Author's Note: Hey guys. Sorry for not being active. School has been rough so far. I'm going to be doing the theater thing at my high school and my auditions are Tuesday and Wednesday and if I get in I'll basically have no more time for anything since I'm taking a lot of college classes and High School classes. Doing that and balancing theater is going to be tough. So don't expect any updates for a while. Sorry. In the meantime you should DEFINITLEY review the story and give constructive criticism. Tell me what you want to read and I'll see what I can do. Maybe I'll get a bunch of plot planned out while doing school, so send me reviews. Please J
Chapter 4
Gale and I went to our classes and what not; PHS isn't that bad from what I can conclude. We basically just spent the whole day getting to know each other. It didn't matter that we were in school or that we were supposed to be taking notes or reading our text book, what mattered was that he was by my side the whole day. I met a few of his friends, he doesn't seem to have many, but he appears to be really close with the small group that he has. I admire that about people; the people who care more about having quality over quantity in their lives. It kind of just explains a lot about somebody who doesn't want to have every friend in the world, but somebody who wants a few of the best friends possible.
After the seventh period bell Gale and I went to our lockers and I grabbed all of my homework. I was going to have to do it after the concert, I hope that thing doesn't run late.
"Ready to go?" Gale asks me. He doesn't appear to be bringing any of this textbooks or binders home.
"Yeah, but where's your homework?"
"In my locker. Why?"
"Aren't you going to do it?" He frowns.
"I don't really want to-"
"No. I'm making you do your homework."
"But-"
"No Buts, it won't be hard. I'll help you; we have the exact same assignments." I explain. I'm not letting him throw away his education. He deserves that.
"ugh…Fine." He says. We walk down the hall to his locker and he opens it up and throws a few of his binders and books into his bag. Then he closes the door and looks over at me with a pained face.
"Happy?" He asks while sliding his bag over his shoulder.
"Yep. And don't look so sad, it's not that bad." I say. We walk out of the school and to our cars.
"So I'll just follow you home and then we can make our way to the Cabana." He says opening his truck door. I do the same with my jeep.
"Sounds good. See you there."
I pull out of the parking space and start making my way out of the school's parking lot. Gale is following me and when we get on the street we start heading for my house.
Like I said before, I really enjoy driving. All of the scenery and stuff is amazing. It kind of relaxes me.
Eventually we pull up to my residence and I park in the driveway while Gale takes refuge on the street. I jump out and run over to the tuck as I open the truck's passenger door I explain to gale that I'm going to run in and tell my parents where I'm going.
"Okay. Hey, can I come in and meet your parents?" He asks.
My parents are pretty chill parents, but I'm afraid they'll jump to conclusions about the whole gay thing or mention it. I don't want them to accidently say something that scares Gale off. But it would also be weird if I said no. So I'm kind of stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Uh…um… Yeah Sure!" I say, trying to not sound all that nervous. As soon as he goes to get out of the truck I bolt inside to see my dad in his Pajamas at the dinner table sipping coffee and reading the newspaper. I'm assuming mom is in bed, like I said, they work nights, so their 4pm is like the middle of the night.
"Hi Petta!" My dad says. "How was scho-" I cut him off. Giving strict commands
"A friend is coming in to say hi. Don't mention anything about homosexuality. Go get mom, put on pants. Please and thank you." My dad looks very confused and bewildered, but he kind of gets the message I thing. He nods and turns around and goes upstairs. Right when he gets out of sight I hear the front door opening.
"What was that about?" Gale asks.
"Oh nothing. By the way, my parents work nights, so it's like the middle of the night for them right now. They should be right down in a minute. You want anything to drink or eat?" I ask opening the fridge.
"Oh is this a bad time to see them then? Should I just go wait in the truck? I'm fine thank you." He says looking really concerned.
"No it's fine. They usually like to meet my new friends." I explain. I hear footsteps coming down the staircase and soon I see my parents dressed. It's kind of talented how fast my mom can get up from a deep slumber and throw on clothes and look like she's been up all day in under a minute. I feel like I'm the only one who knows she's just woken. Dad looks a little more tired than her, but my mom is good at faking it.
"Mom, Dad, this is Gale." I say,
"Hello Gale!" My mother says smiling her beautiful smile and giving him a hug. My mother is a very loving person, she hugs a lot too. Gale smiles and says hello and then turns to my dad who is a little more stolid.
"Hello Mr. Mellark." Gale says offering his hand. My dad shakes it and gives a stern smile. "Call me Roger." My dad says. Gale smiles and nods. My dad is always a little more stern when I have friends at the house, especially male friends. He kind of treats my male friends like his daughter's friends who happen to be males, even though I'm a boy. It's a little strange, but he's just protective.
"So Gale is in a band and has invited me to go see him play tonight at the Cabana." I explain.
"Oh… A rocker" Mom says entranced. My mother was in a band when she was in high school she's said. She then starts to ask Gale about his band and gets really into the conversation. My dad on the other hand just looks worried and dour.
"That's really cool!" Gale says in response to my mother's explanation of her band when she was our age. She seems to be fine with it, but then my dad starts.
"What's the Cababa? Do you play for a punky crowd? What time does your thing start? When will you be back?"
"Oh Roger…" My mom says frowning.
"I'm sorry Roger. It's the Cabana. It's a small performance hall downtown. And I wouldn't say we play for a very punky crowd. I believe our show begins at seven and should be over at around eight. I would have Peeta home no later than eight thirty." Gale says in a very polite and intellectual tone. It doesn't sound like him at all.
"Wow. Eight thirty? That sounds pretty early for a concert. You can have him home by eleven thirty if you wan-" My mom started.
"Melissa." My dad cuts my mom off. "Where will you two be going between the time after the concert and let's say eleven?" My dad questions sternly.
"Well I honestly wasn't planning on staying with Gale after the concert." I explain looking to Gale. I don't want to impose on him.
"Well I wasn't planning on keeping him out after the concert was over either, but as a matter of fact we do have homework we need to finish. It turns our Peeta and I have nearly every class together. We could go to my house and finish it after the concert and then I could bring him home whenever you please, if that's okay with you two." Gale explains. That seems like a pretty good idea because I wanted to finish my homework and help Gale with his anyways. My mom looks like that's a great idea too, but my dad, who was leaning on the counter, stands up straight when he heard Gale mention going to his house.
"I don't know if that would be acceptable having you two alone-" My mom and I are literally giving him two death glares. I think he forgot the whole part about us not being….together. Whenever I've brought a guy to the house it's usually been a date, he probably just forgot, but still. Wow.
"Oh Roger, stop being silly. You two have fun. And 'break a leg' tonight Gale!" My mom says enthusiastically, and yet nervously.
"But-" My dad starts and is cut off again by my mother's glare.
"Fine….Peeta, a word." My dad says. Gale gives me a confused face and I am probably the same pigment that of a tomato at the moment. I give him an 'I Don't Know' look and follow my dad upstairs. We go into the office room and he shuts the door behind me.
"What kind of friend is Gale?" My dad says, not being stern at all, just worried.
"He's just a friend dad, and you really need to pay better attention when I say not to mention anything gay-related."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that. Really. I just worry having you go to a boy's house, especially late at night."
"Dad… He's not my boyfriend. We are just friends. And I've only known him for a little under ten hours." I explain.
"That's exactly my point, Peeta."
"Dad…I'm going to be eighteen in a month. I'm fine." I explain.
"I know. But I just worry about you." He says. I kind of get where he's coming from, he doesn't want to see his son get hurt. But he kind of needs to realize that I'm not his little boy anymore.
"I appreciate that, but we have to go. I'll be back by eleven." I say opening the office door. My dad just nods and I quickly make my way down the stairs to see Gale and my mother having an animated conversation about bar chords or something.
"Well. You two go have fun!" My mom says. My dad makes his way downstairs and warns us," And no drinking or drugs or se-" My mother literally almost slapped him. I almost slapped him. My mother then as quickly as he started to say 'sex' says," Goodbye!" loudly. How embarrassing is it that can't be a part of anything secret. I look over to Gale to see his cheeks a little red. Oh my god. He heard what my dad says. I literally just don't want to go now. My god.
"Goodbye Misses Mellark." Gale says and I open the front door and make my way out. Gale follows. This is going to be an embarrassing, awkward, and uncomfortable car ride…