Author's Note: I've noticed that the chapters have been kind of choppy lately. Sorry about that. I just wanted all the good stuff to come out because, honestly, I'm so sick of this story now. Oh well. It's almost done! Whoohoo!
(22) Merged Starlight
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Ring.
'Argh!' Ralph exclaimed in frustration.
'Don't get it,' Jack said, kissing a trail along his lover's neck.
Ralph sighed.
'I have to.' He picked up the receiver. 'Hello?'
'Hello, dear,' said the person at the other end of the line.
'Hi, mum,' emphasizing the word so as to alert the other teen. Unfortunately—for him, anyway—a mischievous grin darkened Jack's features and he continued his ministrations.
'How are things?' she asked.
'Good,' he sighed, leaning his head away to give Jack more access. 'Very good.'
'That's nice to hear,' she responded. 'I'm just calling to check up on you and, well . . .'
'Yes?' Ralph asked, trying to keep the squeak out of his voice as Jack licked the sensitive area just behind his ear.
'Would you be all right if I were to stay the night at Aunt Liv's?'
'Yes, but why?'
'Well, her illness had taken a slight turn for the worse,' she explained. 'I just wanted to make sure that she's okay.'
'Okay. You go ahead and stay with her, mum. No problem,' Ralph said, biting off a moan; Jack was blowing on the wet spot now, causing shivers to travel up his spine.
'You're sure that you'll be all right?' she asked in a typical motherly fashion. 'Your father won't be returning until tomorrow afternoon, so you'll be alone tonight.'
"No, I won't be," he thought, but was wise enough to refrain from saying so aloud. Such news was . . . well . . . not something that you would tell your mother in these circumstances.
'Don't worry about me. I'll be fine, mum,' he reassured her.
'Okay, wonderful. You know where to reach me then.'
'Yeah. Bye.' And he hastily hung up the phone. Then, 'JACK!' he snapped, his face blushing red.
'Hey, is that your mask?' Jack questioned, ignoring the other's humiliated exclamation and picking up said object from Ralph's night table.
"Oh, so now you leave me alone," Ralph mused. "Geez, guy, you have the worst timing in the world."
'Yeah,' he replied, slightly amused when he saw Jack put the mask on. 'It suits you,' he said. 'It's an improvement, I think.'
'Are you saying that I'm ugly?' Jack asked, grinning.
'All I'm saying is that you look better with the mask on,' Ralph said, deliberately provoking Jack. 'Unlike some of us.' He coughed pointedly.
'Sp are you saying that you are better-looking than I am? Would you dare to say that you are better-looking than I am?'
'Wouldn't I?'
The latter pounced. He began to tickle Ralph mercilessly until the latter was reduced to a heap of laughter and giggles.
'Say it!' Jack said, laughing as well. 'Say I'm better-looking than you are!'
'No!'
'Say it, Ralph!'
'I'm better-looking than you are (1)!' Ralph replied gleefully.
So Jack continued to tickle him, unintentionally rubbing their hips together.
Ralph groaned in response to the sudden frictional sensation and thrust his hips up against Jack's.
Jack ceased his antics and looked at Ralph seriously from behind his mask, which had become slightly lopsided from their ventures.
'Have I told you that I love you?' Jack asked.
'Yes, but I could always use a little reminder.'
'Then I'll be sure to leave you a post-it note.'
'Don't joke! I was serious!'
'So was I. Or maybe I can even have it tattooed right . . . here,' he said, kissing Ralph's forehead. 'Backwards, of course. That way, you'll be able to read "Jack loves Ralph" when you're looking in the mirror. It's smart, isn't it? That way, you'll never forget.'
Ralph slapped Jack playfully on the arm.
'Stop teasing me!'
'Did you just slap me?'
'I believe that I did,' Ralph said, enjoying their playful banter. 'What are you going to do about it?'
'Punish you.'
Knowing that Jack would never intentionally hurt him, the teen was unafraid.
'Oh?'
'Yes,' Jack confirmed, and he kissed the tip of Ralph's nose.
The latter giggled.
'You have a strange form of punishment, Jack Merridew,' he observed.
'Well, I'm just getting started.'
'Not if I can help it.' And just like that, Ralph reversed their positions. He now sat atop his lover, straddling his hips.
'My, this seems familiar,' Jack said amusedly. 'Almost like it's happened before.' He pretended to think about it for a moment. 'I believe that it last happened when we were supposed to be wrestling, but you became aroused instead.' The teen looked down at the evident bulge in Ralph's pants. 'Nothing has changed there.'
The other leaned forwards dangerously, as if he was trying to express a warning upon Jack . . . which he was, of course, albeit in a playful fashion.
'What did I say about teasing me?'
'To . . . stop?' Jack grinned. 'Okay, I'll stop teasing you then, and I shall take on a stronger manner.' He closed the distance between them and sealed their lips together.
Ralph hardly noticed when his lover carefully guided him down onto the mattress so that Jack was on the top once more. He hardly noticed when Jack slowly slid his hands along his chest, appreciating his strong build. He hardly notice when the other teen brought his hands back up to run through his dark locks. It was only when they had to separate for air that the latter finally noticed these things had happened.
'Jack . . .' he sighed passionately.
'Ralph,' Jack said in turn, taking the other teen's hand and kissing each individual fingertip. Then he twined their hands together and whispered, 'I love you—I'll never let you go again.'
Ralph smiled in response and drew their hands downwards. He then took Jack's hand and flattened the palm against his chest.
'Do you feel that?'
Thump. Thump. Thump.
'Your heart?' Jack inquired, feeling the rapid beats beneath his fingertips.
Ralph pressed his own palm against the back of the other's hand.
'My love.' And he brought his hand up to cup the back of Jack's neck, drawing the other teen closer for another kiss.
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The night passed by wonderfully for the two teens and it was soon dawn. So excited that this had happened, so happy that Jack still loved him, Ralph was unable to sleep. Resting an arm comfortably behind his head (while the other curled around his sleeping lover), he reflected on the night's events.
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Jack's hands mapped their way along his body, taking care to stroke and caress each part of Ralph, the person whom he loved. He never spared a moment to show the latter how much he truly loved him. He murmured softly to the other teen as he kissed a trail down Ralph's torso, pausing at the waist of his trousers.
'Let's remove these, shall we?' he said, eyes glinting.
'No,' Ralph said, but his attitude was not threatening. 'You first,' he finished.
Jack grinned.
'Of course. Indeed, how could I have been so stupid to have assumed that you go first?' he joked. With a flourish, he relieved himself of his pants and allowed them to join his shirt nearby. Clad only in his boxers, he winked at Ralph. 'I know what you're thinking . . . "He's hot!"'
'You want hot?' Ralph asked. 'I'll show you hot.' He reached down to pull off his trousers, but Jack stopped him.
'Nuh-uh. I'll show myself, thank you very much.' And he slowly slipped Ralph's pants off of his hips, disposing of them a moment later.
'Well?'
'Damn, guy, you sure showed me!'
Ralph laughed.
'I told you that I was better-looking than you.'
'You mean, you are better-looking than me",' Jack corrected. 'Present tense, babe, not past. But it ain't over yet. I'll win eventually—I'll be hotter than you are.'
'Oh, I agree,' Ralph said sincerely.
'You do?'
'Yeah, because you'll be much better-looking than I am when you climax.'
Jack blushed.
'This, from a virgin?' he asked incredulously.
'Well, maybe you rubbed off on me,' Ralph shrugged.
'And I still can, right?' Jack teased, grinding their hips together.
'Definitely,' the brunet moaned.
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Ralph grinned and glanced at the other teen, who was still sleeping soundly; a small smile graced his soft features.
"He must be exhausted by now," he realized. "Even after leaving the masque so late, he still woke up early yesterday to come here . . . to see me."
He looked out the window, where the sun was beginning to shine its faint light through the windows.
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This was it.
The pair had disposed of their boxers long ago to revel in each other's glory. Then Jack had stretched and prepared Ralph for invasion. It was his first time, so the other teen had wanted to make it as painless as he could for the latter. Unfortunately, since their union was unplanned, there was no lubrication to be had. Jack had to improvise with some baby oil that they'd found in the bathroom.
And now it was the moment of truth.
Ralph waited patiently as Jack slicked himself up with the oil and positioned the head of his manhood by the other's entrance.
'I'm ready, Jack,' he said, kissing Jack softly.
'Okay . . .' Jack began to move his hips forwards . . .
. . . Then he stopped just before he could pierce the other teen.
'What's wrong?' Ralph asked.
'I . . . I can't do this, Ralph,' Jack said brokenly, and he abruptly pulled away.
'What? Why not?'
'I feel . . . I feel as if we're only doing this because you needed to prove how much you love me, or because I needed to prove how much I love you.'
'Which I asked for,' Ralph reminded him, 'but I didn't need such proof. And I didn't want it because it was proof.' He sat up and seriously looked at the other teen. 'I wanted it because I wanted to share something special with you.'
'But what if you regret it?'
'I won't regret it.'
'You might not be thinking that in the morning.'
There was a pause, then, 'Jack . . . do you want this?'
Jack's lip trembled.
'Yes,' he replied. 'Of course I do. You don't know how difficult it is for me to resist such a temptation, to resist you.'
'Oh, I'm sure that I have an idea.' Ralph smiled understandingly. 'So don't resist it then.'
'It's not that simple.'
The brunet sighed.
'Look, if you're that worried that I'll regret it, then we don't have to do this, Jack. But I'm telling you, I won't. I could never regret making love with you. I love you too much.'
'But . . . also . . . I don't want to hurt you.'
'You won't hurt me, and even if you do, I'll endure the pain . . . for the love that goes with it.'
'Ralph,' Jack said breathlessly, and he pulled Ralph onto his lap.
The latter patiently allowed it and pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss; their tongues danced to the ancient tune of love.
Distracting Ralph with his tongue, Jack guided the other teen's entrance onto his erection.
The latter gasped at the slight pain building in his loins, but he accepted it, just as he said he would.
'I love you, Ralph,' Jack said, breaking their kiss only for that brief moment.
And suddenly, the pain became all the more bearable.
Ralph sighed into the kiss as the distance between them closed and their hips were pressed firmly together. They were one. When Jack began to move within him, the pain vanished, only to be replaced by an indescribable pleasure.
'Ohh!' Ralph moaned into his lover's mouth, shivering in delight when the latter quickly found his g-spot.
'I love you,' Jack said again. He guided the other teen onto the bed and slowly began to pump into him.
Now there were two who were moaning . . .
. . . and expressing their undying love for each other.
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'I love you, Jack,' Ralph whispered to the sleeping form, planting a soft kiss on the other's forehead. 'I'll be right back.' After tucking the blanket around Jack, the teen pulled on a pair of jeans and made his way to the kitchen.
Once there, Ralph retrieved a glass from the cupboard and poured himself a glass of water. The night's events had left him rather tired himself, and extremely thirsty. It was so refreshing to feel such cool liquid pouring down his throat at last.
After gulping down his third glass of water, the teen made his way to the back door, still holding the empty glass in his hand.
"It's such a beautiful sunrise," he thought, having pushed back the drapes to glance outside. "I almost feel like an aesthetician when I see the silhouettes of the clouds in front of the sun." He released the drapes and almost dropped his glass with shock when he realized that he was no longer alone in the room; he saw Jack's reflection in the glass door.
'Holy shit, Jack, you scared me,' Ralph exclaimed, carefully placing the glass into the sink before it could come to any harm.
'Sorry,' Jack apologized, trying to stifle a yawn. 'You startled me, too. I didn't know where you were.'
'Sorry,' Ralph said in turn. 'I just came down for something to drink.'
Jack smiled and joined the other teen by the door, where he pushed the curtains aside and looked out.
'It's really beautiful,' he said, glancing up at the glowing sky.
'I was just thinking that,' Ralph said, wrapping his arms around Jack's waist.
'Let's go outside then?'
'Huh?' Ralph inquired, confused.
'It would be a pity to let such a night go to waste.' After unlocking the door, Jack stepped out, bringing Ralph with him. 'It's even better out here, eh?'
'Yeah,' the other teen agreed, nuzzling his lover's neck. 'But . . . shouldn't we be wearing something other than our boxers?'
'It doesn't matter. No one will see us.'
"Easy for you to say," Ralph thought. "It wouldn't matter to you, anyway, since you're not the one who lives around here.'
'Look at the clouds!' Jack exclaimed suddenly. 'There are so many!'
'Heh! You sound just like a kid.'
The other teen turned his head slightly to look at Ralph.
'You look like one,' Jack retorted playfully, sticking his tongue out.
Ralph caught the tongue between his lips and sucked it slowly.
Jack closed the little distance remaining between their lips, kissing his lover fully. Then he grabbed a hold of Ralph's hand, which was resting comfortably on his waist, and drew it up to his chest.
'Do you feel that?' he whispered against the brunet's lips.
'Yes . . . Your love . . .'
A slight breeze of wind blew around the affectionate lovers.
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Ring.
'Who the hell can be calling at this time on a Sunday morning?' Jack asked, glancing at the clock.
'I don't know.' Unwillingly releasing the other teen, Ralph went to answer the telephone. 'Hello? Oh, hello, Mrs. Merridew.'
Jack froze.
'Yes, Jack is here.'
Even from across the room, Jack he heard his mother's reply.
'Oh, thank God!' she said at other end of the line.
'Sure, you can talk to him. Just a minute.' Taking the receiver off of his ear and covering the speaker with his hand, Ralph just glared at the other. 'You didn't tell your mum that you were here!' he hissed accusingly. 'She's worried sick about you!'
Jack smiled sheepishly. True, he hadn't told his mother, but it was because he didn't want her to worry about him, so he told her that he was sleeping over at John's house. Bad move. With his thoughts in a boggle about the events of the masquerade, he had completely forgotten to tell his friend to cover for him. At least if he had said "Lee", then the latter would have the common sense to bullshit a reason for Jack.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid Jack!" he scolded himself.
'Here,' Ralph said, giving the phone to Jack. 'She wants to talk to you.'
Jack hesitantly answered it.
'Hello?'
'Jack Merridew! Where the bloody hell have you been!'
Jack flinched.
'Er . . . Hi, mum. How are you?'
'Bloody worried, that's what I am!' she snapped. 'I tried calling John's house to tell you that you forgot something, but you weren't there! Not only was he surprised that you were supposed to be there, but—' She stopped herself in mid-sentence. 'Never mind. The point is, you lied. You lied to me, baby.'
'I'm sorry.'
'Don't give me that.'
'But I didn't want you to worry.'
'Then what do you call this?'
'I'm sorry,' Jack said again.
'Come home right now!' she ordered. 'Where are you? I'll come and pick you up.'
'Uh . . . About that . . . I'm in Surrey.'
'WHAT!'
Biting his lip, Jack looked up nervously at Ralph and inclined his head.
Catching the hint, Ralph left the room to allow them some privacy.
'Mum,' Jack began, 'I really am sorry. It's just . . . I really care about Ralph. I screwed things up royally with him and I just wanted to make amends.'
'But he's just another one of your friends, isn't he?'
'Not exactly, mum.'
'What? Is he another boyfriend of yours then?'
Jack started.
'What?' she asked again. 'You didn't think that you could keep a secret like that from me, did you?'
'Er . . .'
'How many boyfriends have you had in the past year?'
'Uh . . .'
'How many girlfriends?'
'Um . . .'
'Exactly. So why would you go all the way to Surrey for just another guy?'
'He's not just another guy, mum!' Jack snapped. 'He's the one, the one that I love.' He sighed. 'I'm sorry that I lied, that I hurt you. I just didn't want you to worry about me, especially since you don't know much about Surrey. With any territory that you're unfamiliar with, you always get anxious. You know that's true! You get worried over nothing!'
She remained silent and allowed him to continue.
'But . . . I'm glad I came here, mum. Please, don't make me come home yet.' He heard something on the other end of the line that almost sounded like a sob. 'Mum?'
'I'm sorry for yelling, baby,' she said tearfully. 'I lost my job already . . . For a moment, I thought that I had lost you, too. I gave that job five years of my life, but you . . . I'm giving you my whole life. If something were to happen to you, my only son, I'd . . .' She trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.
'I know,' Jack said. 'And I'm sorry for worrying you, but . . . please, mum, don't make me go home yet. I've missed him.'
There was a pause, and then, 'Okay, Jack. Just make sure that you return by Monday. After all, you still have school.'
'Okay . . . Just wondering, though, how did you get this number?'
'I . . . er . . . may have gone through your room to find your address book,' she replied sheepishly.
If he hadn't known how scared she had been for his sake, he would have been angry. As circumstances had it, however, he had known and, therefore, was not.
'Okay. Thank you, mum.'
'For what?'
'For loving me so much.'
'It's all I can do, baby. Goodbye. I'll see you later.'
'Yeah, bye, mum.'
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(1) Mini-Disclaimer: I got this from another fic; I thought that it was really funny! Unfortunately, I don't remember which one. Sorry. (Yeah, that happens a lot.)
