Chapter 5
Ms. Berg walked into her office. It was three o'clock, and she was just waiting for Jack now. "I really hope that he shows up soon," she grimaced. "And for that matter, at all." At that moment Jack walked into the room.
"Sorry, am I late?" Jack puffed. He was out of breath, and his brow was a little damp.
"No, right on time." The teacher stated officially. "Sit down, Hun."
Jack sat, giving Ms. Berg a strange look. She never called him 'Hun" before. He was a little clueless.
Ms. Berg walked over to Jack and placed a kiss on his lips. Jack kissed back. Just at this moment, Ralph came into the office, tears streaming from his face. Jack and Ms. Berg didn't notice Ralph. He just looked on, through his tears, in bewilderment.
Ralph let out a little sob, still crying. Jack and Ms. Berg both jumped at the surprise. They hadn't realized that someone else was there.
"Oh my God." Ms. Berg said, mortified that she had been caught. She grabbed her purse and shoved a wad of money each into Jack and Ralph's hands. "Please don't say anything to anyone, will you Jack, Ralph?"
"Okay," Jack stammered in bewilderment. Ralph just stood there, tears flowing steadily. Jack finally noticed the tears and took Ralph into an embrace. "Ralph, are you that upset that Ms. Berg and I did that?"
"No," Ralph managed to say through his tears. "It's not what you've done, but it's what you need to do." Ralph then collapsed into Jack's arms, and Jack stumbled under the sudden weight. Jack was totally confused. "Can we leave?" Ralph whispered into Jack's ear. His warm breath felt hot and liquid to his senses, driving him wild with passion.
The two boys started for the door. "Thanks for not calling my parents about me, with you finding us this morning and everything." Jack said to Ms. Berg as he walked towards the door.
"You're welcome," she blushed, and said. "Thank you for, not telling anyone about what happened here, okay?" Jack was already out the door, and didn't answer, although she knew he heard her.
The two boys walked into the main foyer of the school, Ralph's soft sobs echoing through the large room. "What's the matter, Ralph?" Jack asked finally.
"Not here," Ralph responded. "I don't want to talk about it here. Wait till we get back to your place."
The two boys walked into the now familiar house at Four Eaton Close in Farnsfield, England. Ralph went in and just went straight for the fridge without asking, like usual. Jack knew that something was really bothering Ralph if he did that. Even though Jack had told him a million times that he could just raid the fridge any time he wanted without asking, he still always did ask.
Ralph pulled out the not-so-hidden bottle of vodka from the back of the fridge. He tore off the top, and took a few swigs, and burped.
"Ralph, will you tell me now what's wrong? You never act like this." Jack said with a worried tone in his voice and a concerned look on his face.
"Not until we call Laura and Shawn and have them over here too." Ralph said, staggering over to the couch, and plopped down with a hiccough.
Jack went into the living room to call the other two friends. This room was decorated more classical, then modern like the kitchen with attached family room. This room had a real homey feel to it. It was a really cozy room with a fireplace along the one wall, and the one adjacent wall was a huge mass of glass paneling. The wall opposite the fireplace was painted a warm crème off-white colour, and a red couch. The other adjacent wall painted the same colour, and decorated with pictures of family and friends.
Jack walked over to the far side of the couch, to the end table where there was a telephone. He picked up the receiver and first dialed Laura's number.
"Hello?" Laura answered the phone. Jack was relieved that she had answered. Laura's parents didn't like boys calling her.
"Hi," Jack responded. "Can you come over, like, right now, and bring Shawn too?" Jack said, his voice ringing with worry.
"Whoa, you sound like a worried mother there, Jackson." Laura said teasing him.
"Look, can you lay off with the names right now? Ralph is really upset about something, and he wants you and Shawn here, before he tells me what's going on. He was bawling earlier, but he's calmed down now. He's calming himself with the vodka."
"Oh, I'll call Shawn and get him right now. We'll be there in ten minutes. And take that goddamn booze away from Ralph. We don't need him drunk when he's telling us what wrong. We won't understand him."
"Okay, see you soon." Jack ended the conversation, and put the receiver back down on the base. He walked back into the other room, and over to Ralph. He was just finishing the bottle, draining the last drops of vodka.
"I just called Laura," Jack started.
"What about Shawn?" Ralph queried, stumbling over a few of his words.
"She's getting him on her way over." Jack replied sounding more and more depressed. Ralph was really bringing him down, after what happened with Ms. Berg only half an hour ago. "They'll be here soon."
"Good," Ralph responded, dropping the now empty bottle on the black carpet of the family room. Ralph lay down on the black leather couch, and made himself comfortable. Just at that moment, there was a knock at the door.
Jack went over to the door and opened it. There was Laura and Shawn in the doorway. Laura was wearing a black ensemble, with fishnet stocking arms. Shawn was wearing his usual black leather trench coat, his red hair just reaching his shoulders.
"So, vas gib'st?" Laura asked, in German, meaning 'what's up?'
"I don't know, yet," Jack said, sounding really worried like a mother. "Please, come in." Jack motioned for the two to enter.
"Should we wake him?" Shawn asked, brushing some of his blood red hair out of his face.
"I don't know," Jack responded. "He just finished my bottle of vodka. He'll be absolutely rat-assed."
"I think we should still wake him," Laura stated. The others knew mentally that this had to be done.
Jack walked over to Ralph and knelt down on the carpet next to the couch. "Hunny," Jack cooed softly. Ralph stirred little and moaned. Jack then bent his face a little closer, and placed his soft lips upon Ralph's. Ralph's eyes fluttered opened.
"Hi, there, sweetie." Shawn said kneeling down by Jack. Laura joined them after of a few seconds.
"Ralph, Hunny," Jack cooed.
"Yes?" Ralph replied, sleepily.
"Do you want to tell us, now, what was bothering you?"
Tears started to well up in Ralph's beautiful cinnamon eyes again. "They're dead." Ralph shouted in frustration. "Car ... cliff ... instant ... death ..." Ralph managed to whisper between his sobs. "I'm just absolutely Gob smacked! Why me?" Ralph again screamed in frustration at his situation.
Shawn's vision went blurry as his purple eyes filled with tears. Laura went to Shawn to comfort him. He didn't take deaths easily, even if he didn't really know the person who died.
"So, does that mean that you're going to have to move again? Move in with some family member?" Jack asked, his emotions running wild at the thought that he might lose his love.
"Fortunately not," Ralph said, his tears starting let up. "There is no one left in the word with the Varley name but me." Ralph tried to stand up, but his attempt failed and his butt ended up on an end table. "I remember my parents once telling me, that if I wasn't eight-teen when they died, I'd have to be adopted by someone at of at least twenty years of age, and had a good enough income to support me."
"You can come stay with me, Ralph." Laura jumped in right away. "There isn't really and room, and you and I might have to share a room, maybe even a bed -"
"Laura," Ralph interrupted. "I was thinking maybe that Jack's parents could adopt me, and I could live here with Jack, there's plenty of room here. Jack's got two spare bedrooms."
Jack's heart leapt at the idea of Ralph moving in with him. He had all these visions of them in bed together, kissing and cuddling, among other things. (Yes, I am talking about that which might happen in a later chapter. You'll just have to wait and see.)
"Or that too," Laura said. She wasn't upset that Ralph had chosen Jack over her. She knew that there was more room there, and he'd be better off there as well, plus the fact that she really wanted to see Ralph and Jack get together. She thought that they made the perfect couple. "Yeah, that'll be cool, since Shawn and I are always over here, it's not like I'd never get to see you."
"Umm, yeah, guys," Jack started. "What if my parents don't want to adopt him?"
Ralph's heart sank at this note. 'Why did Jack have to spoil the moment?' Ralph thought
"I'm sure that they will, Ralph," Jack saw the depressed look in Ralph's big cinnamon eyes. "Why don't I call them now?" Jack walked over to the kitchen, and picked up the cordless phone and made his way back to the living room where the others were. He sat down beside Ralph, and dialed his parent's number.
Shawn who had been crying was now collecting his senses and was pacing around the small room with anticipation of what would happen. He felt as if it was his parent's whom had died, and he was going to live with Jack, not that he wouldn't have liked to.
"Hello?" Jack said into the phone after a few seconds. "Yes, hello Gordon? It's Jack. Yes I'd like to speak with my mother." Jack waited another few seconds until his mother got to the phone.
Jack explained the whole situation to his mother, who seemed to listen to her son, for once in her boring life.
"So, you will?" Jack asked into the telephone with excitement. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you! Yes, I love you too mum. Yes, mother. I change them every day. All right. Okay. Thank you mother, good- bye." Jack hung up the phone. "Well, hello, roomy." Jack said to Ralph. Ralph still drink grabbed Jack and hugged him tight, not realizing that he was kissing Jack's neck.
"Well, Ralph's asleep in his new room." Laura said as she came down the stairs to re-join the other two boys. "Umm, Jack, I have a question."
"Shoot."
"Today at school, Ralph and I overheard you and Roger, umm, talking." Laura said nervously.
Jack's face lost all colour. "You did?" He asked. "So, you know that Roger likes him too?"
"Whoa! Roger swings that way?" Shawn questioned in shock.
"Apparently." Jack answered. "You wouldn't believe what he told me. He said that he had a crush in Ralph when we were on the island."
Shawn and Laura were dumbfounded. Not just at what Jack had just said, but that Jack had mentioned the island. He never talked about the island. He didn't even like mentioning the island.
"He told me that if we had caught him, he would have raped him, and then killed him, and then rape the carcass again." Jack said, shuddering at his mental image of his Ralph's body with no head, being fucked by Roger.
"Does Ralph even know you like him?" Shawn questioned the other boy.
"I don't know. Things happened last night in the Music Room, yeah, but I don't know if he really likes me. He didn't say anything when I kissed him to wake him, but he was drunk then, so I'm not surprised at that." Jack crossed his legs on the ebony cowhide that made his couch.
"Oh my God. I can't believe that." Shawn stated. "Roger is like that." Jack and Laura laughed at Shawn. Sometimes he was a little slow, like this for example.
"So, what are you going to do about Roger?" Laura asked.
"I don't know. I guess I'm just going to have to let Ralph figure things out, like, whether he wants to be with me for Roger, or with a guy at all. He might not be like that."
"Roger?" Shawn said.
"Would you just give it up?" Laura smacked Shawn upside the head.
"Whaa?" Shawn whined in protest.
Laura was getting a little agitated. She looked at her watch. "Oh my God! Is it really that late?" She asked rhetorically. Her watch read ten o'clock. "I gotta get home. Shawn will you walk me?"
