Alex chuckled as he won yet another race between them, “You’re really...not very good at this...are you?”
Joseph felt like he had been caught, “No...not really. I don’t...play many video games.” He spun his chair around to face Alex and found the blond boy looking at him. Joseph squirmed in his seat and avoided Alex’s face, which lit up in a smile.
“I knew it.”
Joseph froze, terrified to ask what he knew.
Alex leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees. “You have a crush on me, don’t you.”
Terror struck deep into Joseph’s core. He dropped the controller onto the floor and wished fervently that he could simply vanish into thin air at that very moment. What would come next? Would he be made fun of? I mean, this was 2011 right? Gay kids are not beat up anymore, are they?
Alex was still looking straight at him, waiting for an answer. Joseph began to stammer, “No...I...why would…”
Alex stood up and reached out his hands, taking Joseph’s and pulling him to his feet. The strength in Joseph’s legs threatened to escape immediately, causing him to shake. He had been found out. Somebody other than Sandra had known - and telling her had been one of the hardest things he had ever had to do in his life.
The blond boy continued to hold Joseph up by his hands and - to Joseph’s surprise - smiled down at him, “It’s fine. I think you’re pretty cute too…”
Time stopped completely for Joseph. He was looking straight up into Alex’s eyes, shrouded by that beautiful golden hair. He felt the tingling sensation of their contact hand in hand. Alex was so close, he could feel the body heat radiating from his torso. He felt as if he might explode from the sensory input flooding his mind at that very moment. It was all too much to take in during this hypersensitive state he had entered.
And in the next instant, Alex leaned forward and pressed his lips against Joseph’s.
At the moment of contact, a surge of electricity shocked Joseph to his very toes. The sensation of Alex’s lips gently pressed against his own was unbelievably powerful. He could feel Alex’s breath on his face, the taste not at all unpleasant. While it was not the first time he had been kissed, he doubted that the playful kisses Sandra had given him in their earlier childhood when they played “house” were anything even remotely similar to this.
As the kiss lingered, Alex let go of Joseph’s hands and wrapped his arms around Joseph’s body, gently pulling the smaller boy into a tighter embrace. Joseph grabbed onto Alex’s arms, unsure of what to do or how to respond, but not wanting the sensation to end.
Alex inclined his head to the side, his tongue playing at Joseph’s closed lips and taking the smaller boy by surprise. After only a moment’s hesitation, Joseph parted his lips and Alex’s tongue accepted the invitation. Going with the curiosity, Joseph lifted his own tongue to touch Alex’s. At the touch, Alex entwined their tongues together and kissed Joseph harder.
The sound of his own heartbeat pounded in his ears, mixed with Alex’s breathing that intensified as their tongues jockeyed between them. Joseph felt himself being moved and gently repositioned his feet to go with it. In the next moment, he felt himself being lowered down and his back meeting the soft surface of the bed.
Alex moved on top of him, kissing Joseph fiercely, his bare chest pressing against the smaller boy. His hands moved to Joseph’s waist and slipped underneath the hem of his shirt, sliding against Joseph’s smooth stomach and sides. The effect was instantaneous and flooded Joseph with pleasurable sensations. The two boys’ breathing became ever more intense, Joseph feeling completely out of control of where this was going, part of him terrified, part of him curious.
The blond boy’s hands moved back lower and one hand began to push down at the elastic waistband of Joseph’s shorts. Joseph flinched and grabbed Alex’s hand, breaking off their kiss, “Wait…” but his mouth was quickly covered by Alex’s once again. The hand began pushing more insistently downward, making progress against Joseph’s resistance. Now afraid and uncomfortable, Joseph turned his head quickly, again breaking the seal of their lips, “Stop!”
Alex finally relented and stopped sliding the waistband downward. He sat up quickly, more than a little annoyance crossing his features. “What? What’s wrong?”
Joseph squirmed slightly to get fully out from under the blond boy. “I’m...I’m not sure if I…”
Alex leaned forward again, a devilish grin on his face. “Come on, I want this, I know you want this. I have everything we need in the drawer next to the bed…” he started to extend his arm to reach toward the nightstand.
Joseph pulled back again, now afraid of what was about to happen, “No, please, I don’t think...I don’t think I want to…”
Alex sat back again, letting an exasperated exhale fly as he rolled his eyes, “Really? You’re going to play the difficult card?”
Joseph balked at his insensitivity, which seemed to have a reaction in Alex’s demeanor. The blond seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding, “Okay, okay fine. Too fast for you, that’s fine, I’m fine with that.” His voice calmed down in pitch and intensity as he spoke. “We can take it slower.”
Alex stood up and walked to the closet, selecting a T-shirt hanging there and pulling it over his head. “I think I’m right in guessing I’m your first?”
Joseph sat up slowly and swung his legs over the side of the bed, resting his feet on the floor. He folded his hands and rested his elbows on his knees, looking at the far wall opposite him. He slowly nodded.
Alex walked over and sat next to him, “Yea, I should’ve guessed. I’m sorry, just, I had a feeling about you when I walked in on your rehearsal. And don’t think I hadn’t noticed over the last six months of school that there was a boy that stared at me whenever we were in the same room. I’m not a idiot,” he chuckled.
Joseph was not sure if it would be appropriate to respond to that comment.
The blond boy placed his left hand onto Joseph’s knee, causing Joseph to look up into his eyes. Alex just smiled at him, “If you’re interested, I’d like to see where this goes. Nothing official, no labels...but I’d like to see you again after today.” His eyes traveled up and down Joseph’s body, again reminding the smaller boy of how tight his uniform was clinging to his frame. “And you really are adorable, you know that?”
Joseph blushed and stammered, “You too…”
Alex raised his hand up and touched Joseph’s chin, turning it toward him. He leaned forward and kissed Joseph sweetly before nodding toward the PS3 that was still running in the background. “Want to go another round? I think you were getting better at it…”
The next hour or two was taken up by the two of them playing an assortment of PlayStation games that Joseph actually began to enjoy. As evening drew on, he called his mother and told her he would be staying for dinner. Alex ordered a pizza and they ate it sitting on the couch in front of the massive television in the living room.
Joseph had never seen The Sound of Music. After Alex’s initial shock, he insisted that he must watch it, so they had sat down with the pizza and started up the Blu-ray copy.
There was an awkwardness as they sat next to each other, both eating a slice of pizza, neither one saying much as Julie Andrews argued with the Reverend Mother about her need to stay at the Abbey. By the time the Von Trapp children introduced themselves to Maria, the pizza was put down and both boys wondered what the other would do.
Joseph argued with himself that he should do something, but the pulling sensation in his stomach had never fully gone away. It was like a complete puzzle arrayed in front of him, with just one piece that did not quite seem to fit, and try as he might, the picture could not be complete. He looked over at Alex to see the beautiful blond completely enraptured in the movie, and it was enough to spur him into motion.
It was be of his own volition this time, not being taken off guard or being caught up in the moment. It was what he wanted right now. He moved himself next to Alex, the blond boy lifting his arm to accommodate the smaller leaning against his chest. Joseph was nervous, naturally, but as Alex’s arm held him tight and the next song of the film began, he started to smile.
Maybe things could still be alright. Maybe that perfect moment was still ahead of him, waiting to be discovered. Maybe this was the start of it right now.
At the close of the film, Joseph gathered his things and they got back into Alex’s Cadillac for the drive home. Pulling in front of 1609 Lennox, Alex leaned across the center console and pressed his lips briefly against Joseph’s. “I mean it. This isn’t goodbye. Can...I get your number?”
That pulling sensation again. This time Joseph simply ignored it and told Alex the number to his flip phone. Alex tapped the numbers into his phone and smiled at Joseph. “Good night, Joe.”
“‘Nite.”
Joseph got out of the car and watched as it turned and vanished around the corner. He went through the door, up the stairs, and straight to his room. Still exhilarated from the events of that afternoon, he pulled off his field day shirt and tossed it into the corner, pulling open the bottom drawer of his dresser to find a shirt to sleep in. It had been a while since he had done laundry, so there were only a few shirts remaining inside.
Underneath the leftmost stack of folded shirts peeked out the corner of a black T-shirt with diagonal colored stripes. Joseph tucked the corner of the shirt back underneath the stack, grabbed the first shirt at the top, and closed the drawer.
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Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
Authors are responsible for properly crediting Original Content creator for their creative works.
Note: While authors are asked to place warnings on their stories for some moderated content, everyone has different thresholds, and it is your responsibility as a reader to avoid stories or stop reading if something bothers you.
Stories in this Fandom are works of fiction. Any names or characters, businesses or places, events or incidents, are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental. <br>
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