Rating: 'K+', will be 'T' for some chapters.
Pairings: Hero's Cuties Yaoi (FelixX'MALE!'Calhoun)
Disclaimer: I do NOT own anything/one that you guys might and or do recognize. I cannot stress that enough.
Chapter 3: Saturday at Tapper's
Ralph quirked an eyebrow as he saw Felix getting ready to go somewhere. He was wearing normal clothes, but his 'nicer' normal clothes. "Goin' somewhere?" He question startled Felix making him drop his truck keys in surprise. "Ralph?" Felix squeaked. Then stuttered, "U-uh...yes. Actually, I h-have plans with someone to g-go to Tapper's..."
"Really? Who?" Ralph's teasing grin never faltered. Felix only glared at him while crossing his arms. "Why do you need to concern yourself?"
Sighing, annoyed at his younger brothers comeback, Ralph looked at Felix with a look that said to just tell him already. Felix also sighed and unfolded his arms. "Do you remember the little girl named Millie Calhoun that I told you about? Vanellope's new best friend? Well I found out that...Thomas Calhoun...from High School is her father. He asked if I wanted to hang out sometime so I suggested Tapper's would be fine and it's Saturday."
"Wait, wait, wait...Thomas Calhoun? The one who bullied you all throughout High School?"
Felix, very hesitantly, nodded at his older brother's question. Cringing at Ralph's tone. Ralph looked like he was about to explode. "FELIX!? WHAT THE HELL!? I THOUGHT THAT YOU HATED HIM!" He exclaimed. Felix tried shushing him because Vanellope was home. Ralph stopped for a minute before realizing and remembering that his daughter was only in the living room. "Felix, think about what you're doing." He added in a lighter tone before leaving to go join Vanellope on the couch. She was watching what he remembered to be Spongebob Squarepants and he didn't mind.
"I'll be back later." Was all Felix said to Ralph as he picked up his keys and walked out of the house.
As Felix got into the drivers seat of his truck, he thought about what Ralph had said only moments ago. "Felix, think about what you're doing." What did Ralph exactly mean by that? "Think about what you're doing."
The words kept on replaying themselves in Felix's head. Hands gripping the steering wheel, Felix remembered when he told Thomas that he was gay.
*Eighth Grade 2002-2003*
"So Felix, you have a crush on anyone in school? I don't. I'm just asking..."
Felix rolled his eyes. "No. I don't either. But...if I tell you something, do you PROMISE to keep it a secret? Because if anyone, and I mean ANYone finds out...then my life'll be over."
Nodding, Thomas leaned forward towards Felix on Felix's bed. Sighing, Felix cleared his throat and cursed himself as his secret came out in a fluster of letters and words. "I'm gay!"
Well then...
After hearing that, Thomas's blue eyes widened. "Does your dad know?" Was his first question. Felix nodded. "He's known. So has Ralph. I didn't want to ruin our friendship by having you be disgusted by me so that's why I really didn't want to tell you yet. I mean, yeah I was going to tell you, but I wasn't sure when I would. But now seemed like a good time. Well, to me it did..."
The shock on Thomas's features was almost as noticeable as Felix's flushed cheeks. Good thing Thomas's shock didn't last all to long. "Felix, I wouldn't have ended the friendship if you would've just told me sooner! Why would you think I would?" His voice had a very unbelieving tone. Felix felt instantly ashamed of hiding something like that from his best friend. At least Thomas knew now. Which was better than not knowing...right?
"I'm sorry..."
Thomas chuckled and shoved Felix playfully in the arm. "Don't be. And I promise that I will NOT tell anyone your secret. Okay?"
Felix smiled. "Okay..."
Pulling into a parking spot next to what he recognized as Thomas's car, Felix turned the engine off. He then shoved his keys into his pocket, opened the car door, and met Thomas at the entrance. "Hey Fix-it." Thomas had used an older nickname that he gave Felix back when they were in the fourth grade, due to Felix always having the need to repair and fix anything that was broken. Even if the item had the smallest, most unnoticeable crack in it, Felix always had the huge urge to fix it.
Felix smiled and nodded towards the other standing at the entrance. "Thomas. Nice to see you."
"You too, Felix." Thomas said with a slightly bigger smile than Felix's. He and Felix walked inside and sat at in the two empty stools that hid in the corner. "Hey Tapper!" Felix called. The bartender, who obviously owned the bar due to having the same nickname, walked over to the two. "Hiya Felix. And...wait a second, Thomas Calhoun? Is that you?"
Thomas chuckled a little. "Yup. I moved back to town not to long ago with my daughter."
Tapper raised an eyebrow. "Daughter? Well, well, well. I never thought that I'd see the day when you of all people would actually settle down." Laughing, Thomas shook his head at the barkeeps assumption. "I'm not married. The 'woman' I was with didn't want to help raise Millie-my daughter-so she left and never came back. But hey, being a single parent isn't all that bad."
The three shared a laugh before Tapper went to go get them some drinks.
When he returned, he handed the two their drinks and walked over to help some other costumers."So Felix, how's being a teacher working out for you?" Thomas asked as he leaned back against the counter with his elbows propping him up right. Felix sat straight forward and looked over at Thomas. "It's great, actually. I really think that I found my calling when I decided to go into teaching after High School. Definitely not a bad choice, if I must say so myself."
Thomas nodded and took a sip of his drink. "That's good. I'm glad things worked out for you." Waiting for a moment, Felix also took a quick sip of his drink. "How about you? I mean, what do you do for a living?"
The question made Thomas snort. "What do I do for a living? My living is trying to keep a roof over my daughters head and clean clothes on her back." He then got a lot more serious. "Right after High School, I thought that I was all mister big and bad that I let my own, more responsible priorities get out of hand and my life went spinning out of control. Dad kicked me out when I turned nineteen because I was lazy. I decided to move in with my girlfriend Beth at the time thinking that it was a good idea. Ha! Worst idea ever. She got pregnant and I was actually the one who suggested that we put the baby up for adoption when it was born. But when Millie was born, Beth didn't want anything to do with her and left me. Millie became my entire world. I tried getting jobs but couldn't keep them for unknown reasons. We jumped from apartment to apartment. Never had anything we needed. Hell, Mil and I moved into three different apartments this year before this one. I wanted to move back to town so here I am."
Felix let Thomas's story sink in for a few minutes before he shook his head. "No one should have to live like that."
"I know. But like I said, I was stupid and look where it got me and Millie. Poor little things gonna grow up just like I did probably. Turn on Vanellope in High School, Get kicked out of the house when she's young, get pregnant. I hate thinking like that but I know it's true. Unless she's smart enough not to follow in daddy's footsteps."
Nodding, Felix offered Thomas a small smile. "I don't think that'll happen. She's way to smart to be stupid like that. Don't worry, Tom. I'm sure that Millie will be fine. She's a great kid with a big heart."
Thomas scoffed. "And a horrible father who can't even buy her what she wants." He added. Felix sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I know you may think that. But you're not a bad dad. And I'm sure that Millie knows that just as much as anyone else does. Even me. And I think that you already are an amazing dad. I could just tell by the way she is in school. She doesn't talk much because she learned at a young age that having friends isn't everything and how not to let anyone or thing stand in her way."
Thomas glanced over at Felix and slowly returned the other man's smile ten fold.
He then looked confused. "Why're you being so nice to me Felix? After the shit I put you through in High School, after all of the name calling, insults, making fun of you, you somehow found a way to be nice to me. Why is that?"
Shrugging, Felix took another sip of his drink before placing the empty glass next to Thomas's on the counter. "Because, sometimes, you just need to forgive the people who hurt you the most. And even though the pure heck I went through in High School, I feel that I learned from most of it. Like how, even though they hurt, all of the insults and name calling were just words coming out of people's mouths. And I eventually gained friends. A lot who except me for who I am even if I am 'different'."
This whole conversation made Thomas feel like the biggest ass that ever lived. He felt awful about what he had done to Felix. And now Felix was forgiving him? Thomas knew that the last thing that he needed from Felix was to be forgiven.
Their conversation, or rather conversations, went on for another hour or two. Different subjects popping out of nowhere. Both to caught up in the odd topics that found their way onto the table. But to interested to actually care. Little did they know how fast the time had flown by. It was almost ten thirty and Thomas had a daughter, who he had left with his father, to get back to and Felix looked nearly exhausted. But they kept on talking like they hadn't a care in the world.
Finishing up another drink, the two got up from their spot and payed Tapper before leaving the bar. They weren't buzzed or anything, only tired. Felix walked Thomas to his car, both standing there in very comfortable silence which was eventually broken by Felix. "So, this was nice. What do you think?" Nodding slowly, Thomas leaned up against the driver side door to his car. "Yeah. It was..."
Felix cleared his throat after a minute. "Well, I'd best be going then...I guess..."
Thomas sighed. "Yeah...but, I wouldn't mind hanging out again. What about you?" The question put a small grin on Felix's face. "I'd like that a lot. How about Friday? There's no school and Vanellope's having her birthday party. I know she's gonna invite Millie first so what do you say? And besides, Ralph and I'll be the only adults there."
"Sounds like fun. See you then, Fix-It."
"You too. Night Tom."
"Night Felix..." Thomas said slowly as he got into his car and backed out of the parking space. Felix sighed and walked back over to his truck which he started and drove home himself. He then remembered what Ralph had told him shortly before he left.
"Felix, think about what you're doing."
"Felix, think about what you're doing."
"Felix, think about what you're doing."
The words replayed in his head over and over again. Felix sighed inwardly and tried to focus on the road. But he just couldn't help but wonder about what Thomas was doing and why he really wanted to spend time with him. Part of Felix wanted to believe that Thomas was being one hundred percent faithful. But then there was that little bit of him that wondered if Thomas was just doing all of this to humiliate him again.
Felix shook his head. Of course he knew Thomas was being truthful with him. He just couldn't understand why he was letting his awful thoughts get the best of him. It was absolutely awful.
So this chapter was kind of short. But the next will be longer. I hope that I don't get lazy, though. Anyway, if I made any grammatical errors in here then please let me know. Thank you for reading and feel free to leave a review/PM if you want.