Disclaimer:
All other content or otherwise are works of my own
imagination. All events are fictitious in nature.
Any
similarities to persons living, dead, or otherwise are purely
coincidental.
This story contains strong themes of homosexual
content, if this offends you in any way, please refrain from reading
further. If you are not of legal age to read this, please leave
now.
A/N:
I'd like to thank TalonRider for editing this chapter. Thank you.
American
Differences
-By EmulatedLove
Chapter 4: Tuesday
“What are you
humming?” Asked Jamie.
I turned to look at him, “I'm
not humming.”
It was the following Tuesday just after
the weekend with our special sleepover. We were back in school and in
the middle of a maths lesson. I really hated that class. Not because
I found the work hard, but because I really hated the subject. Now
art, art was good and we had that next period.
“Sure you
were.” He replied, not looking up from his book. Unlike me,
Jamie liked maths, and science for that matter. Yeah, he's quite odd
like that.
“Was I putting you off?”
“No.
Just wondering what the tune was.”
I shrugged, “I
can't remember.”
He giggled and went back to his work.
We carried on through the lesson, mostly just answering the questions
from a textbook. Not the best thing to be doing first thing in the
morning. Usually Max would be in and keep me entertained, but he had
been off sick for the past two days with a stomach bug. But having
Jamie sit next to me wasn't the worst thing ever. He kept me
amused.
“You're humming again.”
I
recognised the tune that time. I giggled, “I kissed a
girl.”
He feigned a shocked look, “What?”
I
kept giggling, “And liked it.”
He shoved me
lightly, “Hey!”
I leaned over and whispered into
his ear, “Never. I love you.”
He glanced around
quickly before he whispered, “I love you more.” Then he
flashed his signature look.
That quickly turned me into a
blushing mess. He always found the opportunity to take advantage of
the hold he had over me.
After a while I managed to compose
myself. We chit-chatted for the rest of the lesson before we made our
way over to the art class. Out of the 10 subjects that I had this
year, Jamie was in half of them. I thought that was quite good
considering he started late in the school year, he was also lucky
that there were spaces free in the subjects that he wanted to
do.
Connor was already in the art class before we arrived so
we headed over and sat down next to him. Our teacher, Mr Webb,
rattled on for 5 minutes or so as he explained what he wanted us to
do over the next hour. He wanted us to work on shading and texture,
so we got ourselves some large pieces of paper and started to draw. I
wouldn't call myself a very good artist, but there was something that
I found appealing about drawing. It was the way you could express
yourself through images. Only that it had become harder to draw the
truth since Jamie entered my life. Today I wanted to draw a big
shaded heart with Jamie Keller written underneath it. But
somehow I didn't see that happening. I glanced across at Jamie's
page.
“What are you drawing?”
He glided a
ruler across his page, “You'll see.” Jamie usually drew
things that were closer to technical drawings, things like buildings,
cars and many other things.
I picked up a pencil and began to
draw, “You guys doing anything later, after school?”
“Not
really.” Replied Connor.
Jamie shook his head.
“You
can both come around, if you want.” I said.
They both
seemed to be pleased with that idea and went back to their drawing.
We talked for a while before the topic of rounders came up.
“It's
a cheap man's baseball.” Said Connor.
“I thought
it's almost the same.” Replied Jamie.
“I think it
is.” Said Connor.
“But we don't get those really
tight uniforms.” I added quickly, before cringing after I
realised what I said.
Jamie had a surprised expression on his
face, while Connor giggled, “What did you say?”
“Erm...”
I began.
Jamie saved the day again, “Matt's always
laughing at the uniform, says it's made to please the
ladies.”
“Uh...yeah. I do.” I said
meekly.
Connor laughed, “Maybe they are.”
We
concentrated back on our work for a couple of minutes before I got
interrupted, “Matt, could you come over here for a minute?”
Called out Mr Webb.
I nodded at him, “I'll be right back
guys.” I said, before I stood up and walked over.
He
just wanted to talk about my progress this year so far, blah, blah,
blah. And what my predicted grades were for next year. I swear this
school is more about progress reports and parent-tutor meetings than
actually teaching the students. I tried to hurry our chat along and
finally managed to get away after 10 minutes of him going on. He was
a nice enough guy, but his voice had this overpowering sense of
boredom that was strong enough to comatose you. I'm not kidding.
I
stood up and turned around to face our table when I saw Jamie sitting
there talking to no one other than Hayley Burch. What the
hell? She wasn't even in our class. And from the look of things, she
was really trying it on with an uncomfortable looking Jamie. She was
sitting on the table in front of him and leaning back, as though she
was on display. What's wrong with that girl? I couldn't hear what she
was saying because of the loudness of the room and their distance. I
started to walk over there and looked across to where Connor was
sitting, but he wasn't there. Where the hell was Connor? Jamie needed
him! But that didn't matter, I was on my way.
I walked up to
them and saw Hayley reach out with her hand, making the first move.
'Game on!' I thought to myself.
“I wouldn't let
her touch you Jamie.” They both looked up at me, “You
don't know where she's been.”
Hayley glared at me,
“What's your problem Matthew? Coming to ruin a little girls
fun?”
I couldn't help but smile at her. It was the way
she was acting, as though she was in a movie or something, all of her
lines sounded like they were rehearsed.
“I thought I
banished you long ago.” I stated defiantly, earning frowns of
confusion from both her and Jamie.
“What?” She
said.
“You heard me. Go.” I said, pointing toward
the door.
She looked back at Jamie and smiled, “You
doing anything tonight, cutie?”
I walked up behind Jamie
and faced her, “What the hell's wrong with you?”
She
rolled her eyes at me and then focused back on Jamie, “Well?”
He
was about to answer but I interrupted, “He's busy.”
She
glared at me again, “Would you, like, leave us?”
I
ignored her and looked at Connors empty seat, “Where's Connor?
What have you done to him?” I asked, keeping a straight face
and causing Jamie to snigger.
Hayley shook her head and turned
to Jamie again, “What about tomorrow?”
“He's
busy then too.” I replied before continuing, “Actually
he's always busy when you're concerned.”
She stood up
off the desk and walked toward me, her eyes narrowing on mine, “What
are you, his boyfriend?”
“What are you, his wife?”
I asked, raising my voice.
Connor came out of nowhere and
stood between us, “Hey, just calm down guys.”
She
tried to subject me to that 'killer' stare of hers. It was really
pathetic. Even a fluffy little rabbit wouldn't back down against
her.
“Is there a reason that you're in my class,
Hayley?”
I turned around to see an unhappy looking Mr
Webb standing there staring at Hayley.
“Well, Sir, I
wanted to give Jamie back his...” She began.
“Do
you have a note to leave your class?” He asked, interrupting
her, obviously not wanting to hear a lame excuse from the infamous
Hayley Burch.
I started to smile. Way to go Sir! Get the bitch
on school rules!
Hayley noticed my grin and looked back at Mr
Webb, “No Sir.”
“Then I'll see you after
school for 20 minutes.” He replied. Yeah, Mr Webb was very by
the book.
She knew that she lost and nodded. Hayley might have
been a nasty piece of work, but she knew better than to backchat a
teacher, especially Webb. I swear the guy holds the record on school
suspensions.
“What lesson did you come from, and who is
your teacher?”
“Music, with Mr Jacobs.”
“I
want you to go back to that class now. I'll check with him later that
you returned.” He paused, “Off you go.”
“Yes
Sir.” She replied before she walked out quickly, but being
careful not to slam the door behind her.
Webb turned to Jamie,
“Did she come to give you something?”
“No
Sir.”
Webb nodded and then walked back over to his desk,
taking the time to write her name on the whiteboard behind him, along
with a big 20.
Connor looked at us, “Well that was
interesting.”
“Yeah.” I replied before I sat
down next to Jamie, “That's twice I've saved you from her.”
He
shook his head, “You know that I could have handled it.”
I
nodded, “Perhaps.”
He grinned at that, “I
think you enjoy fighting her too much.”
I thought for a
moment and smiled, “Perhaps.” I repeated.
*
The rest of our art
class went by without any further incidents, but wind of our little
confrontation had made its way around the school, with me being the
victor, of course. It was raining outside during break time so we
stayed indoors and grabbed a table in the dining hall.
“Connor.
What did you do to Connor?” Said Jamie, mimicking me in his
faux British accent.
Connor laughed, “You actually said
that?”
I giggled, “Yeah, I made her sound like a
right villain.” I shot a look to Jamie which I'm sure he
understood as, 'But I'll do her some serious damage if she tries
to chat up my boyfriend again!'
“She must think
you're mad.” Said Jamie.
I smiled, “Probably, and
maybe that will make her think twice next time before trying to tempt
you.”
He shuddered, “That's just nasty.”
We
had a laugh out of that before I saw Josh wander over with Adam in
tow.
“Did you get in a fight with Hayley?” He
asked bluntly.
“Kinda.”
“Did you tell
her that she smells?”
I laughed, “No, I didn't
have enough time.”
He nodded and then scrunched up his
face, “Adam and I have are in detention today, so don't wait
around.”
“What did you do this time Josh?” I
asked. Josh had a tendency to get the odd detention. Not from being a
bad kid, but for not being quiet. He always had something to say at
usually the worst times.
“Nothing. Mrs Gibbs said she
wanted the homework in today. But she lied.”
“I
bet you didn't listen to her properly.” I replied.
He
shook his head, “It's gay.”
I always winced
whenever he said that, which was becoming increasingly common
nowadays. I've tried to explain to him what it means, but he just
quotes Mum and Dad and says that it doesn't matter, that it doesn't
offend people. Unless they're gay of course. In which case, it’s
their fault, not ours.
Josh noticed me glaring at him,
“What?”
I turned away, “Nothing, I'll see
you later at home then.”
He looked at me oddly and then
walked away with Adam. Connor stood up and announced that he wanted
some fries to eat, leaving Jamie and I alone. Jamie looked at me and
leaned closer.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah.”
I paused, “I just hate it when he says that.”
He
nodded, “I know. I try to tell Sam, but she's just the same.”
I was silent for a moment before I smiled, “If only
they knew.”
He frowned, “You're not thinking
about...you know...telling them?” He asked, seemingly
alarmed.
I shook my head, “Of course not.” I
reassured, “I'm just saying that they really have no
idea...”
“No, they don't.” He replied, as
the bell started to ring, signalling the end of our break.
“You
have music now, right?” I asked.
He nodded, “I'll
see you in English next.”
“Ok, I'll see you in a
bit.”
Jamie nodded and wandered off into the crowd of
kids as he headed toward the music department. I had history, which
was in the opposite direction. I started to walk that way and met up
with Connor who was also in my lesson.
“I was wondering
where you got to.” I said, over the noise of the crowded
corridor.
“It's the people in the canteen, they're so
slow.” He replied, before eating one of his fries.
He
offered the packet to me and shook it, “Can I tempt you?”
I
cautiously eyed the greasy critters, “No, I think I'll manage
thanks.”
*
I quite liked history.
Not as much as art, but it was amongst the top three. I'm not sure
what captivated me about the subject, as more often than not we were
studying a not-so-pleasant part of our past. Perhaps it was the way
in which we'd work to overcome those bad times, to work toward a
better future. Or the iconic people who'd help us along the way. Then
again, maybe I simply enjoyed studying the past. Today we were
working on one of our coursework pieces, so it was nothing too
difficult, just an essay. I was sitting next to Connor and noticed
him staring at me a couple of times. He usually just said what was on
his mind, but obviously had some reservations this time.
“What's
wrong?” I asked, while still writing.
He faced me,
“It's...” He paused, “Don't worry about it.”
I
looked over at our teacher who was helping someone across the room,
and then turned to Connor, “No, I'm listening.”
“Well...”
He began, “I wanted to ask you something.”
I
smiled, “What? You don't need permission Con, fire
away!”
“You've been spending quite a bit of time
with Jamie since he moved here...”
That changed the
mood. My pulse started to quicken as I nodded slowly, “Yeah...”
“And
you've been around his house a couple of times.” He continued,
looking me in the eye.
I suddenly began to feel the innate
need to be sick as alarm bells started to ring inside my head. I
tried to control myself, 'Deep breath Matt, he hasn't accused you
of anything yet.' I thought inside my head.
“W...What
are you saying?” I asked timidly.
He looked me in the
eye, “It's about his sister.”
Time seemed to stop
for a second. WHAT?!?! All that and you want to talk about SAM?
I let out a sigh of relief.
Connor continued, “Umm,
she's been like, stalking me.”
My mind was still reeling
from moments before, “Oh.” I replied while thinking,
'Stand down, It was a false alarm.'
“Yeah, she's been
emailing me, texting me. I can't get her to stop.” He gave me a
sideways glance, “Are you ok?”
I managed to gain
control of my body again, “Yeah, erm...You haven't said
anything about it before.”
“I didn't want Jamie to
think I was hitting on her.”
“I see.”
“What
should I do?”
“Do you want me to talk to Jamie? I
mean I'm seeing him next, so...”
Connor shook his head,
“No, I don't want him to think I'm too scared or anything. I'll
do it.”
I laughed, “He won't think that, he's a
cool guy.” I replied smiling, “Anyway, what's wrong with
Sam, don't you like her?” I asked, I mean he had to like her
physically as she was very similar in looks to Jamie, and he's a
stunner. She also seemed to be a very nice person from the few times
I've spoken to her.
“She's alright but, uh, a little
too...dominant.”
I laughed again, earning some stares,
“Too dominant?”
He blushed, “Yeah.
Kinda.”
I grinned and leaned in toward him, “And
you want to be the dominant one in a relationship, right?”
His
eyes widened at that before he shoved me lightly, “Hey!”
*
Jamie started to giggle,
“Too dominant?”
I giggled, “Really that's
what he said.”
He calmed down, “We are talking
about my Sam?”
“Uh
huh.”
He giggled again. Quite a few people were chatting
in our English class, so we didn't stand out.
“He told
me not to tell you but...” I said.
He shook his head,
“I'll talk to her.”
“Thanks.” I
replied before I started to smile to myself.
“What?”
“I
was just thinking it's ironic at how Sam is dominant and
you're...not.”
He raised his eyebrows, “What? Oh
please, you like it with...”
I widened my eyes at him,
as if to remind him about where we were.
He leaned closer, “I
was going to say, 'with me in charge'.”
“Is
that so blondie?”
He nodded, “Yeah.”
I
reached over, grabbed his paper, and began to read, “I'm just
checking your English.”
He grabbed mine, “My
English is perfect, thank you.” He replied in his British
accent, causing me to smile. He was still terrible at that.
I
read it for a minute before I shook my head, “What English?
This is written in American.” I replied jokingly while handing
it back to him, “I can't understand that!”
He
handed mine back, “What do you call this then? Shakespeare?”
I
pointed to my essay, “This, my dear American friend, is gold,
pure gold.”
“Sure.”
*
With four out of the
five lessons out of the way, it was time for lunch. The weather had
cleared up some, so as soon as Connor had grabbed some food, we
headed outside.
“See, I knew you wouldn't last long
before you brought your own lunch in.” I said to Jamie.
Actually he had been bringing in his own lunch since his second
day.
“Yeah, I'm not touching that nasty stuff ever
again!” He replied, pointing to the burger that Connor was
eating.
“It's not that bad. You shouldn't buy into
Matt's crap.” Said Connor.
“I know what a burger
should taste like, and that is not even close.” Said
Jamie.
“Exactly.” I replied.
Even though
the sun was now shining brightly, the grass was still quite wet, so
any football was out of the question. Instead of just walking around,
we sat down on one of the benches outside to eat our lunch.
Connor
eventually confronted Jamie about his 'problem' with Sam. Jamie,
being the bestest boyfriend ever, didn't tell Connor that I
had told him about it earlier. But his response was exactly the same,
he said that he’d speak to her. Of course, we all got another
laugh at Connors expense when he brought up the reason why he didn't
like her that way. And with that aside, we went on to talk about the
football match we were going to in two weeks time.
“I've
done my research.” Said Jamie, “Chelsea is quite
good.”
Connor frowned, “What do you mean, 'quite
good'? They're the best.”
“I thought they were
second.” He replied. I smiled, he was right, they were second
in the league.
Connor waved a hand, “Just you wait and
see.”
“Hey, Matt!”
I turned around to
see Dean Miller and a couple of the guys from his form walking over.
I'd known Dean all the way back since primary school. He's always
been quite a nice, laid back guy and was also Captain of the football
team. I wasn't part of the team, but both Connor and Max were. Looks
wise, he was ok. About average. But his real talent was for football.
I'd seen him play at some of the games, it was though he had the ball
on a string, he had complete control over it.
“Hey Dean,
How's things?”
“All good, you?”
“I'm
fine.” I looked at the two guys standing next to him, one of
them was the cute Ayo Spicer. Ayo had a really sexy caramel skin tone
and hazel eyes. And while he was mixed race, with his mum being
Nigerian and his dad being English, he had this odd oriental look
about him. Yeah, Ayo definitely had the word cute nailed down. In
fact I'd go as far to say he was the only other boy in my year who'd
give Jamie a run for his money in the looks department. Call me
biased, but Jamie would always come out on top. With his looks aside,
Ayo was also quite a cool guy and like Dean, he was also from my
primary school.
The other guy was Jon Hacker. Jon was also
quite new to the school as he joined about a year ago. It was
immediately clear that sports were his thing as he was good at
anything that you could do physically. But other than that, he was
kind of quiet, not shy, but not as loud as most people. That sent my
gaydar spinning in circles at first, but then he became quite popular
with the ladies, and my doubts were silenced. Jon was slightly
shorter than I was and of a smaller build. He had sand coloured hair
and green/blue eyes. So overall he was quite good looking, but just
nowhere near Jamie's standard.
“Ayo, John.” I
nodded.
They nodded in return as Dean started to smile, “I
heard about you and crazy bitch.” Like me, Dean also shared the
dislike toward Hayley.
Connor grinned, “Then you guys
better take a seat. It's time for a story.”
*
I had just finished the
story to Dean and the guys. They were quite pleased with what I had
done.
Dean reached out with his hand and gave me a high five,
“Nice one!”
“Yeah, I hate how she thinks
that she controls every guy.” Said Jon
“I wasn't
going to let Jamie fall victim to her.” I replied while winking
at Jamie.
Dean turned to us, “Anyway, the reason I came
over here was to see if you guys wanted to come around mine tomorrow
after school. It's my older brother's birthday so he's having a
party, but I'm allowed to bring some of my friends along.”
Deans brother was in our sixth form. I've never really spoken to him,
but he seems like a decent guy.
I glanced at Jamie who seemed
quite interested, “Sure, I'll come.”
“Me
too.” Replied Jamie.
“And me.” Added
Connor.
Dean smiled, “Great! These two are coming.”
Ayo
swatted his arm, “These two have names!”
Dean
pulled a face at him before he turned to me, “Erm, what about
Max? Do you think he'll be well enough?”
“You know
him, he'll never turn down a party. Even if he's dying.” I
replied.
“Just tell him that he's invited. It'll start
around 5-ish, cos it's a school night.” Said Dean.
I
nodded in agreement and looked across at Jamie. Yeah, I think a night
out will be fun.
*
“You suck at
this!” I said as I pointed toward the Playstation. We were back
at my home after school. Connor could only stay a little while as he
had to get back home, but Jamie managed to hang back a little
longer.
He shook his head, “You're just a cheat!”
He replied before he leaned over and kissed my cheek.
I faced
him, “Hehehe, what was that for?”
“Do I need
a reason?”
I leaned over and kissed him, “No.”
He
giggled at my clumsiness as I kissed him lightly over his cheek.
I
stopped for a moment and stared into his eyes. I may have been an
atheist, but at that moment I was thanking every higher power for
bringing Jamie into my life. He just made everything perfect.
I
shifted myself closer and placed my hand in his soft hair, pulling
his head toward mine, “I love you Jamie.”
“I
love you too Matt.”
Thank
you for reading Chapter 4 of American Differences.
Any
comments and constructive criticisms are greatly appreciated.
I
respond to every email, so feel free to send me a message, even
if
it's just to say, “Hello!”
E-mail me at:
emulatedlove[at]gmail.com
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Thanks
Again!
EmulatedLove
Copyright © 2009 By EmulatedLove