Ever After

 

 

Disclaimer: This is a story about gay people...if you can't read it or

Don't like gay people, leave. Go...bye. But if you like it, read it and

Write to me.

Julie: Is it really where we've been? I try to focus on where we're going. The journey started because it was...

Davis:...never meant to be travelled alone. We travel together but never apart.

Hannah: We love together and never apart. We walked alone and when we finished we figure out we were never alone.

"Peter, you're going to be fine." I said, standing in the mirror.

"But what if..." Peter said, laying on my bed.

"You can't live your life on what ifs!" I smiled.

"I'm in glee club."

"Oh God, they call it that again?" I asked, looking to him.

"Well, yeah."

"Okay, let's not call it glee club, that's only cute on tv." I frowned, "And who cares? They don't have to sleep with you, right?"

"That's the problem, no one sleeps with me!" He sighed, putting his head in the pillows.

I chuckled.

"It's not funny." Peter said under the cover.

"People who hide under pillows should lose their virginity." I frowned, walking over and sitting on the bed, "And I didn't lose my virginity until I was way older."

Peter peeked out, "Is that supposed to be comforting?" he asked.

I smiled and stood, "You have the pitbull named Hope on your side." I said.

"I'm not some invalid. I just...I guess I need a friend." Peter said.

"You've got us." I smiled, "You've just got the jitters. You know, the whole return to high school blues. You'll be fine."

"Fine." Peter said, "But if I die..."

"Promise me something."

"What?" He asked, walking to the door.

"Draw me something seriously kick ass." I smiled, watching him leave. I walked over to the mirror and made sure I looked alright.

"You're so conceited." Hope said, standing at the door.

"Beat it, brat."

"Fine, but Eric wanted me to tell you that..."

"That's all fine and well, but I've got a date." I smiled.

"Right, well, Eric wants you to know that he's taking Mom to the court house." Hope said.

"Hope, go to school." I said, "And look out for Peter. He might be mini-me, but even I wasn't out at that age."

"He's my friend, not yours...remember." Hope said, leaving.

I nodded and sat down at the computer and switched it on. I smiled as Marco's face came into my view. He was so gorgeous and he'd shaved and cut his hair. He looked so good.

"Hey baby." Marco smiled.

"Hello gorgeous." I smiled.

Chapter 51: Hargrove Hunters

Kendall and Christina sat in a booth. Neither was particularly talkative. Kendall fidgeted with straws while Christina looked around. The trip was exceptional and they had gone to Florida. It was a long drive. It was the most fun trip they'd taken. The drive back was good until...

"Nobody can know." Christina said out of nowhere.

Kendall stared at her.

"I'm serious, we can't tell anyone." Christina frowned.

"You think I want to tell anyone?" Kendall said angrily, "You should be used to stuff like this."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Christina asked.

Kendall sighed, "Nothing. Nothing, Chris." She said.

"Seriously, if you tell anyone or let on that something is wrong, I'm going to kick your ass." Christina said angrily.

Kendall chuckled angrily.

Hannah and I walked in and sat down at the table. Hannah sat by Kendall and I sat by Christina. I was all smiles as was Hannah.

"You're awfully happy." Kendall half smiled.

"Yeah, I am." I smiled, "Are you okay?"

Christina and Kendall exchanged looks.

"Of course." Kendall said, looking away.

I was about to persist.

"So, you and Marco been sexting?" Christina asked.

"Ewww, that's my brother!" Hannah said with disgust.

I chuckled.

"You dirty bitch!" Christina laughed, "Can I see the pictures? I've always wanted to see his junk."

Hannah shivered.

"Maybe later." I smiled, "We had a date earlier."

Kendall and Christina exchanged confused looks.

"You went to rehab for a quickie?" Kendall asked.

"No! Computer." Hannah said quickly.

"That's very cute...and it totally only works for you and him." Christina said.

"What about your boyfriend?" I asked.

"I haven't talked to him in a few days." Christina said.

Kendall turned to Hannah, "Little miss disgusted, how about your marriage." She asked.

"There's something I have to tell all of you." Hannah said. She paused.

"The bitch is glowing." Christina said.

"How'd you know?" Hannah asked.

"What's going on?" Kendall asked.

"I'm pregnant." Hannah beamed.

"Are you and Harry even supposed to be having sex?" Kendall asked.

"I don't think that's an issue." I said, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise...like it was to me." Hannah said.

"You have told your husband...right?" Christina asked.

"This time I actually know who the father of my baby is, so yes, I told him." Hannah chuckled.

"Is that why you invited us all here?" I asked.

"Yes. And actually...my mom and dad want to give us a wedding." Hannah said.

"A wedding? Another wedding?" I asked.

"Yeah, a real wedding. In a few months." Hannah said.

"You're going to plan a wedding, work, be pregnant, and go to school?" I asked, "In a few months?"

"Harry's going to help..."

"Guys aren't good at this sort of thing." Kendall said.

"Which is precisely why I'm asking for you bitches help." Hannah smiled.

We all exchanged looks.

"Oh, come on! I'm going to be emotional, pregnant girl and I just want a really nice wedding. His parents are helping pay because they want it to be nice too." Hannah said.

"I'm a guy and not good at wedding prep." I said.

"Then help plan the honeymoon." Hannah said quickly.

"Exactly how are your parents and Harry's going to swing all this?" Christina asked.

"Oz's parents. They were thankful that we dropped the charges and they wanted to do something special for us." Hannah explained.

"So, the whole reason for the wedding is the honeymoon?" I asked.

Hannah nodded.

"You skank!" Christina chuckled.

"It's a free trip." Hannah said, "And this wedding has the potential to be so..."

"Romantic?" I asked.

"Sweet?" Kendall asked.

"Sensual?" Christina asked.

We all looked at Christina, amused.

"Hey, I'm a re-virgin, not an idiot." Christina said thoughtfully.

"Awww, do you think about your wedding?" I asked.

"We all know I'm not the marrying type." Christina said.

I looked at the clock on my phone, "I've got to go." I said, standing.

"You just got here!" Kendall said.

"I know and I'll explain later." I said, leaving.

"He's got a mini-me." Hannah said.

"Splainy?" Kendall asked.

-           

I walked across the campus of Hargrove High, trying to remember my way. Even though it was only a few years, it felt like a lifetime ago. I kind of missed this hell-hole. I grew so much here. College wasn't the same. It was big and impersonal. Hargrove High was pretty personal and relatively small. I also missed the friends I had made while attending Hargrove High. I also lost a lot of friends, but...I can't rehash. I made my way to the cafeteria and found Peter sitting with Hope. I smiled and crept over to them. I sat down beside Hope.

"Holy be...crap!" Hope jumped, "What...are you doing here?!"

"I came to see how school was going." I said, noticing that Peter was looking off. I looked to where he was looking to see a really cute guy was sitting. He looked like the deaf guy on Switched At Birth, "Who's the kid that looks like the kid from Sandlot 2?"

"Totally does look like Sean Berdy, right? How uncanny?" Hope said, "That's Josh Torrey."

"He's hella cute." I smiled.

Peter looked at me angrily.

"Chill. He's way too young." I said, "How old is he?"

Hope and Peter looked at me quickly.

I chuckled nervously, "Joke." I said looking back at him. He was signing, "He's deaf too?" I asked.

"Yeah." Peter said dreamily.

I then noticed that Hope was looking over her shoulder and I looked too. I could have sworn Austin Butler was walking down the aisle.

"What is this, ABC Family?" I asked.

"That's Rocco `Rocky' Wells." Peter said, "Alpha jock."

"Shut up." Hope said, still looking at him.

"Wells? As in Brad Wells' younger brother? I forgot about all the hormones." I said turning to Peter, "Lemme guess, he's a bully."

"But such a cute bully!" Hope smiled.

As Rocky was walking by, he smiled at Hope, "Hey, Hope." Then he turned to Peter, "What's up, Peter, Peter Peter eater."

Hope and I looked to Peter, who looked hurt.

I chuckled and stood, "What'd you say?" I asked.

"Where'd the old guy come from?" Rocco asked.

"Did he just call me old? I'm only twenty-one!" I frowned, "You must be Brad's brother. He was a dick too."

"Dude, did you just call my brother a dick?" He said defensively, "Hold on, you're Adaen Lawerence, aren't you? You're king of the gay dudes."

"You have no idea." I frowned, "What'd you just call my friend?"

"Don't." Peter said softly.

"Listen to your boyfriend." Rocco smirked.

I smiled and looked away, "You should stop talking." I frowned at him.

"Or what? You going to hit me?" Rocco asked.

"No, I'm going to let you in on a little secret. You probably want to sleep with him but you have no guts. People who pick on other people because of their sexuality are usually doing so because they're trying to cover up their own sexuality." I said, "Next time you feel like picking on someone smaller than you, remember that he knows someone older than you...but not old, cause I'm not old."

Rocco looked angry, "Just because you and your friend like getting fucked in your asses, doesn't mean everyone else wants to, too." He said.

Peter, looked embarrassed and ran out of the cafeteria with Hope right behind him.

"Pete!" I shouted. I turned back to Rocco, "Just when I was starting to miss high school...I really don't miss homophobes. I've come up against many of them who after they taunted me mercilessly through high school turned out to want to screw me. So, until you figure it out, screw you." I said, leaving the cafeteria. I walked into the school building and to the lockers and found Hope comforting Peter.

"Dude, why'd you have to say anything?" Peter asked, in tears.

"I'm sorry, it made me go back..."

"This isn't about you! You don't have to come back here and go to school here!" Peter said, "You're supposed to help and you're ruining everything."

"Look, kid, I didn't ask you to help me, it was the other way around. And I'm not just going to watch another generation of Wells tease me."

"I'm not you!" Peter said.

I nodded, "You know what, you are. I had the same thoughts, that if I didn't rock the boat, things couldn't get worse. All that It Gets Better stuff is bullshit! You have to change things. I may have been wrong but I'm not going to apologize for sticking up for you or Hope or anybody that needs it." I said, turning and walking away.

-           

"So, I wasn't wrong, was I?" I asked.

Marco and I were on Skype and he was between seminars or whatever. I needed reassurance.

"No!" Marco said, "You were just defending him."

"Can you believe there's another generation of Brad running around?" I asked.

"Yeah, he was a jerk." Marco said, "He doesn't even hang out with Davis anymore."

"Have you talked to him?" I asked.

"Yeah, he actually called." Marco said, "He's trying to be a good brother."

"He's trying to be a brother now?" I asked.

Marco chuckled.

"Hey, wanna see some nip?" I asked.

"Are we pretending you're a girl?" Marco asked.

"I just wanted to know...there could be more." I said.

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine." Marco smiled.

I smiled and we both fumbled with our belts.

"Hey...oh." Eric said at the door.

I sighed and looked to him, "Something you need bro?" I asked.

"Hey, Marco." Eric waved.

"Hey."

"Again, something you need?" I asked.

"Somebody is here to see you." Eric said.

"Since when do you get the door again?" I asked, "And are you shaved?"

"Yeah, and I'm headed to the club...go me!" He said, leaving.

I turned to the computer screen, "Looks like I'm needed. I love you, Mark-man." I smiled.

"I love you too, Kool-Aed." Marco said.

I turned off the camera and looked back to the door to see Davis standing there.

"I know you don't want to see me..."

"Right."

"But I had to see you." Davis said, "We haven't talked in months. I think we need to talk."

"We've talked." I said, "And I don't have anything to say."

"I'm leaving...my ankle is better." Davis said happily, "I can't leave with you hating me."

"I don't." I said quickly.

"You don't? Then why haven't we talked in months?" Davis asked.

"Because I'm hurt." I said, "You knew they were trying to hurt me and you did nothing. You said nothing. You let them hurt me."

"If I could go on an I'm Sorry tour, I would." Davis frowned, "I love you."

"I've heard that before. This time I don't believe it." I said, folding my arms.

"I know you're with Marco and I respect that. But I'm always going to love you." Davis said.

"You'll find the perfect groupie and I'll be an afterthought." I smiled.

"You will never be an afterthought for me." Davis said, "Look, you don't have to forgive me now. I know that's too much to ask, but I can't leave unless I know you're going to think about it."

I nodded, "I'll think about it. We're never going to be like we were..." I said.

He looked hurt.

"But we can build an actual friendship." I smiled.

"Thank you." Davis said, "Can I have a hug?"

"NO!" I chuckled.

"Come on!" Davis said, bear hugging me.

"Get out." I smiled, "And be safe."

Davis nodded and left. I went back to the computer to see that Marco had signed off and I groaned. There was a knock on the door and I turned to see Hope.

"You came to say that I was wrong about today?" I asked.

"No. I came to thank you." Hope said.

"Angsty, sullen teenager say what?"

"You did a good thing but neither one of us can always stand up for him." Hope said.

"You're telling me I did good?" I smirked.

"Okay, can we move on from that?" Hope said, "He left school early and I'm worried about him."

I nodded, "I'll check it out." I said.

"I'm coming." Hope said.

"Fine." I said, grabbing my keys.

-           

I stood at the door, knocking. His house was nice. Not so much big, but I hadn't always lived in a two story myself. It was really nice outside with the shrubbery and such. The house itself had green siding and a bay window in front with a nook. Hope was nervously standing by. The door opened to a woman who looked like a woman Peter. She was beautiful, aging but beautiful. She surveyed me and her gaze landed on Hope.

She put her hand on her hip, "Can I help you?" she asked.

"Is this Peter's house?" I asked.

"No, this is my house." She said, "I'm Peter's mother. You must be the guy who's been telling my son that his homosexuality is alright."

I smiled, "That'd be me." I said, "My friends just call me Adaen."

"What do you get out of telling my son that being gay is alright? Doesn't he have enough problems?" His mother asked.

"Yeah, and it seems like you're one of them." I said quickly.

"Ad..." Hope said cautiously.

"You better get some sense." His mother said.

"Mrs. Winters..."

"Ms. Nikka Johnson." She said.

"Ms. Johnson, your son is having problems." I frowned, "This is serious. Do you love your son?"

"How dare you come here and question my love for my son?" She said angrily.

"Because he's suffering with something that is beyond his control and you're telling him to change something he can't help!" I said angrily, "You're losing him. Do you know that at school, people pick on him."

"I'd imagine." She said.

"And you see nothing wrong with that?" I asked.

"Everyone picks on the gay kid."

"But this is your son." Hope said quickly.

"And if you love him as much as you say, you're going to accept him." I said.

"How do I accept that my son sleeps with boys?" Nikka asked.

"First of all, you don't have to sleep with him. Second of all, he's a virgin." I frowned, "He doesn't even stick up for himself and now that I've met you, I know why."

Nikka stared at me angrily.

"I'm sure you're not a bad mother..."

"I'm the only thing he has." She said fiercely.

"Wrong." Hope said, "He has us."

"He's gay. And if you want to keep him, you're going to have to support and accept him." I said, "Do you know what kind of stress this causes? Depression and all sorts of things."

"How can I help him if I don't understand?" Nikka asked.

"He is your son! You have known him since he was born." I said seriously, "Do you honestly think he's a bad person or sick?"

"You're a counselor at his school?" Nikka asked.

"We're friends." Hope said.

"I was him." I said, "I'm what he could be."

"Is that supposed to be a good thing?" Nikka smiled.

"Sometimes." I chuckled.

"Come in." Nikka said.

Hope nodded and headed to the back room. I walked over and sat on the couch.

"I'm not saying that...I don't know if being gay is a sin. I honestly don't. I'm just saying that maybe it's not." I explained, "I never felt like anything bad, not until was outed."

"Is that what happened to Peter?" Nikka asked.

"No. And Yes. Kids can be cruel, ya know. Especially when you're different." I said, "He has friends."

"He's always been smart and good at making friends and...I want my baby to be normal." Nikka said, putting her head into her hands.

I walked over and put a hand on her shoulder, "Let's face it, the kid's not normal." I said, "He's extraordinary."

Nikka chuckled through tears.

Hope ran back into the room, "Adaen, Peter tried to kill himself!" she said, sprinting to the back.

Nikka and I both bolted to his room, right behind Hope. I told Nikka, who was crying, to call the police. I leaned down to see if he was breathing and nothing was coming out. He had taken pills. I told Hope to push down on his chest when I said so and began to breathe into his mouth. Hope pushed down as I told her to. We repeated this twice before he coughed. I looked to Hope, who looked very shaken and hugged her close, telling her he'd be alright.

-           

I stood with Mom and Eric. I was horrified. This was the kind of stuff you saw on the news and in movies. The doctors were pumping Peter's stomach and I cursed myself, wondering why I didn't go over there sooner. Nikka was inconsolable but my mother was trying her hardest to comfort her.

"I don't know how this could happen...I was so wrong." Nikka said, looking to me, "You were right."

"I don't feel very right." I frowned.

"It's not your fault." Eric said.

"It's mine." Nikka said, "I just...was so sure I was right."

"I freaked out when I learned about Adaen, only he couldn't see it." Mom said, "It felt like all my dreams for him were...gone."

"Thanks?" I asked.

"He's right, that's really harsh." Hope said.

"But I realized that all I wanted was for him to be happy and there was no way he would be without my support. I had to look at different dreams. I had to realize that other dreams can still come true. Babies, marriages, and success." Mom smiled.

"Awww." Eric smiled.

"Of course I had a lot of time to think about him being gay cause it wasn't quite the shock," Mom said, "I mean, I did catch him in my sister's heels. And he was gay-like as a child. And..."

"Okay!" I said nervously, "We get it."

"I can't believe he'd do something like this." Hope said, "I know he was so embarrassed today, but..."

"I just want my baby to be okay." Nikka said.

"He will be." I said, turning to leave.

"Where you going, bro?" Eric asked.

"To make sure that none of this happens again." I said, leaving.

-           

Marco: I walked past face after face, wondering which face I was supposed to notice and if I could, in fact, live with seeing it...

"Jennifer, he doesn't know. He's stupid, all he's concerned with is this divorce and with my pregnancy." Janet said into the phone, "Pre-nup. He doesn't know who the father of my child is. How can he be sure I didn't trap him? Yes. I'll talk to you later."

Ballard stood around the corner and smirked to himself. This was exactly the conversation he needed to hear.

Christina: I loved with my entire soul and when I was done, my soul was never the same. They walked off this journey with small pieces of me trapped in even smaller boxes...

"You broke up with him?" Kendall asked, "You're an idiot."

"I can't lie to him. He's been too good to me to just keep lying." Christina said.

"Underneath that bitch is a real person. I've always known that but I guess I forgot." Kendall said.

"We don't need to be fighting. Nobody'll know anything." Kendall smiled.

"Good, because if it ever got out that we ran over a guy...We'd go to jail for a long time." Christina frowned.

Just then, they both got a text. The girls looked at the texts with wide-eyes.

"You can't hide a secret forever," Christina read, "Some things never..."

"...Stay dead." Kendall said, looking to Christina.

Kendall: I cloaked myself in something good to forget all the darkness I had and when the darkness came for me and all the lights went out...there was no one to save me from the darkness...

Nikka, Eric, Hope, and Lillian (Adaen's mom) sat, waiting for the doctor. Adaen had gone and left them there. Lillian and Nikka had found solace in each other, discussing having gay sons.

"Ms. Johnson?" The doctor asked.

Nikka stood.

"We were able to save your son." He said.

Nikka hugged Lillian and shouted with joy.

Ballard: And I ran away. From everything I hated and everything I loved. There was no turning back, no running back to where I once laid my head. I was lost and by the time I found myself, it was too late. What I had found wasn't me, not the me that had started...

I walked up to a door and knocked. I was fuming as I waited for the door to open. I hadn't heard anything about Peter. This was all too much. The door opened and Rocco stared at me.

"Dude, are you, like, stalking me?" Rocco asked.

"Shut up or I swear I'm going to kick your ass." I said quickly, "The kid you teased today, Peter Winters, he tried to commit suicide. Because you're a jerk. You're insecure about something, whether it be your sexuality or whatever, and you almost killed him."

"You can't possibly..."

"Still talking." I said, "He is a good person who just happens to be gay. You want to be like your brother? An asshole? A dick? Brad was all of the above and you are being too and it's not cool. I'm not going to let you bully anybody else."

"It's just jokes."

"Your jokes possibly killed Peter! You may not care about Peter and have no feeling for him, imagine it was your brother. Or son. Or whatever it takes to get you to understand. He's a human being and he's not your punching bag and next time you use him as your punching bag, I'm going to use you as mine!"

"Dude, are you threatening me?" Rocco asked.

"I'm promising. Bring your brother and whoever you need, but if you hurt him or any other person, I swear I'm not going to stop until you have no future." I said, turning and walking away.

Adaen: Is this really where we've been? I close my eyes and pray for anything, any sign to lead me to everything I lost and I figured out that the most important thing I lost was love. For myself...for my honey...for my son and daughter. And when the time passed and I looked in the mirror, not recognizing myself. I smiled. This journey brought me back to where I started. The basic. The original.

-           

Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please give me some feedback because that's how I get started. So, I want you guys to tell me how I'm doing.