Kaelin = New Zealand
Leonard = The Hutt River
Pauline = Wy
I just want an adventure. I want it so bad.
The water splashed cold against Alfred's sun-warmed back as he pulled himself through the resistance. The current created by the body beside him tugged him backwards, but Alfred was thrumming with energy. Fighting the water and his friend only caused Alfred to swim harder. He smiled to himself as lifted his upper body out of the water, keeping his head tucked for more speed but thinking of little beyond moving forward. And beating the snot out of Jett, of course. But that was always a given.
It was the perfect day for a swim. Clear skies and 105 degrees Fahrenheit, or 40 degrees Celsius if he was talking to Jett. Alfred had learned to convert units in his head over time. It had been a useful skill since they were visiting Australia for the holidays. Alfred didn't understand why Jett had always refused to use the American units of measurement. Both of them had lived in the United States for most of their lives, but Alfred was supportive either way.
Except when it came to their competitions. There was no support in their races, only FORCING JETT TO EAT HIS WORDS!
It was their second race of the week. This time it was the 100 meter butterfly. With this stroke, they were almost evenly matched. But today, nothing could stop Alfred, caught between pure excitement and aggressive competition. Jett would be hard pressed to beat him in this state.
It was the best Alfred had felt since coming to Australia. The sun poisoning he had gotten the first week finally left his system. Not to mention, Alfred had been saving a gift for Jett for over a month now. At long last, his Birthday was tomorrow. It had been such a struggle for Alfred to keep his big, fat mouth shut. The prospect of adventure was too great of a lure for either of them and he couldn't wait to see Jett's reaction to the gift.
Alfred excitement was burning in his veins and he released the energy into his strokes as he swam. Even though neither of them was serious enough to be on a swim team, Alfred and Jett both took their races against each other very seriously.
He hit the wall and surfaced with enough time to see Jett slam into the wall. It wasn't very often that either of them could see who won.
"Ha ha ha! A victory for the American this time!" Alfred shouted, beating the water with his fists. He didn't give the fact that he was out of breath a second thought.
"Man, what was that? You were a monster today!" Jet said, chest heaving as he tried to catch his own breath. Alfred continued to splash around from his excitement so much that Jett was forced to block himself from the spray.
Alfred's smile was going to tear his face apart, he was sure of it. This holiday season had been the best yet. Even despite the sun poisoning and the relentless ribbing and 'I told you so's' he'd gotten from Jett. They had spent over a month in Australia so far, staying for Christmas and the New Year, drinking and going on adventures. After Alfred had gotten fired from his job, they had decided to visit Jett's father in Australia since he hardly ever got to visit anymore. He had never gone with Alfred either. They planned to stay at least until Jett's birthday which happened to be tomorrow and coincidentally fell on Australia Day. Jett's dad was kind enough to pay for all of the expenses for both of them and their brothers even.
"Maybe, I'm just excited for the Australian Independence Day." Alfred said, reaching out to shake Jett's hand in a show of solidarity.
"You know, the Independence Day here isn't as exciting as the one in the States." Jett said, rolling his eyes. He should have known better than to reach out for Alfred's hand.
Alfred quickly turned his hand over before Jett could grasp it and gave Jett the middle finger.
"Ahahaha, that's 51 to 50 in favor of me!" Alfred laughed, sticking out his tongue as he gloated, "Now you have to buy me a beer!"
Jett's mouth frowned, but his eyes smiled playfully.
"Here's what I think of your beer, you absolute drongo!" Jett jumped on top of Alfred and pushed him under the water. He held Alfred's head under for a few seconds until Alfred grabbed his knees and toppled him backwards into the pool. When he broke the water a moment later, Jett was already laughing. The water dripping from his hair and the melody of his laughter caused Alfred to start laughing as well.
Their combined uproar rang through the air, attracting the stares of several others who were also enjoying the pool on this glorious day. In an attempt to stop the stares, Alfred tried to dunk Jett in retaliation. Two young men wrestling in the water wasn't as unsightly as what they were likely coming across to some of the onlookers. At least, the ones Alfred wanted to avoid. Finally, Alfred remembered that he needed to know their times. He had been so overjoyed at beating Jett that he had completely forgotten about their records. Beating Jett was almost as important as beating himself, but not quite. With any luck, even though Alfred had won, Jett would have beaten his own personal record and they'd both win.
"Mattie, what were our times?" Alfred asked his brother after he stopped trying to drown Jett in between their laughing fits. Jett leaned eagerly on the edge of the pool. Alfred glance quickly at him from the corner of his eye.
"Under a minute for both of you, 54 second for Alfred, and 56 for Jett."
"You beat me by two whole seconds! Damn, Alfred, you sure it wasn't something you ate? Did you pour a monster drink into your coffee this morning?"
"Oh come on, that was one time during finals week!" Alfred splashed Jett again, accidently hitting Matthew in the process.
"Hey, watch it!"
Even though they were much more grown up now nearly 15 years after meeting for the first time, they still fought like children on the playground. They were just larger children. Grown up didn't always mean mature, and Alfred knew that he and Jett were living proof of that.
"You know, you could join us," Alfred giving Matthew his most innocent expression.
"Maybe next time when you two aren't liable to drown everyone within a ten meter radius. Oh wait, that's never." Matthew always avoided getting in the pool when they raced, but it didn't stop Alfred from asking.
The two got out of the pool and sat on the woven plastic chairs, sharing a coke as they rested. Matthew sat nearby, pulling out a book that had some German title which prevented Alfred from being able to read it. Why Matthew had gotten into European culture and languages was beyond Alfred. He had gotten better since his Spanish phase, but it was still unnerving that Alfred didn't always understand what Matthew was talking about. There were times he was fairly certain that Matthew was cursing at people in French or Italian, but he always denied it.
Sitting back against the chair Alfred couldn't stop himself from grinning broadly at Jett who asked, "Seriously dude, what's gotten into you today? You're giddier than usual, and that's saying something. You're so hyper I'm afraid you'll pick a fight with a kangaroo!"
Jett thought for a brief moment before his smile widened and he added, "Actually, go pick a fight with a kangaroo, it'll be funny. I'm not going to pick up the pieces though."
"Ooh, shut up. I'm really excited about your Birthday. I got you a really cool present."
Jett replied, "Oh lord. That makes an unfortunate amount of sense. Are you really going to tell me what it is now?" a wry smile accompanied by a raised eyebrow graced his face. Jett teased Alfred mercilessly sometimes. Not that Alfred could blame him though. It was kind of silly that he had a hard time even keeping a gift a secret from his Jett on his birthday.
Alfred frowned. He didn't want to ruin it now. The gift had been kept a secret so far and he had talked himself into a position where he was tempted to give it away. But, he did have a backup plan in case of a situation like this.
"No, I won't ruin it. I did get you something else though. I figured if I could give you a little something now and it'd keep me satisfied until tomorrow."
Jett sighed, looking up towards the clear, blue skies, "Ok, I can accept that. Where is it?"
Alfred was already rummaging around in their pool bag. It wasn't exactly a small gift, he had wondered how Jett hadn't noticed it in the bag already. But then again, Jett was so laid back, he may just not have cared there was something strange in his backpack, assuming it was some creature that had climbed in for a nap.
"Here you go!"
Alfred was only slightly ashamed at the shoddy wrapping job. It was such an awkward shape though, he didn't have much of a choice. He also knew that Jett didn't give a rat's ass what the gift looked like.
Jett took the lumpy package and ripped into the wrapping paper with enthusiasm, which pleased Alfred. At least he understood that this was Alfred's way of compromising and could overlook the fact that Alfred couldn't keep a secret to save his life. There was nothing Jett nor Alfred could do about Alfred's over-enthusiastic attitude towards his birthday…or any other event. Normally Jett hated when surprises that were for himself were ruined, although he'd try to brush it off.
Alfred was still going to have to struggle to keep the even more exciting gift a secret until tomorrow. However, if Jett was happy with his gift today, Alfred might be able to live off of that and refrain from ruining the surprise for one more day. Just one though. He was ready to have the burden of keeping a secret removed from his life for good. Lying by omission was still lying.
It took mere seconds for Jett to rip the paper off completely, revealing a smiling, stuffed Koala bear.
The laugh that sprang from Jett's lips was knee weakening, and Alfred was thankful he was sitting down. Even though they met at a very young age, even though they had been together for practically their whole lives, Jett still had an effect on Alfred that rivaled any relationship in the world.
"This is so great!"
"I know how you like Koalas. Figured it'd be a nice thing to take with you when we went back to the States, a keepsake from home."
"I love it."
Jett stood up to give Alfred a hug, and Alfred nearly tackled him. It didn't take long for Jett to return the hug in equal force. Alfred was slightly upset with himself that he didn't even have the self-control to wait until they were alone to give Jett the gift, but the look on Jett's face was worth it. Besides, Jett would thank him more thoroughly later.
When Alfred opened his eyes, he noticed one of the onlookers staring at them with a humorless expression. He knew it was just a matter of time. They had attracted too much attention. Normally, they could keep their raucous behavior to a minimum when they were in public. Most of the time people didn't mind their annoying behavior. But the people that had a problem with them minded. She was an older woman, maybe old enough to be their mother. Alfred knew the lady from town. She was one of those soccer moms, one of the religious variety given their luck. Alfred buried his mouth in Jett's shoulder to hide his expression as he watched the lady narrow her eyes at them over her magazine. Jett turned his head slightly, his wet skin pulling back from Alfred's chin as Jett wondered what Alfred was looking at.
At that moment, Kaelin, Pauline, and Leonard walked up to the three of them. "Dinner will be ready in an hour or two, we were sent to come get you guys," Kaelin stated.
"Ahh, no. Just a little while longer," Jett pleaded, giving Kaelin big puppy dog eyes and pouting. Kaelin rolled his eyes, looking to Matthew for some support. Alfred was already planning on how they could squeeze out another half an hour at the pool.
"I'll make sure they come in in about 20 minutes, how about that?" Matthew said. Alfred sat back down and leaned back in his chair. He was determined to soak up as much of the afternoon sun as he could, enjoying the breeze drift across his bare skin. He mentally thanked Matthew, but would wait until the others left to do so out loud.
"Fine. But don't be late." Kaelin turned to leave, but Jett sprang from his chair and grabbed Kaelin's arm.
"Come race us!"
"Hell no." Kaelin's deadpan expression didn't deter Jett though.
"Oh come on, it'll be fun!" Jett pleaded. Kaelin looked to Leonard and Pauline for support.
"Guys, you're supposed to stop this! That's why I dragged you here." Now that was something Alfred hadn't expected to hear. As soon as the words left Kaelin's lips, Alfred knew Kaelin had fucked up. It would have been easier on Kaelin if he had come by himself. Then he might have gotten away with just a quick dunk, or maybe they wouldn't have forced him to get in the pool at all. Depending on how much he kicked and screamed about it of course. Jett would only push his overly serious brother so far. But with the rest of the family…
Kaelin really was a nice guy. Alfred almost felt sorry for him.
"What? I thought we came here to swim too!" Leonard was pulling out a torpedo and some other pool toys from Alfred's bag.
"I came because I knew this would happen," Pauline said as she put earbuds in her ears and sat down on a pool chair near Matthew and watched the events unfold.
Kaelin finally turned to Matthew for support. The one person who might have a little bit of sympathy for him. "Matthew, help me!" His voice cracked as he spoke, and Matthew barely spared a glance over the book he was engaged in.
Shouldn't have bothered Matthew while he was reading…
"And get dragged in as well? No thank you. You're on your own." That was the green light in Alfred's mind. Time to dunk Kaelin in the pool.
Alfred lunged towards Kaelin and wrapped his arms around his waist and tossed him over his shoulder. He felt Kaelin go limp as he accepted defeat. Jett's little brother was so stern though, they couldn't resist picking on him every now and then. Plus, bringing Leonard would probably win him the Worst Idea of the Year award. Kaelin deserved it.
As he neared the edge of the pool, he could hear a soft thumping behind him. The sound grew quickly and Alfred turned with barely enough time to see Jett hurtling towards them. He braced himself just in the nick of time as Jett threw himself against Alfred, knocking him and Kaelin into the deep end of the pool.
Upon surfacing, Alfred was hit by the spray as Leonard hurled himself into the water as well. Jett and Alfred just laughed as Kaelin mumbled something about not wanting to get his clothes wet. The only response Alfred gave him was to give Jett a loud high five and start laughing again.
That was when the woman who had been glaring at them earlier finally approached. Alfred couldn't say he didn't see it coming, but even her presence was quickly ruining his good mood.
"You lot need to cut it out! I will not stand another second of your disgusting public displays of affection!"
Alfred groaned as loudly as he could to ensure the woman knew how irritated he was as she continued on her rant about how they were going to hell. It was 2015. The fact that there were still people who thought homosexuality was a sin was baffling to Alfred. Hadn't natural selection killed all of them off yet? Oh right, no, because of things like medicine and the 'careful, contents hot' labels on everything. He was about to interrupt her incoherent speech when she took a breath, but Jett beat him to it.
"Sorry ma'am, we'll try to be less gay." Alfred gave Jett an incredulous look from behind his back. He was hoping Jett could feel his anger if he directed it at him. Come on, Jett. This woman was totally out of line and you know it. We weren't even doing anything suggestive for Christ's sake! We were just having fun! Anyone else could have tackled each other in the pool and no one would have batted an eye. Alfred knew that Jett was just avoiding confrontation, but sometimes it was too much to ignore. Sometimes things needed to be confronted.
Just as his rage had started to build, Jett turned just enough to allow Alfred to see him wink.
Good. He had a plan. Alfred was already prepared to launch his own verbal attack on the woman, but if Jett had a plan, he trusted that he didn't need to. Whatever Jett was planning was probably nicer anyway. If Alfred wanted to salvage the good mood, his best bet was probably Jett's plan.
He thought for a moment as the woman continued to lecture them on the wickedness of their ways. Alfred had a vague idea of what Jett wanted to do. It was just a matter of waiting for the woman to leave so everyone else could be filled in on the details now. There was a post they had seen on the internet. Alfred wouldn't have thought of that solution until after the fact, but Jett was always looking for hilarious ways to tell homophobes to piss off. Now was as good an opportunity as any. Thank god for Jett's quick wit.
After a few more choice words about how disgusting their behavior was and how she was just trying to help them, the lady finally stalked off back to her chair. If people had not been staring at them before, they definitely were now. Luckily, most of the crowd looked to be of the younger generation and appeared sympathetic. By sympathetic, Alfred really thought they looked horrified at the woman's behavior. But not one of them stood up in their defense. They even knew a few of them personally. Alfred swore to himself that he would never sit by idly and watch someone act as unjustly towards another living creature as he just experienced with that woman. Again.
When she was out of earshot, Jett turned around to face everyone. The sly grin on his face told Alfred all he needed to know.
"I call being it!" Alfred whispered. Jett covered his face as he snorted.
"You just can't wait to get back at her, can you?" Alfred shook his head instead of replying. He casually made his way over to the shallow end of the pool as Jett explained the game to Leonard and Kaelin. Alfred had to cover his own mouth as Kaelin broke into a mischievous grin. The rare instances they could get Kaelin to relax and be silly were worth it. Of course, with nearly all of Jett and Alfred's family being queer, he was sure Kaelin was just as pissed off as Alfred was. Kaelin was probably dying to humiliate that woman by any means necessary. But he hid it better than Alfred. With any luck, this plan would simultaneously make the lady regret approaching them and show her that very few people nowadays were on her side. Just because no one reached out to help them didn't mean that they didn't want to.
When it seemed like everyone was filled in on the plan, Alfred gave Jett a thumbs up which was returned. Then, Alfred turned around, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He used his fingers to count so he could remain quiet for as long as possible.
Once he reached ten, Alfred turned around, keeping his eyes closed. He took a deep breath and tried to call out, but it turned into a snicker instead. This plan had been brewing for too long and it was too exciting that they had finally been given a chance to do it themselves instead of reading about it.
Alfred could hear the other three suppressing their giggles as well. Now he had a location on them and the game hadn't even started.
He took another deep breath, cupped his hands around his mouth, and yelled, "Marco!"
All at once, three other voices screamed, "HOMO!" before bursting out laughing. Alfred could hear the rest of the people surrounding the pool roaring with laughter as well. Amongst their resounding chorus of whoops and hollers, Alfred thought he heard the faint yells from what was now likely an enraged woman, but he ignored it. The pool-goers were backing them up, not her.
Before the laughter died down, Alfred sprang toward the voice that was closest to him. He wasn't about to lose the opening their antics had created. The voice belonged to Leonard, which was lucky for Alfred. If it had been Jett, he would have been prepared for the attack. It would take some creative maneuvering to tag Jett, but there would be time for that later.
Leonard groaned when Alfred tagged him, but the sound was halted as other people began jumping in the pool to join their game. Alfred opened his eyes since he was no longer it and watched a few others get up from their seats to join them. Even Matthew and Pauline got in the water to play their anti-homophobe game. The afternoon passed in bliss, easily replenishing Alfred's good mood. It got to a point that he couldn't resist over-acting and started talking in the stereotypical gay accent. Their friends and even strangers began acting as gay as they possibly could with some of the burlier men jumping into their friend's arms and screaming in mock terror. A few women picked fake fights with people too, claiming they were cheating and opening their eyes to find people. Really, it was just a chance to show off their non-existent muscles which gave Jett the opportunity to pretend to be impressed. One girl did have a pair of guns though, to which Jett played it off like they were nothing.
Kaelin forgot to tell them to go back for dinner as their game played out, but as they went home, none of them could say they regretted it.
The woman was forgotten entirely.
