God's in 7th Heaven, All's Right with the World

By Cypher

Chapter 6: Decision

          "He's going to what?"  Matt shook his head.  "I couldn't have heard you right.  He's sleeping over at his house tonight?"

          Robbie shrugged and took a swig from his water bottle.  "Hey, I just heard it ten minutes ago.  I guess he waited until the last minute to ask."

          "Considering how he's been acting, I guess that makes sense."  Matt stood up.  "I'm going to go talk to him.  I don't think it's wise for him to go."

          "You better hurry.  I think I heard a car drive up a few minutes ago."

          "Thanks, man."  Matt left his room and headed for Simon's.

          Robbie sighed and drank from his water again.  Simon probably knows what he's doing.  And Dax seems decent enough. 

          Lucy, coming up from the downstairs, grabbed Matt's arm as he prepared to go down.  "Where you running to?"

          "To talk to Simon.  He's not in his room."

          "You just missed him."  Lucy faced Matt and crossed her arms.  "What's wrong?  Need money again?"

          "No."  Matt leaned against the banister.  "I actually wanted to talk him out of going to Dax's.  I don't trust that guy.  He's hiding something."

          "You get that too?"  Lucy shrugged.  "I figure it's just his family or something.  Look, Dax is a pretty decent guy.  I doubt he'd do anything to hurt Simon."

          "Yeah, but we don't know enough about him to know that for sure.  He could drink or smoke or something worse."  Matt turned to continue down.
          "Now what are you doing?"  Lucy took a step down.

          "I'm gonna see if Dad's going to follow them."

          "He's at the church.  Mom saw Simon off."

          Matt snapped his fingers.  "Well...I'll just follow them just in case."

          "No you won't."  Annie came up the stairs, a full laundry basket in her hands.  "Simon explained they were doing some project for school and it would be too dangerous to drive that late.  And besides," She set the basket down.  "I need you to watch the house.  Your father and I are going out."

          Matt put a hand in his pocket.  "Don't you think Simon's safety is a bit more important than going out?"

          Lucy quietly backed away and headed for her room, deciding that perhaps she shouldn't be around for the minor argument.

          "For your information, it was Dax's idea.  He suggested a lovely restaurant and that we take the night off." She lifted the basket.  "Besides, your father and I will drive by his house to and from dinner.  If there's something going on, we'll spot it."  Annie headed upstairs and towards the linen closet.

          Matt sighed and tapped his fists together.  "Well, I guess that'll work."  He took a step down the stairs.

          "Not so fast, young man.  Help me with the laundry."

          Matt winced.  Not fast enough.  Turning around, he went upstairs to help his mother.

~*()*~

          "Now, what should we cook?"  Terry picked up an apple and examined it. 

          Simon shrugged and looked around the grocery store.  "I mean, whatever you want, I guess."

          Terry rolled his eyes.  "Simon, we're doing this together, remember?  You offered to help.  So are we going American?  Japanese?  Chinese?  Italian?  Give me an idea so we can get the ingredients."

          Simon leaned on the edge of the shopping cart.  "You can cook all of those?"

          "Cooking's a major requirement for Japanese students, boys and girls.  I just continued learning after I passed."  He put the apple down and looked at Simon, smiling.  "So, what would you like to cook?"

          Simon felt some blood rush to his cheeks.  That's a nice smile.  I wish he wouldn't make me blush in public, though.  "Uh..."  He stood up and looked around.  "How about, um..."  Simon sighed.  "I don't know.  I don't know how to cook that much."

          Terry patted Simon's back.  "How about Cornish Game Hens with a salad and pie for dessert.  Should take...three hours, tops.  Plenty of time.  Come on."  Terry paused a moment.  "Um, where's the meat section?"

          Simon pushed the cart and led the way.  "You've never been?  But you said you cook a lot."

          "Yeah, but we order our food online."

          "You're kidding!"  Simon smiled a bit.  "My mom would love to get into that service.  Does it cost a lot more than actual shopping?"

          Terry eyed the items as they walked.  "Not really.  Depends how much you spend.  Over a hundred they don't charge for delivery.  The catch is it usually takes two days to deliver."

          "Man, you've got to tell my mom about that."

          Terry laughed lightly.  "Yeah, yeah."

~*()*~

          "Hey!  Wait up!"

          Lucy paused and looked around.  She had left for the library shortly after the stairway chat with Matt.  It took her a few minutes, but she finally found the voice.  It was a man with dark brown hair and hazel eyes.  He was walking towards her, one hand holding a motorcycle helmet, the other resting on a book bag.  "Do I know you?"

          "Kinda."  He smiled and caught up with her.

          Lucy was struck by that smile, how familiar it was.  She looked the lanky man over, but couldn't place a name with whom it was.  "I'm sorry...if we've ever met-"

          "Well, not formally."  He extended his hand.  "I'm Jordon.  Terry's older brother."

          Lucy could of hit herself.  The smiles were the same.  No wonder he seemed familiar.  "Of course.  I think I saw you at my dad's church."  She shook his hand.  "I thought your name was Bruce though."

          Jordon shook his head.  "I don't like that name very much, so I go by Jordon."

          "And your brother goes by his middle name.  So do your parents go by their first name?  Or do they use something else?"

          Jordon laughed.  "Mom does."  He hefted his bag to keep it from slipping.  "I wanted to meet at least ONE Camden sibling.  Terry's been pounding on me to do that."

          Lucy tilted her head and pulled her hand back, rebalancing the books in her arms.  "Now, you call him Terry, and Simon calls him Terry.  Why do we have to call him Dax?"

          Jordon looked the sky a moment.  "Give me a moment, it's not exactly easy to explain to someone who never visited Japan." 

          Lucy leaned back and raised an eyebrow.  "Oh?"

          Jordon tilted his head down to look at her again.  "Okay, basically, there are different honorifics you attribute to a person depending on how familiar you are with them.  Terry kinda goes by that.  The general population calls him Dax, but his really close friends and family can call him Terry."

          Lucy thought about it for a moment.  "Okay, that makes sense."  She smiled and stepped up next to Jordon.  "So, how can I get Dax to let me call him Terry?"

          Jordon coughed and stepped back a bit.  "Well, I suppose if you became best friends like him and Simon."  Though technically he wants to be more than friends, but you don't need to know that. 

          "What if I dated him?"

          "Well, yeah, of course.  By default you'd get to call him Terry."

          Lucy nodded, still smiling.  "So how can I ask him out in a way he won't refuse?"

          Jordon blinked at her a moment before bursting out laughing. 

          Lucy stepped back, not sure if she should take the action as an insult or not.  "Excuse me."

          "Whew, that's a good one."  Jordon cleared his throat a couple more times.  "Heh, ask him out."

          Lucy stared at him.  "Yeah.  He's handsome and smart and what girl wouldn't want to ask him out?"

          "Oh, I can think of a few.  So is this a 'use the brother to get to the guy' sorta thing?"

          "What?"  Lucy blinked and thought a moment.  He's good.  Saw right through me.  "Okay, maybe it is a little.  Did it work?"

          "No."  Jordon started walking to the library.  "I just have to drop off some books, but walk with me and I'll explain something."

          Lucy watched him, then followed.  "Okay, I'm listening."

          Jordon looked at his books.  "Not only is my brother very handsome and very smart, he's very busy.  The idea of dating isn't even in his mind.  He would be getting more than he was giving, and that wouldn't be fair to whoever was dating him."  Pulling out some books, he held open the book deposit.  "There's another reason that's a little more personal, and I'll leave it to him to tell you if he wants to."  Dropping the books, he faced Lucy.  "Terry would love to be your friend, but I doubt he could ever be more than that for you or any girl, no matter how you feel."

          Lucy sighed.  "Alright.  I'm sorry I bothered you about it."

          "Not at all.  You're not the first one I've had to talk to about why Terry can't date."  He patted her shoulder.  "Now, if you excuse me, I have to get to my university's observatory by sundown.  Talk to you later!"  Jordon walked off, putting his helmet on.

          "Yeah, see ya."  Lucy walked into the library.  Brothers aren't always right, though.  I haven't given up yet.

~*()*~

          "Are you sure these will fill us up?"  Simon held up one of the hens.  "They're so...small."

          Terry nodded.  "Sure will.  Besides, we'll have pie and salad too."  Terry continued to unpack the grocery bags.  "So, which do you want to do?  Pie, salad, or hen?"

          Simon opened the refrigerator door to put the hens away, and stared inside a moment.  Looking away, he paused, then looked back in it again.  "Um, Terry?  Why is there a snake sleeping in your refrigerator?

          Terry blinked.  "Huh?"  He looked in the fridge.  "So THAT'S where I put the body."  Terry went over to the fridge and picked up the snake's body.  "It's dead, don't worry.  Doesn't have a head or a spine."  Terry opened the freezer and stuck the reptile remains in there.  Dusting off his hands, he faced Simon.  "Sorry bout that."

          Simon just stared into Terry's golden eyes.  "What's a snake's body doing in your kitchen?"

          "Well, I continue to experiment with cooking.  Snake is a delicacy in some parts of the world, the U.S. included."

          Simon set the hens in the fridge.  "Okay."

          Terry patted his shoulder.  "Sorry.  Guess I should of mentioned that I sometimes cook strange things."

          Simon nodded and thought about it a moment.  "But...snake?"

          Terry patted Simon's back and turned back to the bags.  "It's actually pretty tasty.  Come on, I'll show you the steps for making Cornish Gang Hen and then we can make the salad and pie."
          Simon glanced at the freezer a moment, and then faced Terry.  "Are there any other surprises I should know about?"

~*()*~

          "So what do you think of him?"  Ruthie rested her head on her arms and faced Robbie.

          "What do I think of who?"  Robbie set his magazine down and faced the youngest Camden.

          "You know who.  Dax."

          "Ah, Dax."  Robbie shrugged.  "What do you think of him?"

          "I think he's interesting.  Mysterious, too."

          "Mysterious?  Why's that?"  Robbie sat up a bit.

          "Well, I'm not sure what, but he's hiding something, maybe a lot of things, from us."

          "So you think Simon shouldn't hang out with him?"

          "I think Simon is one of the things he's hiding."  Ruthie looked at the ceiling a moment.  "Simon's been acting weird for a while, and when Dax showed up...I'm not sure what happened."

          "You don't buy that Dax is just helping Simon through school?"

          "He could be, but somehow I doubt it.  I mean, Simon doesn't take any AP courses."

          Robbie nodded.  "I think everyone realized that.  And tutoring Simon?  That's suspicious.  Simon's great at his classes."  Robbie fully sat up and leaned forward.  "But Simon's also a good judge of character.  He'd keep away from Dax if he knew it meant trouble."

          "Maybe.  Simon might end up like Mary, though, if he's not careful."

          "That's what we're all afraid of, I think."  Robbie thought for a moment.  "He seems like a decent guy, and I don't think whatever he's hiding is something dangerous to either us or Simon.  I just wish I knew what it was."

          "We all do."  Ruthie nodded.

~*()*~

          "You sure it was wise to let Simon stay over at Dax's?"  Eric straightened his tie.  "I mean, I know we're driving by, but the way he and his brother act…plus Simon's mood as of late."

          Annie poked her head out of the bathroom.  "It's fine."  She went back in and worked on her earrings.  "We can't keep him from spending time with friends."

          "Why not?"  Eric sat on the edge of the bed and put on his shoes.  "We could have said no to the sleepover."

          "Under what pretense?"  Annie came out and sat down next to Eric.  "Besides, Simon always seems better after spending some time with Dax.  Maybe after staying over a night he'll feel good enough to tell us what's going on."

          "Hmm, that might work.  Or we could just question him until he cracks.  Works for Matt."

          "No."  Annie picked up her purse.  "Besides, when was the last time we ate out at a really nice restaurant?  Dax says it's a great place, and it's not too expensive.  It's even near his house so we can just check in when we drive by.  Now, let's go and let's enjoy ourselves. Okay?"

          Eric nodded.  "Fine, I'll be down in a moment."  He grunted and pushed his foot into his shoe. 

          "Okay."  Annie headed out, nodding to Matt on her way.

          Matt knocked on the bedroom door.  "Mind if I come in?"

          "No, actually," Eric glanced into the hallway, "could you do me a favor and call Dax's sometime after dinner?  I just want to make sure Simon's okay."

          Matt sat next to his father and nodded, looking out the door as well.  "No problem.  I was planning on it, anyways."

          "Good man."  Eric picked up his evening jacket and thought for a few minutes.  "Do you think Simon's going to be okay?"

          "I don't know.  For once he hasn't gone to me for help or advice.  Or even Robbie or Lucy, or Ruthie for that matter."  He ran a hand through his hair.  "He's got to know we worry about him, but every time we try and get him to open up-"

          "I know.  It's like he's scared of us or something.  What could be so bad that he can't tell his own family?"

          "Not smoking or drinking.  We'd pick up on that."

          Eric leaned forward and rested his chin against his hands.  "Drugs?"

          "No, that can't be it.  Grades are doing great and he's still got friends."  Matt crossed his arms and looked at the floor.  "Think it might be a girl?"

          "He's not like this when it's a girl."

          "But what if it's a girl he got pregnant." 

          Eric sat up and looked over at Matt.  "Someone Dax knows."

          "And Dax is helping them hide it."  Matt looked at his father.  "What else could it be?"

          Eric thought for a moment, then waved his hand.  "No, no, Simon wouldn't be able to hide something like that from Ruthie.  Or the rest of us, I bet.  Besides, we've raised him better than that."

          "Maybe."  Matt looked at the bed.

          "Yeah, maybe."  Eric sighed. 

          Annie walked into the room.  "Hey Eric, dinner.  Come on."
          Eric stood and smiled slightly.  "Right, dinner.  I'll be right down."

          "Now, Eric."  Annie left.

          Eric shrugged at Matt and followed his wife.  Exiting the room, he mouthed to Matt 'call.' 

          As he left, Matt sat forward.  If Simon did get a girl pregnant, I'll find out tonight, somehow.

~*()*~

          "She was pregnant?"  Terry munched on a leaf of lettuce.  "You're pulling my leg.  He ACTUALLY brought home a pregnant girl?"

          Simon nodded.  "For half the night we wondered if it was Matt's kid or not."

          "Oh dear lord."  Terry chuckled.  "That is something."

          "Alright, your turn.  Something embarrassingly funny about your brother."

          Terry thought a moment, tapping his fork on his plate.  "Okay, this is a good one I tease him about all the time."

          Simon leaned forward in his seat.  "Yeah?"

          "Well, with all his AP classes and his brains, colleges were sending my brother offers left and right.  Some offered full scholarships, others actually tried to bribe him."

          Simon waited while Terry took a drink of water.  "And?"

          "Well, this one very prestigious college really wanted him, so they decided to try a different kind of bribe.  One night I heard a thump from my brother's room, and, thinking it was a burglar, I grabbed a broom and headed for his room."

          "A broom?" 

          "You'd be surprised how much damage it could do.  Anyways, I walk into his room, ready to bash the burglar's brains in, and I find this girl on top of him in his bed."

          "No way!"
          "I just stood there for three minutes thinking 'Jordon?  The shy introvert is having sex?'  Well, after I snapped outta it and whacked her enough times with the broom to scare her off, I finally talked to my brother."  Terry waved his hand.  "He was in the biggest daze I'd ever seen him in.  And all I could get out of him was 'Stanford.'"

          Simon laughed and leaned back in his chair.  "Oh geeze, Stanford sent her?"

          "They didn't openly admit it, but I barricaded his window for the next few weeks just in case any other colleges got similar ideas.  To this day I tease him about it.  Drives him nuts."

          Simon kept laughing.  "That's a good one!  I don't think I could top that."

          "Hooker through the window.  I've yet to hear any college top that."  Terry ate a bit more.  A ringing caught his ear after a moment.  "Ah, dinner's ready.  Good timing."  He stood up.  "Wanna watch a movie while we eat?"

          "Eh, I don't mind eating at the table."  Simon still chuckled every few moments.  "My parents would kill Matt if something like that happened."

          "I'd prefer that to what my mom did."  Terry placed his plate in the sink.

          "I'm afraid to ask, but go ahead and tell me.  What'd she do?"

          Terry turned off the timer and oven, and grabbed a hot pad.  He took on a falsetto.  "Why, Terry dear, why didn't you let her do her work?  I mean, we both know Jordon needs some sex to loosen him up."

          Simon leaned against the wall and shook his head.  "I can't believe your mom said that."

          "Want me to call her and tell you herself?"  Terry pulled out the pan with the tiny birds in it and set it on a hot plate.  "I swear, she has no idea what I do to keep him in line."

          "Why bother?  I mean, isn't it his duty to watch over you?"  Simon grabbed two new plates and brought them over. 

          "We gave it a shot, and I ended up for amnesia for a week.  From then on, we decided I should keep him in line."

          Simon just shook his head again.  "And I thought my family was weird at times."

          "Wait till you actually MEET my mom."  Terry picked up some tongs.  "Alright.  Dinner's up."

~*()*~

          "Would you stop looking at me?"  Matt paced back and forth in the kitchen.

          "If you put the phone down.  Why do you need to call?  If Simon wanted to come home he'd call us."  Ruthie broke apart her cookie and looked at Matt. 

          "But Simon might not want to come home when in actuality it's the right thing to do."  Matt tapped the phone against his hand. 

          "Fine, call Dax's house."  She munched on her cookie.  "What if the machine picks up?  I mean, they could be having a late dinner for all we know."

          "If the machine picks up, then I'll...I'll..."  Matt sighed and rested an arm on the counter.  "I'm just worried, okay?"

          "We just have to trust in Simon to make the right choices.  Dad and Mom trusted in you."

          Matt snorted.  "Not as much as you think.  Now head upstairs and check on the twins."

          "It's not like the conversation's going to be private.  We'll find out sooner or later what was said."

          "Yeah, well I'd rather it be later than sooner."  Matt waved to the stairs.

          Ruthie rolled her eyes.  "Fine."  Grabbing another cookie, she left for the twins' room.

          Looking around, Matt made sure he was alone before dialing the number Dax had left for Annie.  Pacing again, he listened to the rings.  One...two...three...fo-

          "Hi, moshi moshi?"

          "Hey, uh...do I have the right number?  I was trying to reach Dax-"

          "Matt, it's me.  I answer that way because Jordon and I have friends in Japan that call."

          Matt heard Dax talk to someone in the background.

          "Let me guess, you wanna chat with Simon, right?  He'll be on in a moment.  We had a little accident with the pie and it fell to pieces when he took it out of the pan.  Just a sec."

          Matt leaned against the counter and rested the phone against his shoulder.  Seems innocent enough.  But still..."

          "Hey, Matt.  What's up?"

          Matt stood up again.  "Simon, hey.  Um...is everything okay over there?"

          "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

          "Just...wondering."  Matt shrugged.  Ask him.  Ask him.  "Did you get someone pregnant?  Is that what this is about?"

          "What?!  Where'd you get an idea like that!"

          "Well-"

          "Just hold on."

          Matt blinked.

          "He thinks I got someone pregnant!  Can you believe that?"

          Matt frowned as he heard a noise in the background.  Is Dax...laughing?

          "Hey, Matt?  It's Dax."

          Chuckling.  He was laughing.  "I wasn't done with Simon."

          "Pregnant?  Sheesh.  And I thought my brother was neurotic.  Simon didn't get anyone pregnant."

          "I'd like to hear that from Simon."

          "I'm right here, Matt.  He put it on speaker.  How could you even think I'd do such a thing?  Don't you trust me?" 

          Matt winced.  He'd heard that line before.  "I do, we're just worried, and you're spending so much time with Dax.  Plus your mood."

          Dax cut in.  "And you don't trust me." 

          Matt could swear he heard Dax smirk.  "Well, actually, yeah."

          "You've had me over and you don't trust me.  What will it take?  An FBI background check?"

          "No...it's just...Simon, can we talk in private?"

          "When I get home tomorrow, Matt.  Honestly, pregnant?"

          Matt heard the phone click, then the dial tone.  He hung up on me? 

          Ruthie hopped down the stairs.  "So how'd it go?"

          Matt hung up the phone.  "About as well as can be expected, I guess."  He swung his arms and looked around.  "So, how were the twins?"

          "Fine, of course.  Just relax.  Simon's going to be fine."

          "Wish I had your confidence."

~*()*~

          "You think he got a girl pregnant?  Our Simon?"  Annie shook her head.  "You're nuts, sometimes."

          "Just think about it.  It's not smoking, drinking, or drugs.  What else could explain his behavior?  And Dax is helping him hide that fact, I'm sure of it."  Eric gripped the steering wheel and glanced at his wife. 

          "Dax may be helping him hide something, but I don't think it's a pregnant girl."

          "Why not?"

          "Mother's intuition."  Annie looked out the window.  "There's his house."

          Eric slowed down and pulled over.  "Not a bad place."

          Annie leaned forward and looked into the living room window.  "I wonder how he grew those roses."

          "You can ask him next time you meet.  You see them?"

          Annie leaned to the side.  "No, but I see two shadows on the TV."  She sat back and crossed her arms.  "It just looks like two teenagers watching movies and hanging out."

          Eric released the wheel for a moment, then gripped it again.  "Alright, I give up."  Eric drove off.  "I just want to know what he's hiding and why, if it's just help, he can't come to us."

          "Well, maybe he feels this is something only his peers can help him with.  Kids today face more difficult problems than we do."

          "Maybe, but I don't think that's it."

          "Simon will tell us in time, I'm sure.  Besides, I rather like Dax."

          "Oh?  He suggests a fancy restaurant and you like him?"

          Annie shrugged.  "He seems like a nice guy, and it was nice to go out."

          "Well, yeah, that's true."

          "So, we'll just leave Simon be for now, right?"

          "Fine, fine."  Still, I'm going to check in with Matt.

~*()*~

          Terry yawned and looked at his watch.  "Nearly eleven."  He stretched and looked over at Simon.  "You okay?"

          Simon looked at his hands and fiddled with them a bit.  "Well, I was thinking about what we talked about earlier."

          "Before or after your brother's call."

          Simon wrinkled his nose.  "After.  Geeze, pregnant?  What does he take me for?"

          "A younger brother that needs guidance."  Terry rubbed Simon's shoulder.  "So what about it?"

          "Well, after all that reading, and what we talked about..."  Simon sat up and faced Terry.  "Let's...give it a try.  It's the only way I'll know for sure."

          "You sure?  You don't have to do this because you feel indebted.  I want this to be what you truly want."

          Simon nodded.  "It is.  If I don't, I'll never know who I truly am."

          "Alright."  Terry took Simon's hand and squeezed it reassuringly.  "We'll give it a shot."

          "But we can't tell my family, or anybody.  Not yet."

          "I understand.  You're still not completely sure, and you don't want to face what could happen if it comes out in the open."

          Simon nodded.  "Y-yeah." 

          Terry smiled and hugged Simon, resting his head on the blond's shoulder.  "It'll be okay.  I won't be angry if this doesn't work out.  We'll just take it one step at a time."

          Simon hesitantly wrapped his arms around Terry.  This feels so right...but what if I'm wrong?

          Terry rubbed Simon's back and pulled away.  Looking over Simon's face, he ran a hand through the yellow locks; his golden brown eyes meeting with Simon's gray ones.  After a moment, Terry leaned forward and kissed Simon.

          Simon, at first, wasn't sure how to respond.  Eventually he closed his eyes and just went with his feelings, what he felt was right.  So right...this feels so right...with Terry as...my boyfriend.  And at that moment, to Simon, all felt right with the world.

~*()*~
~*()*~
~*()*~

Moshi Moshi: Hello

Sorry for the delay in these chapters!  Both myself and my translator (let's have a GREAT many thanks to Luna for helping me with the Japanese parts) had college finals so it was a bit hectic.  Furthermore, as it is now winter break and I am on vacation (and going to actually fly somewhere for the first time in years), I have one or two more updates, but there may be a pause until I start really churning out chapters again (probably around February).  Glad you've enjoyed it so far!