OMG... enjoooooooooyyyyy :O

Anyway, I started college and it was awesome ;) and a bit tiresome, but it's a new stage in my life so I gotta move on! The sad thing is, I won't be updating as frequently as before. FORGIVE ME!

TWENTY-EIGHT

Marco's mother dropped various bags of Tostitos, Doritos, Lays and gravy on Marco's bed, -"Here, some snacks while I prepare dinner,"- With hands on hips, she looked at me, -"You're Jean Kirshtein, correct?"- She inquired, eyeing me. I eyed her too: she still looked like an angel and now more with the strapless white dress. It was made out of a soft fabric that reached her feet, almost touching the floor. She had a golden leash around her waist that made her breast stand out perfectly; she wasn't showing anything, but the leash made the dress tighten on her chest. Her hair was fancily tied like a donut as some curls fell down to her freckles. The little accessories she had were gold. She looked simple, but so beautiful.

I nodded nervously. The mother of the guy I almost fucked was in front of me.

She nodded back at me, -"Nice to meet you. Marco told me a lot about you."- I dunno why I found that appalling, it sent shivers down my spine. What have Marco told her? What if he told her…? That I'm the guy who is making him suffer most? Oh God.

I began trembling, -"N-nice to meet you too."

She smiled sweetly, -"We have to talk sometime,"- I didn't liked the sound of that. Walking to the door, she glanced back at us, -"If you need anything, I'll be downstairs and don't eat too much of those chips! Dinner will be ready soon!"- With that, she left.

My legs wobbled and I almost fell.

-"Well… we're done already,"- Marco spoke as he stretched his body and yawned, -"So, if you want to go…"- He said dolefully and gazed at me slightly.

I ponder about it. True, we finished early and I was starving, but the idea of staying in someone else's house any longer didn't gratify me and it's not like I wasn't welcomed, it's just… I didn't felt comfortable; deep within me though, I wanted to stay and spend some time with Marco after so long being aloof from him. Besides, he wanted me to stay; his puppy eyes could tell me that. I shrugged, -"I dunno…"- I said unsure and took out my phone.

He gasped faintly, -"But you can stay until mom finishes dinner, then you can go after you eat!"

I was about to complain, but my stomach grumbled, -"Uh…"- I blushed and looked away.

Marco snickered, -"See?"- He laughed and began pushing me somewhere, -"Come on, let's do something while we wait."

Marco began showing me all his binders with all the drawings he's done before. I stared at all of them in awe; they were all so perfect, Marco was a true artist and I loved his drawings. Then, he showed me the different stuff he bought on Hot Topic and EBay, he even gifted me five pins and a sweet Batman sticker. At first, I didn't want his offer, but he insisted, so there was no point in arguing. I really liked how he enjoyed showing me all his stuff, he looked so happy, like a child… no one ever shared anything with me like this. With him, I felt even more special, a soothing warmth girded my heart…

Marco was searching for something while I surveyed his walls. There were a lot of poems written with sharpie, some were famous poems and others were written by him. As I looked, I caught a glimpse of my name around…, -"Look, Jean, I found…"- He gasped when he saw me and quickly dashed forwards, stepping in front of the poem I was looking at, -"Ahh! H-hey… I found the action figure of Batman!"- He had his hands in front of him in an attempt to prevent me from walking forwards.

I eyed him suspiciously, raising an eyebrow, -"What's that about?"- I pointed at the poem behind him.

He caressed his blushing cheek with his finger and looked away shyly. Gosh, he looked so cute doing that, there's no point denying it anymore, -"It's, um, one of my poems, but don't read it! It's, um… embarrassing."- He smiled awkwardly.

-"It's okay,"- I answered him.

After that, his mother called us. We walked through the small hallway which had another room, probably his mother's, and a shed. Downstairs, Marco's mother was serving white rice with red beans and smoked meat. God, it smelled so good that it made my mouth water. The dining table was made of glass and had a refreshing vanilla candle in the middle, -"Bon appetite, boys,"- Marco's mother smiled at us and sat. I sat in front of her and Marco sat beside me. When we began eating, -"So tell me, Jean, what do you plan on studying?"

I always dreamed of becoming a famous athlete, but those kinds of questions set me on edge because I wasn't very clear on it and it made me realize just how close I was getting to college life, -"Well… I'd like to become a professional athlete."- I tried to sound formal, because this felt like that time when you have to meet your dyad's parents in a relationship for the first time, even if Marco and I didn't have anything… yet and I was actually nervous.

And even so, she kept asking me questions, -"Oh, I see. What sport do you practice?"

-"Soccer."- I quickly said proudly while taking a bite from the meat. So fucking delicious.

Her face lit up and I figured she loved soccer too, -"That's fantastic! You have to invite me to your tournaments!"

-"Sure."- A small laugh escaped my lips unintentionally; I must have sounded sarcastic, but apparently not because she didn't say anything.

Suddenly, I wondered what will Marco study, but it took me like five minutes before actually asking him, -"Hey Marco, what will you study?"

His face lit up just like his mom's, he was waiting for this question, -"Graphic Art!"- He said happily. I guessed it was obvious.

When we finished eating, I called dad, -"Dad? We're done."

-"Oh? So soon?"- He asked surprisingly. I could hear various car honks on the other side, -"Well, son… I'm in the middle of a stopple on a delivery in Sina City. I'll head over there as soon as I can." – His voice sounded rush and desperate.

I sighed, -"It's okay dad, don't push it."

A mass of cars honked at the same time, making it difficult for me to hear him, -"I'm sorry, son. Can you stay a little longer?"

I nodded on my side as if he was here, -"Sure, no prob."- I tried to contain the excitement.

-"Ask first, okay? See you soon."- He drooped.

When I retained my cellphone in my pocket, Marco's mom quickly went to me, -"Is everything alright?"- She asked sweetly.

I sighed, -"Dad's in a massive stopple to Sina."- Now I realized how far Sina was from here and that maybe I'd have to stay until the sun falls. A small smile was cracking up on my face and I tried to harbor it. I hoped I wasn't making funny faces.

On the other hand, she smiled widely, -"Well, you're welcome to stay here as much as you want."- She knew that I'm the only person who can make Marco smile and happy. It hit me that she was the one who helped me escape suspension from school from the fight with Frank.

I scratched my neck, -"Uh, well…"- Before I could say anything, Marco grabbed my arm and dragged me upstairs to his room again.

-"Come on!"- He exclaimed. I stumbled and almost fell on the way up. Like him, I was excited too and desperate to spend some time together with him after so long. Up in his room, -"So, what do you want to do?"- He asked me joyfully.

I shrugged and snickered, -"I dunno…,"- I scratched the back of my neck and gazed at him, my face heated up, -"It's your room, so…"

-"Let's play PS3!"- He quickly said and walked to his PlayStation.

That sent a tickling sensation through me as bliss filled me. That sounded so good and I realized now how much I liked playing videogames. Memories streamed on my mind, memories of me playing with my PS3 for long hours.

I watched felicitously as Marco plugged all the cables on their place. When he finished, he took the TV's controller and turned it on. Then, he gestured me to check all the videogames he had on the shelf. I walked and knelt in front of the shelf, eyeing the games: Elder Scrolls Skyrim and Oblivion, PlayStation All Stars, Mass Effect Trilogy, all Assassins' Creed… I figured he mostly played the roleplaying games and he didn't have as much games as I had… which I had no idea where they were, -"Do you have a multiplayer game?"

-"Yeah!"- He said joyfully and took out PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, -"This is like Smash Bros Brawl, but with Sony's characters instead of Nintendo's."- In my humble opinion, Sony's were cooler and I've never played All Stars, but I heard of it. People say it's a copy of Smash Bros; I was going to test that today.

As Marco looked for his controllers, I kept eyeing the games: Dishonored, Final Fantasy, Fallout, Fable III, InFamous… they were all games in which you had to make decisions, good or bad and that will determinate the fate of your character in the end. I didn't liked roleplaying too much, I preferred the shooting games filled with action; I do like Skyrim though.

When Marco found two controllers, we sat on the floor and leaned on his bed. I saw the introduction video, pretty sweet. Marco couldn't stop talking about all the characters and how he preferred All Stars over Smash Bros. It soothed me seeing him like this, so active and talkative instead of down and enclosed.

We began playing and I choose to be Dante from Devil May Cry because he's a fucking badass while Marco choose … Sackboy, from Little Big Planet. My competitive adrenaline went up immediately, -"Pft, Sackboy? Really, Marco? I'm gonna finish you!"

He just laughed.

In the end, he won.

My mouth gaped as I just stared at the winning screen with Sackboy dancing, -"What?"- Marco made a lot of combos with that sack of nothing; he barely even let me hit him, I only managed to eliminate him once.

-"I guess you need practice, it's your first time,"- He quickly tried to cheer me up and make me confident of myself, but I wasn't mad at him for winning; the competitive adrenaline was still there, but I wasn't going to punish Marco for winning fair and square, -"Oh! We can be a team!"

I laughed, -"Alright,"- I didn't want that, because I wanted to compete and beat him, but I wanted to please him. We went for it again; this time I was Kratos, the biggest atheist in the world from God of War and Marco choose Raiden from Metal Gear Rising, -"Nice team."- I said as we began beating the crap out of our foes. We won.

After that, Marco and I kept playing for an eternity. We laughed, cheered, jumped and played more. The world around me became unknown and the only thing that mattered was this moment, just me and Marco goofing around. I didn't want this momentum to end. All my worries vanished.

After a few more rounds, Marco decided to read, -"I'm gonna read for a while, but you can still play and I'll watch you."

-"You don't like playing?"- I asked him, wanting to play more with him, but I liked his idea.

He shrugged as he stood up, walking to another shelf with lots of book and taking out Vampire Academy, -"Gaming is not my thing, I prefer reading books and comics."- He smiled as he sat beside me again.

-"Can I play Skyrim?"- I asked, but I was already taking the game and putting it in.

He snickered, -"Of course."

I began playing and Marco watched intently, sometimes glancing at the book and reading, but he mostly observed me playing. I created my Imperial character and began. Throughout the game, he helped me and explained some things; I had faint memories about the missions and storyline, but I needed his help sometimes. I got really attached to having him beside me, I really liked him just watching me play. Little by little, I got comfortable and felt like if I was on my own house and room.

More time passed and I realized that I'm the gamer one. I was still playing while digging my hand in the bag of Doritos, -"Wow, it's like… 4 o' clock already,"- Marco said, gazing at the clock he had hung on the wall, -"Is your dad okay?"

I nodded with eyes on the screen. I was fighting a dragon, -"I dunno,"- I paused the game and took out my phone, -"Let me text him."- I licked my cheesy fingers first.

-"What about your mom?"- I clicked my tongue angrily and he noticed. Looking at me worriedly, he lent closer to me, -"Is something the matter?"

I had a scowl on my face and I tch-ed again, -"It's nothing,"- I said angrily as I worked with my phone, but when I looked at his face again, I sighed, -"My mom and I… I dunno how to explain. Let's just say we're like water and oil, we don't, you know… mix."

His eyes widened as he gasped, -"No way,"- He breathed out and squeezed my shoulders, -"You have to reconcile with her! For how long have you two been like this?"

I sighed again tiredly, -"A while now,"- I said and accidentally dropped the controller; my hands were shaking as I remembered mom's screams, -"She's like, I dunno man, bipolar or something. Sometimes she's calm, but then she's grumpy and shouting at me for nothing. I think she really hates me."

Marco gasped again and began shacking me, -"No, don't say that! She's your mother and she loves you!"- How can he say that when he doesn't even know her? Somehow, his touch on my shoulders stopped my shaking, -"You need to work things out, Jean. You never know when God will take her."

I looked away dolefully, -"I'm not sure I can just 'work things out' with her, Marco…"

-"You have to try,"- Marco's grip on my shoulders soften as he dimmed, -"Jean… I lost my father when I was thirteen; I never liked spending time with him because he was stricter than mom and now… I regret it. I live with the burden, because I know his last thoughts were of me."

Now I gasped and looked straight at him with eyes wide, -"I'm so… sorry, Marco. That's awful…"- I bit my lip and looked down. That could also explain many things… how could he live with that burden?

He squeezed my shoulder again and looked at me seriously with a shred of gloom, -"Please… don't commit the same mistake I made."

I gulped and nodded to him, -"Y-yeah… I won't."- That was an 'I'll try'. The idea was dreadful; mom dead, carrying our wrecked relation to heaven… it was frightful, but I had no idea how to reconcile with her. She was uncooperative, for God's sake! I apologized to her and what did she do? Scream at me! Besides, she's always home, so I don't think anything will happen to her. She was safer than me and dad.

After that, I had a knot on my throat and couldn't stop feeling sorry for Marco. I kept playing and hours passed. His mother checked on us here and then. Suddenly, I felt a pressure on my shoulder and when I looked, I saw Marco's head resting on it. His eyes were closed and his slow breaths brushed my neck… he was asleep. His freckles cheeks were slightly blushed and he was holding the Vampire Academy novel. I looked at him worriedly. I began to ponder about what happened to his father, but I quickly scratched it off, I couldn't just ask that.

Slowly, my heart began beating faster and my face heated up. God, he was so close, practically leaning on me. His hot breaths on my neck made me sweat. I wanted to hug him and squeeze him tight, make him feel safe… I wanted to eradicate that burden from him.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw the poem on the wall he was covering, the poem he didn't want me to read. I felt like it was calling to me, I felt like I needed to read it, like if the time to read it has arrived. Suddenly, my eyes zoomed and the words became clear:

Through this long journey

I have crossed depths and abyss

With no army

For a simple kiss

From him

I don't care about the regards I get

Either the racists or judges,

I won't fret

I will find justice

For him

For him, I'd crawl through the dirtiest sewers

For him, I'd climb to the tallest zenith

For him, I'd become a loser

For him… I'd travel to Venus

I'd do anything,

For you… Jean

And I'm still looking…

My eyes were carved on the poem, reading it like five times straight. I'm still looking, I'm still looking… repeated on my mind like a damaged CD. I slowly gazed at Marco; damn, how many times do I have to get reminded of how deep and serious his feelings were for me? Every time life reminded me, it descended into pure abysmal. Just how deeper could his feelings get?

A profound hotness burned in me as I looked at the sleeping Marco in my shoulder. One hot tear escaped one of my eyes, splashing on his cheek, -"Look what you did, freckles."- I began speaking to him while whipping off the tear. He just kept surprising me even more each day. No one ever wrote me a poem, much less a guy.

The hotness in me increased the more I thought about him, about the poem. Without realizing it, I was falling for him –if I haven't already- and the dude wasn't even trying. My heart felt like it was going to explode; was this… love? Was this how love really felt?

Marco slipped off my shoulder and fell on my lap, his head right in my crotch. I shivered and grunted as a boner quickly developed, making contact with Marco's rear head. His face was up, as if looking at me; his chest going up and down as slow breaths leaved his lips… those so attracting lips…

I looked away and bit my lips. Come on, pull it together… I said to myself as I slowly gazed at Marco. How could I stay put when the guy I was brought to like was so close and defenseless? The attraction I had towards Marco right now was overpowering, I couldn't hold it so I brought my head down slowly and opened my mouth. The closer my mouth got to his, the harder it was to breathe. My whole body heated up as the space between us became thin. I gulped… I was so close, his hot breaths warmed my face, sweat traveled down, my heart was racing… I so wanted those lips now, nothing else mattered… just him and me. This is all your fault… Marco, you freckled idiot.

But when my lips slightly brushed his, a car honk rang.

My head quickly shot up and that's when the door slammed open, -"Jean, your father's here."

I took deep breaths and gulped, running my hand through my hair, -"Uh… y-yeah,"- I looked away and avoided her gaze. When she gasped at Marco, -"I-I don't know, h-he suddenly fell asleep."- I spluttered, trying to hold down the boner.

She let out a sigh of relief and lifted him up, but that didn't make all my feelings vanish; my body actually called him, -"It's okay,"- She poked his cheek and called him, but when he didn't answer, she rested him in his bed, -"Um… are you okay?"- She asked, eyeing me.

I was having trouble standing up and it's not because of my numbed legs, -"Y-yeah! I'm fine!"

-"Well, you should get going,"- Before I could walk away reluctantly, she stopped me by the arm, -"Jean, thanks for being with us today, with him,"- She gazed at Marco and looked at me seriously, -"We need to have a serious talk sometime, alright? Don't panic, it's not bad,"- She smiled and squeezed her grip on my arm, -"Feel free to come anytime and thank you… again."

I just nodded and thanked her. Right before leaving the door, I gazed back at the sleeping Marco in the bed.

Outside it was dark and dad waited for me. I mounted the car and waved Marco's mom goodbye. My body still felt as if Marco was right in front of me, so hot; God, all this felt as if I just had sex with him, but no, I didn't even got to steal a kiss from him. I couldn't imagine sex with him.

Back at home, I quickly went to my room and began digging out a bunch of crap from my drawers until finding my PlayStation. Blowing the dust off of it, I sneezed and pasted Marco's Batman sticker on it. At the end of my wardrobe, I had a box filled with all the games I had, so I began playing them all and stayed up late. Obviously, Marco invaded my thoughts and for the first in a long time, I slept peacefully… at five of the morning.

Heh... my gamer side may have slipped a bit too much in this chap xD

Ne, ne... how was the poem? :3 I wrote it myself! This chapter was so godfully cute, wasn't it? Yeah, you're probably hating Marco's mom and Jean's father lol, but I don't wanna rush things. Do not worry, my loyal friends.. the yaoi will come... muahahha...

PEACE!