Thanks to my ONE REVIEWER. more please.
And special thanks to Charligirl for beta-ing, suggesting, and generally making this story the wonderful piece of randomness that it is. I owe you BIGTIME.
Chapter 2
Light streamed into the windows of the tree house, hitting Chris's eyes and waking him up a lot earlier than he would have liked. Shooting a look over at Gordie to see if he was awake, he was met with the sleeping image of his best friend.
He hated admitting it to himself, but Gordie was cute. Not manly, hot, excessively muscular cute, but sweet, innocent cute. Though, after last night, Chris had to wonder just how innocent Gordie was- he had held his liquor pretty well.
Gordie also looked ridiculous, curled up underneath that milk crate. Chris couldn't believe he still fit under that thing- he and his friends had made the always-tiny Gordie sleep under there when they were eight. How can anyone possibly not grow in between the ages of eight and fifteen?
Gordie's a shrimp, he reminded himself. A shrimp that, no matter how much you might wish it, is not a fag as well.
"Mmm." A small sound came from Gordie's direction, and Chris turned in surprise so quickly to look back at the lump under the milk crate that he fell off the cot.
"Ow," he muttered angrily to himself, looking over at Gordie, sleeping peacefully. "You made me fall, you stupid prick."
Gordie stirred again, and Chris was sure he was awake, but when he rolled over, his eyes were closed and his mouth was half open.
"Mouth breather," Chris murmured under his breath. He'd been teasing Gordie about sleeping with his mouth open for God knew how long, taking pride in the fact that he, Chris Chambers, had always slept with his mouth closed. He winced as he realized that that meant that he'd been watching Gordie sleep since they were little.
Gordie's dreams, quite frankly, scared Chris. When Gordie was awake, it was like Chris had almost a sort of control over him. Chris could calm him down, no matter what was going on. But when Gordie was asleep, nothing could reach him. He was stuck in his own little world, and no matter how much Chris wished he could help him, there wasn't anything to be done.
"Ah! Damn!" Gordie exclaimed, as he woke up, hitting his head sharply on the milk crate. "I told you I needed the room!"
"No, you said your balls needed the room," Chris corrected, "and as we've established, you have no balls."
"You established that, not me," Gordie replied, rubbing his head gingerly where he had hit it.
"You agreed."
"Did not!"
"Did too. You hungry?"
Gordie hated that more than anything in the world. Chris would say something, and then change the subject to something loads more practical so quickly your head spun. It was impossible to get the last word with him. "Yeah, I guess so."
"We have," Chris began, rummaging through the crate labeled "Food" in Teddy's spidery handwriting, "an egg, and. . . Pez."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"No shit."
"Well, how are we gonna split an egg?"
"We're not going to."
"Whaaa. . . ?"
Chris smiled smugly. "I'm gonna have the egg. You're gonna have the Pez."
"Why?"
"Because I'm bigger."
"You're bigger because you always get the egg, dammit! You'll pay for this in hell, Chambers!"
"Yeah, but until then, you're stuck with the Pez!"
Later that day, you could find Gordie at home, serving hard time for bailing and not returning, and Chris talking to one of Gordie's exes. Justine Zegers had gone out with both Gordie and Chris, in that order. Of the two of them, though, only Chris had remained close to her.
They sat on Chris's porch, talking the afternoon away. Justi was smoking quietly, and Chris was staring into the sky. Several times, he had opened his mouth to say something, but no sound had come out. Now, he was finally getting up enough courage to say something. "Justi, I---"
"Don't call me that," Justine inserted, but her eyes were sparkling.
"I'll call you what I like, wench. Anyway, I have a huge problem."
"Actually, you're not *that* big."
"Justi!"
"What? It's true!" At his death glare, she pursed her lips and sighed. "Okay, what is it? Spill it, Chambers."
"Well, you know I'm gay. . . "
"I know," Justi affirmed impatiently. She was the only one who had known before last night. "Wait, does this have to do with that hot new kid? Because he's mine, bitch!"
Chris looked at her oddly. "No, you fool," he said, after a short pause. "It has to do with. . . I kinda told Gordie and Teddy last night."
Justi winced. "That's bad."
Chris nodded. "Yeah. Teddy didn't think I was serious, I don't think."
"Thank God."
"No kidding. He'd kill me. But Gordie knows."
"How do you know?"
Chris sighed. "Gordie knows everyfuckingthing. After breakfast he just started acting weird around me. He finally said he had to go home early."
Justi sighed too. "You're screwed, man," she said finally. "Gordie's straight as an arrow."
"How do you know?" Chris asked, half-desperately. "How can you possibly know that?"
"I don't know." She put her hands up helplessly. "For all I know, Chris, he could be fucking your father every night. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. Chris, have you ever actually met another gay person? There are 1200 people here. If you figure 600 are guys, how con you possibly expect Gordie to be the one fag out of 600 other people?"
"Well, he writes, right? Only gay guys write!"
"Now that is not true."
"He's lefthanded. I heard somewhere that all lefthanded people are gay."
"Chris, that's not true either."
"He's a mouth-breather. Mouth-breathers are always gay."
"Stop making excuses. He's not gay. You're going to have to accept that you're always going to see Gordie with a girlfriend. You'll probably go to his wedding. Hell, you'll be his best man. At his wedding to a girl."
Chris put his head in his hands. "Justi, shut up."
"Someone's got to be the realist."
"Maybe he likes guys and girls."
"Or maybe he likes winged purple elephants. Face it, Chambers, you've got a snowball's chance in hell of getting Gordie. Here, have a smoke." She handed him a cigarette and took a drag on her own. "Poor Chris."
"Poor Chris my ASS!" he screamed, jumping up. "You have no idea how it feels to like someone like Gordie and know for sure that he'll never look at you the way you look at him! You're a gorgeous, straight girl! You can have any guy you want! You can look at a guy, say 'He's hot' and in the next twenty-four hours, he's hanging onto your arm like a little puppy dog! You don't know what it is to love someone and know for sure that it's hopeless."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, and took another drag on the cigarette. After a short silence, she said, "But I do know."
"How?" he asked, sitting back down. His voice had quieted, and he looked a little defeated.
"I know I'll never get you back, Chris."
He looked at her in a mix of shock and horror. "What?"
"You left me, and I know for damn sure that you're never coming back."
"Justi, don't do this."
"What made you do it, Chris?"
"What made me do what?"
"What made you gay? Did you just wake up someday and say, 'Hmm. I think I like men now. Let me go see if I can get a piece of my best friend's ass.'?"
"Shut up!" he yelled, his face turning red. He leapt back up, and all of the anger in his voice before had returned with company. "Just shut the fuck up! It's not like that at all! Dammit, I'm leaving!"
And he turned on his heel and turned into his house, slamming the door so hard it looked like the house was going to fall in on itself.
"Fine!" Justi screamed back to the closed door. "Leaving's what you do best, isn't it! But don't think for one second I'm going to watch you waste away, Chambers!"
Gordie, who had seen the whole scene from the sidewalk, just looked at Justi in gaping horror for a while and ran home.
End of Chapter 2
And special thanks to Charligirl for beta-ing, suggesting, and generally making this story the wonderful piece of randomness that it is. I owe you BIGTIME.
Chapter 2
Light streamed into the windows of the tree house, hitting Chris's eyes and waking him up a lot earlier than he would have liked. Shooting a look over at Gordie to see if he was awake, he was met with the sleeping image of his best friend.
He hated admitting it to himself, but Gordie was cute. Not manly, hot, excessively muscular cute, but sweet, innocent cute. Though, after last night, Chris had to wonder just how innocent Gordie was- he had held his liquor pretty well.
Gordie also looked ridiculous, curled up underneath that milk crate. Chris couldn't believe he still fit under that thing- he and his friends had made the always-tiny Gordie sleep under there when they were eight. How can anyone possibly not grow in between the ages of eight and fifteen?
Gordie's a shrimp, he reminded himself. A shrimp that, no matter how much you might wish it, is not a fag as well.
"Mmm." A small sound came from Gordie's direction, and Chris turned in surprise so quickly to look back at the lump under the milk crate that he fell off the cot.
"Ow," he muttered angrily to himself, looking over at Gordie, sleeping peacefully. "You made me fall, you stupid prick."
Gordie stirred again, and Chris was sure he was awake, but when he rolled over, his eyes were closed and his mouth was half open.
"Mouth breather," Chris murmured under his breath. He'd been teasing Gordie about sleeping with his mouth open for God knew how long, taking pride in the fact that he, Chris Chambers, had always slept with his mouth closed. He winced as he realized that that meant that he'd been watching Gordie sleep since they were little.
Gordie's dreams, quite frankly, scared Chris. When Gordie was awake, it was like Chris had almost a sort of control over him. Chris could calm him down, no matter what was going on. But when Gordie was asleep, nothing could reach him. He was stuck in his own little world, and no matter how much Chris wished he could help him, there wasn't anything to be done.
"Ah! Damn!" Gordie exclaimed, as he woke up, hitting his head sharply on the milk crate. "I told you I needed the room!"
"No, you said your balls needed the room," Chris corrected, "and as we've established, you have no balls."
"You established that, not me," Gordie replied, rubbing his head gingerly where he had hit it.
"You agreed."
"Did not!"
"Did too. You hungry?"
Gordie hated that more than anything in the world. Chris would say something, and then change the subject to something loads more practical so quickly your head spun. It was impossible to get the last word with him. "Yeah, I guess so."
"We have," Chris began, rummaging through the crate labeled "Food" in Teddy's spidery handwriting, "an egg, and. . . Pez."
"You've got to be kidding me."
"No shit."
"Well, how are we gonna split an egg?"
"We're not going to."
"Whaaa. . . ?"
Chris smiled smugly. "I'm gonna have the egg. You're gonna have the Pez."
"Why?"
"Because I'm bigger."
"You're bigger because you always get the egg, dammit! You'll pay for this in hell, Chambers!"
"Yeah, but until then, you're stuck with the Pez!"
Later that day, you could find Gordie at home, serving hard time for bailing and not returning, and Chris talking to one of Gordie's exes. Justine Zegers had gone out with both Gordie and Chris, in that order. Of the two of them, though, only Chris had remained close to her.
They sat on Chris's porch, talking the afternoon away. Justi was smoking quietly, and Chris was staring into the sky. Several times, he had opened his mouth to say something, but no sound had come out. Now, he was finally getting up enough courage to say something. "Justi, I---"
"Don't call me that," Justine inserted, but her eyes were sparkling.
"I'll call you what I like, wench. Anyway, I have a huge problem."
"Actually, you're not *that* big."
"Justi!"
"What? It's true!" At his death glare, she pursed her lips and sighed. "Okay, what is it? Spill it, Chambers."
"Well, you know I'm gay. . . "
"I know," Justi affirmed impatiently. She was the only one who had known before last night. "Wait, does this have to do with that hot new kid? Because he's mine, bitch!"
Chris looked at her oddly. "No, you fool," he said, after a short pause. "It has to do with. . . I kinda told Gordie and Teddy last night."
Justi winced. "That's bad."
Chris nodded. "Yeah. Teddy didn't think I was serious, I don't think."
"Thank God."
"No kidding. He'd kill me. But Gordie knows."
"How do you know?"
Chris sighed. "Gordie knows everyfuckingthing. After breakfast he just started acting weird around me. He finally said he had to go home early."
Justi sighed too. "You're screwed, man," she said finally. "Gordie's straight as an arrow."
"How do you know?" Chris asked, half-desperately. "How can you possibly know that?"
"I don't know." She put her hands up helplessly. "For all I know, Chris, he could be fucking your father every night. I just don't want you to get your hopes up. Chris, have you ever actually met another gay person? There are 1200 people here. If you figure 600 are guys, how con you possibly expect Gordie to be the one fag out of 600 other people?"
"Well, he writes, right? Only gay guys write!"
"Now that is not true."
"He's lefthanded. I heard somewhere that all lefthanded people are gay."
"Chris, that's not true either."
"He's a mouth-breather. Mouth-breathers are always gay."
"Stop making excuses. He's not gay. You're going to have to accept that you're always going to see Gordie with a girlfriend. You'll probably go to his wedding. Hell, you'll be his best man. At his wedding to a girl."
Chris put his head in his hands. "Justi, shut up."
"Someone's got to be the realist."
"Maybe he likes guys and girls."
"Or maybe he likes winged purple elephants. Face it, Chambers, you've got a snowball's chance in hell of getting Gordie. Here, have a smoke." She handed him a cigarette and took a drag on her own. "Poor Chris."
"Poor Chris my ASS!" he screamed, jumping up. "You have no idea how it feels to like someone like Gordie and know for sure that he'll never look at you the way you look at him! You're a gorgeous, straight girl! You can have any guy you want! You can look at a guy, say 'He's hot' and in the next twenty-four hours, he's hanging onto your arm like a little puppy dog! You don't know what it is to love someone and know for sure that it's hopeless."
"I'm sorry," she said softly, and took another drag on the cigarette. After a short silence, she said, "But I do know."
"How?" he asked, sitting back down. His voice had quieted, and he looked a little defeated.
"I know I'll never get you back, Chris."
He looked at her in a mix of shock and horror. "What?"
"You left me, and I know for damn sure that you're never coming back."
"Justi, don't do this."
"What made you do it, Chris?"
"What made me do what?"
"What made you gay? Did you just wake up someday and say, 'Hmm. I think I like men now. Let me go see if I can get a piece of my best friend's ass.'?"
"Shut up!" he yelled, his face turning red. He leapt back up, and all of the anger in his voice before had returned with company. "Just shut the fuck up! It's not like that at all! Dammit, I'm leaving!"
And he turned on his heel and turned into his house, slamming the door so hard it looked like the house was going to fall in on itself.
"Fine!" Justi screamed back to the closed door. "Leaving's what you do best, isn't it! But don't think for one second I'm going to watch you waste away, Chambers!"
Gordie, who had seen the whole scene from the sidewalk, just looked at Justi in gaping horror for a while and ran home.
End of Chapter 2