Aedan's Story - 20. Chapter 20: Falling For Him

October 31 2018

I got home with Jake after his soccer game. Jake scored a couple goals and looked really cute in his uniform. "Hey, I am going with some friends to check out the haunted side of town tonight. You wanna come with us?" I asked as I set my backpack on a hook in the laundry room.

"I thought you were trick or treating with River?" Jake took off his dirty cleats.

"Nah, he's going with his friends. He specifically told me not to go. He said I'm lame..." I laughed. "Besides, I'm too old for that stuff now."

"Oh..." Jake blushed. "I'm going trick or treating with Kevin and Bailey. Sorry, Aedan."

Fuckkk... "Oh okay..." I frowned. I scare easily and I was really hoping for Jake to come with me. "You can borrow my Phantom of the Opera costume from last year if you want." I offered.

"Oh, thanks. Yea, that would be awesome, dude," Jake smiled at me.

Later, I got on my bike to ride to the town square to meet my friends. It was a beautiful fall evening with the forest being the color of fire and the ground being littered with fallen leaves.

"Dude I still can't believe the Sox won the World Series..." Connor said excitedly to Ian "Yo, hey, Aedan," he smiled.

"Howdy," I said as I got off my bike and locked it up on the bike rack in the square.

"Ready to go to the spookiest place in the state, scaredycat?!" Matt asked me.

"Yeah," I answered. "Just don't startle me, kay?"

"I've heard legends of people seeing ghosts floating around there at night," Hayden explained.

"Babe, knock it off, you're scaring Aedan," Ian said.

"W-what!? I ain't scared!" I blushed, looking at my friends: Connor, Matt, Ian, Hayden, and, the newer new kid, Toby. The six of us share a geography class together. Toby moved to town over summer and he's on the lacrosse team with Connor, Vincent, Hayden, and I. Meanwhile, Ian and Matt played football in the fall season. "So, no one else is coming?"

"Nah," Connor shook his head. "Vincent bailed on us cause he's going to a party with his stupid older girlfriend, and Jake, you said he's going trick or treating..."

"With his gross girlfriend and her gross twin brother, yeah..." I rolled my eyes.

"So lame," Matt rolled his eyes. "What high schooler trick or treats? That's like for kids!"

"So what's the plan?" Toby Hendrix asked. He had fluffy brown hair, brown eyes, and a light tan.

"We're going to walk on the trail to the abandoned side of town, Ghost Avalon."

"Why was it abandoned?" I asked, unaware of the town's lore having only lived here a couple years.

"They say the town became cursed after the Witch Trials!" Matt explained. "Crops failed and Indians attacked. And worst of all, a Wendigo began possessing people."

"A wwww-wendigo?!" I gasped, putting my hands up to my mouth.

"Yeah, a big scary monster in Native mythology. They come out at night and eat people. They particularly like tall teenage boys with dark hair and green eyes," Matt taunted. I yelped.

"That ain't funny!" I whined.

"Knock it off, Matt," Connor playfully punched Matt. "Aedan, you good, man? Wendigos aren't real."

We walked a couple blocks past the Presbyterian Church across from the Commons to the town cemetery on the riverfront. When no one was looking, we hopped the fence into the graveyard. Some goth teens had gathered in there, but we climbed over the back fence where the trail began. It was closed at night, but we were sneaky and stuff. The trail led to a bridge over the Wittebane River and deep into the woods where the colonial town from 1644 to 1722 was.

Entering the woods, I began to feel scared. "Ggggguys... are y'all sure about this?"

"Aedan, don't chicken out dude, come on," Matt playfully punched my shoulder.

We soon reached the old town, turning on our flashlights to look around. The nearby river made the forest foggy and the leaves on the ground crunched at our feet. The old brick buildings were covered in vines and crumbling, with most windows and doors being broken or missing. Graffiti was painted on some of the buildings. I snapped a few pictures on my Pear Phone to make drawings of later. The place was a hundred percent spooky. Matt wanted to split up and explore. Toby volunteered to go with me, while Hayden and Ian went to the old chapel together and Connor ran off with Matt to explore. "This building looks like a library," I said, approaching a ruined building.

"Avalon Library. Built 1647..." Toby read the rusty plaque. "Neat." Toby took the lead to enter, sensing my apprehension. I followed him inside. The building had a lot of empty shelves and cobwebs. I scanned the room with my flashlight.

"HOOT!" An owl took off and flew up through a hole In the roof, startled by our presence.

"This ain't so bad, Toby," I browsed the isles of empty shelves. Suddenly I felt something on my ankle! "FUCKKKKK!" I screamed like a girl and jumped four feet in the air, nearly having a heart attack! A shadowy cloaked figure was on the floor. "TOBY COME ON! Let's go!"

"Aedan... what did you see?" Toby asked.

"A shadow figure... it grabbed my ankle!"

"Dude, it's just a brick on the floor there, and I think it was your shadow..." Toby said. I took a deep breath and calmed down. "You okay?"

"Mhm... I just... I get scared easily but, I didn't want to chicken out in front of Matt."

"Oh, okay," Toby smiled. "But, jeez, there's a pentagram on the floor over there. Some people must have been doing witchcraft in here."

"TOBY, STOP IT!" I whined.

"No, bro, I'm serious," Toby shined his flashlight at a blood red pentagram on the floor, we both screamed and ran out of Ghost Avalon and we biked back home.

"We're safe now," I said, entering the house from the garage, Toby nodded, we were both shaken.

"Aedan I'm so glad you're okay!" Jake hugged me, and my cheeks went pink.

"Y-you're home?"

"Yeah, apparently parents don't give out much candy to teenagers. We're not cute enough for trick or... Woah what the heck happened to you two...?"

"There's some spooky paranormal shit in Ghost Avalon," I said.

"Sounds like you had one exciting Halloween. Seems I missed out."

I nodded silently, feeling less scared with him around.

December 1 2018

It was basketball game night in Avalon. Both the middle and high school had home games. My mom attended River's 7th grade basketball game. She wanted to attend mine, but I was ok with her missing my High School Freshman team's game when we found out I wasn't gonna be playing. I barely made the cut for the team this year, since high school sports are so competitive. It kinda sucks being the water boy for our first game of the season but whatever. After the game, I ate dinner with the team and went home. River was being more of a brat than usual, an annoying trend that started when he began 7th grade and seemed to get worse after his 13th birthday last month. He was getting quite tall though, almost as tall as Jake, despite being nearly two years younger. At home, River went to shower since he was all sweaty. I changed without showering since I got zero gametime. Jake's 15th birthday party was tonight, and I was upset I had to miss out on PAINTBALL to sit on a bench and watch the team lose, but I tried to cheer myself up for Jake. I changed into a grey t-shirt and loose fitting red and black plaid pajama pants and walked into the basement with my sleeping bag where Jake and his soccer buddies from school were hanging out. I knocked on the door and Jake answered in nothing but a pair of baggy athletic shorts. My cheeks blushed. Jake was looking fine… Speaking of Jake, he grew up a lot in the past year. His hair had gone from a dirty blond to a light brown color, and he had developed some muscle tone that wasn't there when we were 13. Puberty was certainly treating him well.

"Hey, Aedan!" Jake smiled and let me into the basement den. There were 5 other guys in there besides Jake and I. They had pizza boxes, sodas, and were watching a movie, which was Incredibles 2. I grabbed a couple slices of pizza and some of the guys grew restless from junk food and began wrestling. I ended up watching Jake. He looked to be having a good time laughing and roughhousing with his friends. "How was basketball?" Jake asked me, breaking me from my trance.

"Oh, um, not great. I didn't get any playing time. How was paintball?"

"Oh! It was so epic! We…" Jake began before someone smacked a pillow on his bare chest and face. "Dude!" Jake laughed and chased his friend. I heard a knock and I volunteered to answer.

"Riv?" I glanced at my brother. He was at the door in a pair of basketball shorts… a pair he had stolen from me! What the hell?! "What're you doing here? And give me back my shorts you twerp," I rolled my eyes.

"I'm here to join the party," River crossed his arms. Jeez he's such a little brat!

"Let him in!" Jake said as he playfully tackled one of his friends to the carpeted floor.

"Fine you can come in, bro, but you gotta give me my shorts back. Also, don't do anything weird. And don't act like a brat! I don't want Jake's party ruined."

"What a buzzkill, Aedan," River pushed me to try and get in. I stumbled back and landed on my ass on the floor. Seriously? What a little prick!i I rolled my eyes.

"You okay?" Jake reached out a hand to help me up. I nodded. I soon realized I was the only one with a shirt on, so I pulled mine off and went over to River and grabbed some of his chips.

"Hey!" He whined.

"It's payback after you shoved me," I smirked. Putting the handful of potato chips in my mouth.

"Give 'em back!" River smacked me with a pillow.

"You want half chewed chips?" I laughed, my mouth full.

"You're so gross Aedan!" River wrestled with me for a bit until I finally pinned him.

"Wow…" Jake blushed.

I sat up and ruffled my younger brother's black hair. He swatted away my hand and got me in a chokehold. "I'm tired. I'm goin' to bed," River got up.

"Sore loser!" I giggled. It was fun to play fight with that dork again. It used to happen a lot more when we shared a room. River left the den and the rest of us laughed.

December 2 2018

Jake and I's lips parted. I blinked a couple times

"Aedan what did I tell you about being a faggot?" My dad's voice roared.

"To not be one!"

"And here you are getting caught kissing Jacob! I can't have a faggot for a son!" Dad pulled back his fist to punch me…

I woke up panting and sweaty. Phew… just a nightmare. I sat up and rubbed my eyes and checked my phone. 4AM. I looked around the room. Thankfully I didn't wake anyone up. I got out of my sleeping bag and scratched my bare chest before padding over to the bathroom to get some water. I heard the door open. It was Jake. "Oh, hey Jake, did I wake you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, you had a nightmare?"

"Mhm…" I mumbled, tearing up a little.

"What was it about?"

"My dad…"

"Oh shit…" Jake hugged me and I cried into his shoulder. "You wanna try going back to sleep?" He asked after a few minutes,

"I'm going back to my room," I mumbled.

"I'll go with you. Just to make sure you get to sleep."

What a sweetheart! Aahhhh! Brain! Stop having feelings for your best friend!

Jake followed me to my room and we got into my bed. "I'll go back once you're asleep again." Jake laid down. I curled up under the blankets and rested my head on the pillow, trying to sleep, but my mind was racing about Jake and my nightmare.

I can't jeopardize this amazing friendship… I can't…

I soon heard snoring. I guess Jake fell asleep before me. I giggled and brushed his unruly hair out of his relaxed face. He murmured something before burying his face in the pillow. Ugh he's so damn cute when he's asleep. I rolled over onto my stomach and yawned.

A few hours later I woke up to a sun-filled room. I remembered it was now Jake's birthday! I sat up and checked my phone when I heard Jake stir and sit up, rubbing the sleep out of his grey eyes."Mornin' birthday boy," I smiled. "Someone slept well."

"Look who's talking, mister bedhead," he teased and ruffled my hair. I rolled out of bed and went to my closet for some clothes when Jake spoke again. "Hey, um, you wanna know what I want from you for my birthday?"

"Mmm what?" I asked, grabbing a long sleeve t-shirt and some basketball shorts from my closet and stepping out.

"A kiss."

"What?!" My eyes widened, and I felt my cheeks heat up.

"Last year, you kissed me when I was asleep. I want to know how it feels. When I'm fully conscious and stuff."

"Oh, um, okay," I muttered, feeling my morning wood return. God this is a bad idea! So risky for our friendship! But it's his birthday! And he's so cute and shirtless! Jake stepped over to me and our lips met in a kiss. And OH MY GOD it was an amazing kiss this time! Now that he was putting in effort, I guess. Our bare chests met as well and I rested one of my hands on his lower back while his hand went to the back of my neck, tangling his fingers in my hair. The kiss was 100% perfect. Everything about him was perfect. His appearance, his smile, his kindness. There was no doubt... I was in love with Jacob Grant. Too bad he's probably straight. He has a girlfriend. When we finally separated, I panted a bit to catch my breath. My face was as pink as a cherry and my nose began bleeding. Dangit! I thought that only happened in anime!

"Oh no!" Jake gasped as I ran to the bathroom. "I'll go get the others and meet you for breakfast."

"Okay!" I responded, getting into the shower after taking off my pajama pants and boxers. In the shower, it was easy to... uh... stimulate myself... down there... after that magical kiss with Jake. My shower lasted a while as a result. The warm water also felt nice on a chilly December morning.

That evening, Jake was away on a stupid date with his stupid girlfriend, and I was finishing up my Algebra homework in the living room on the couch while listening to a basketball game on the TV.

"Aedan, you'll be okay fixin' dinner for yourself, right?" Mom asked me, hanging her purse over her shoulder.

"Yes, mom," I replied, looking up from my homework. "Woah, you look... different..." I saw my mom in some more formal attire. "I thought you were going to work?"

"No, hun, I'm going out."

"Like on a date or somethin'?"

"Yes, hun," mom replied.

"Woah... I was not expecting that. But you deserve to be happy, mom. After dad being a piece of shit."

"Aedan Liam Jackson..." mom scolded. "You're right. Your father is gross... but I taught you better than to use that language."

"Sorry, mom..." I muttered. "Who are you meeting?"

"Doctor John Hendrix. He works in the same hospital as me, but in the cardiology department," mom explained. Where do I know that last name from?

"Um, does this doctor have a kid my age?"

"Yes, he has a son who's a freshman at your school. I don't remember his name though."

"Yeah! That must be Toby Hendrix! He's on my basketball team!"

"Ah, well, I'm glad you two are friends."

"Anyways, enjoy your date, mom. Vi, Riv and I will be fine here."

"Thanks, baby," she kissed my cheek.

December 30 2018

I was sitting in my room playing Splatoon on the Switch when I heard a knock. "Come in," I called out while shooting some enemies with purple paint. Jake entered the room with a wrapped box.

"Hey, Aedan, here's your Christmas gift. Sorry it's late... it arrived after you left for Tennessee and you were there for a week."

"Oh, that's okay," I paused my game in the middle of the level and took the box from him. The wrapping paper was cute and had penguins wearing Santa hats on it. "No way..." I gasped when I saw what was inside. "Jake!" My cheeks went pink again and my eyes watered up. This amazing boy got me a Supreme XY Drawing Tablet! These things are worth like 250 bucks! I was gonna save up for one to have a better way of drawing digital art than an old computer mouse. "I..." I sniffled. "I can't believe it..."

"You like it?" Jakey smirked.

"Yes!" I hugged him. How is he so freaking PERFECT?!