Date: Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:38:02 -0700 From: Jeffrey Venzuela Subject: I Shall Believe - Chapter 13 ___________________________________________________________________________ Warning: If you don't tolerate or approve of the gay lifestyle, please leave now. This is pure fiction. No one in this story is a real person, living or deceased. Any similarities is just a coincidence. ___________________________________________________________________________ Jesse enjoyed looking at the expressions on the faces of his new friends from the alliance as he took them for a brief tour around his house. What he loved most was the impressed look on Max's face and Randy trying to be unaffected by it all. "So if any of you want to sleep over here, just pick one of the three guest rooms." Jesse said, smirking at Randy. "And that concludes the tour, now if you'll just follow me, we're going to the basement." "We're hanging out in your basement?" Randy asked, sounding skeptical about the idea. "Yeah." Jesse started walking and gestured for them to follow him. "You see, our basement isn't your typical `storage basement' or `dark creepy basement." He stopped by a door at the back of the kitchen, inserted the key in the door knob and turned it. The door opened and he flicked on the light, revealing a staircase leading to the basement. Jesse lead them down the stairs and continued speaking, "You see our basement is more of a..." He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and let them take in the whole view. "Oh well, you can describe it all by yourself." Surely he didn't fail to wow his new friends with all the things contained in the basement. On one end of the room was a large pool table, and on the other end was a plasma TV with a round black leather couch with an oversized ottoman combination big enough to hold at least four teenagers—six if they wanted to be cozy. There were also various game consoles, a stereo, a dart board, a pinball machine, and a mini bar. Randy searched for Max to see his reaction. "This is so cool." Max said as he moved over to Jesse and put his arm around his shoulder. Jesse saw Randy watching the two of them and smiled at him with pride. As everyone began to explore the wonders of Jesse's rec room, the doorbell rang. "That must be the pizza." Randy said, taking control. "I'll get it." Randy Added as he ascended the stairs. A few minutes later, Randy came back with the pizza accompanied by another member of the alliance who had bought the ice cream for Randy. "Who wants treats?" Randy asked melodically as he put down the food on a table. "Oh and Jesse." Jesse looked at Randy upon hearing his name. "I ordered your favorite, Mushroom and Sausage. Extra sausage, right?" Randy smirked. Jesse chuckled. "That was so nice of you Randy." He said sarcastically. "But how can you be so sure that's my favorite?" Randy shrugged. "Well. You look like someone who could use a sausage right now." The others who caught the joke laughed. Max, however, had a look of puzzlement on his face. Jesse knew he had lost that moment but he already had another idea. "I'll just go and get you guys some bowls and spoons. And maybe something to drink." He announced. That could give him and Max some time alone, if he offers to help. "I'll help you." Max volunteered. Randy saw Jesse's smile and immediately caught onto his plans. He walked towards Jesse's side. "Don't be silly Max. I'll help Jesse. Why don't you go and eat with the rest of the group." Max just shrugged. "Okay." He left to join the group attacking the pizza. Jesse flashed a fake smile to Randy and went up the stairs. Randy followed him. Once they were in the kitchen, Randy spoke. "You know, for a supposedly straight guy your expressions and gestures are being a little too animated." Jesse paused from getting things from the cupboard to glare at Randy. "You know, for a witch your tricks are being a little too pathetic." Randy scoffed. "Honey, I am the master of bitchcraft. Don't dare me." Jesse rolled his eyes and handed him a few bowls. Randy watched Jesse get the spoons and some bottles of soda. He was again at Jesse's side after the boy closed the refrigerator. "Just so you know, he'll never be interested in you." Randy said in a threatening voice. Jesse exhaled deeply. "Just so you know, you're fat." He said. Jesse smiled and went back to the basement, leaving Randy gaping. "I am not!" He yelled after Jesse. Meanwhile back at the restaurant, Ivan was staring at himself in the bathroom mirror. His two best friends had just announced that they were dating. Did he look happy when they said it? Did the reflection in the mirror look happy? Because he should be. They were his best friends after all. From the mirror's reflection, he saw the door opening and Michael coming in. Ivan put on a big smile. "Hey." He said. "Hey." Michael greeted back. He studied his best friend's face. "Are you okay? You look a little pale." He said with such concern. "Of course. Why wouldn't I be?" The smile never left Ivan's face. "Anyway, congratulations! It's about time." Ivan reached out his arms suggesting a friendly hug. Michael closed the distance between them and hugged Ivan. The moment it happened, Ivan already regretted initiating it. He wasn't expecting to feel the knot on his chest and the tears welling up in his eyes. "I'm so happy for both of you." He tried to smile but it only caused the tears to escape from his eyes. "Thanks." Michael replied quietly. The two boys heard the door open and quickly separated. It was Jake who came in. Ivan immediately wiped the tears from his face while Michael stood awkwardly looking at Jake. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Jake asked. Ivan was the first to reply. "Not at all. I was just telling Michael how happy I am for him and Alex." Jake nodded silently. "Okay then." Ivan tried to sound chipper. "I'll get back out there." Once he was back at the table, Alex also remarked on Ivan's face. "You look tired. Are you okay?" "Yeah. It's just been a long day, that's all." Ivan replied. "Are you sure?" Alex asked to which Ivan just nodded yes. ` When Michael and Jake were back to the table, Ivan asked, "Do you guys mind if I take off? I'm feeling kind of tired. I just want to go to bed." "Of course. Are you going to be okay?" Alex asked. "Yeah." Ivan reassured her. "I'll take you home." Michael offered. Ivan shook his head. "Nah. It's okay. I'll just find a cab or call Jesse or something." He could feel his two friends were about to protest so he stood up. "See ya." He smiled and left. Ivan couldn't find a cab so he decided to call Jesse. It rang several times until it switched to voice mail. He waited for a few minutes and tried the number again but still Jesse wouldn't pick up. Ivan walked around a little bit, searching for a cab. Unfortunately, he still couldn't find any. His phone rang and he answered it. "Hey." He recognized Michael's voice. "Are you already on your way home?" Ivan didn't want to worry him so he lied. "Yeah. Why?" He said. "Nothing. I just wanted to make sure you get home safe." "Okay." After saying that, there was only silence on the phone. Ivan decided to end the call before the silence gets awkward. "I gotta go. Bye." He said and pressed the button. Walking on the empty streets in the dark of the night, along with the thought of Michael and Alex as a couple and Jesse occupied with his own plans, made Ivan feel like he was back where he started—alone. He then thought of his mother. If only she were there, she'd know the right things to say. She'd know what to do to make him feel better. She would even tolerate his unpleasant mood because she understood what he was going through. And as he reminded himself more about his mother, he suddenly realized that there was one person who did the same things for him. Ivan heard his phone ringing and thinking it was Jesse, he immediately answered it. "Hello?" "Hey, Pumpkin. It's me." It was his Aunt Jean. The exact person he needed right at that moment. "Can you pick me up, please?" Ivan asked, almost pleading. "Of course." He could hear the smile on her voice. After telling her where he was, he waited for Jean outside the restaurant where they had eaten. He noticed that Michael's jeep was already nowhere to be seen. He sat down on the pavement and stared into the darkness in the distance. He thought about Michael and Alex and his plans to deal with their new relationship. He didn't know how much time had passed when he heard footsteps approaching. "Can I sit down?" He heard from his right. He looked up and saw Jake standing over him. Ivan shrugged and said, "It's a free country." Jake grinned and sat beside him. "So... This is kinda weird right? This feeling like this already happened." Jake said trying to think of the appropriate word. "Déjà vu." Ivan said flatly, supplying the word to him. "Yeah. Isn't it weird?" He looked at Ivan, still with the grin on his face but Ivan didn't look at him. He didn`t even respond. "So how are things lately?" Jake tried to start a conversation again. "Hmmm... Let's see, the football team won and my two best friends took me out to dinner." Ivan looked at Jake with a sarcastic look on his face. "Oh wait. You were there too, weren't you?" Jake chuckled. "Funny. I was actually talking about the days before today." "Why? It's not like we even know each other outside of the classrooms." Jake scowled. "I'm serious. How are you doing?" Ivan moved a little bit further from Jake. "I'm sorry. Are we buddies now? Because I don't really know you Jake." Jake grunted. "Fine, fine. Pretend that we have never talked about anything else other than school before." Ivan glared at him. "Like what you have been doing since last year?" "Oh, come on." Jake said. Ivan saw Jean's car approaching and stood up. "Nice to meet you Jake." Ivan gave him an obviously fake smile and ran towards the slowing car. "Hey Pumpkin." Jean greeted Ivan warmly as he slid into the passenger's seat. Ivan tried to smile. "Hey." As the car made a u-turn, Jean noticed the boy Ivan had been talking to earlier. "So you're hanging out with Jake Ryan now, huh?" Ivan shook his head. "No, not really. We just met." Not wanting to dwell on it any longer, he changed the subject. "Thank you for coming all the way here to get me. I really had no one else to—" "You have me." Jean said firmly with a smile and patted his thigh. Ivan smiled and nodded. The car was silent as Jean focused on her driving. The silence threatened Ivan's temporary peace of mind as he felt the emotions come back to him. Thoughts of Alex and Michael together kept coming to his mind. "So why did you call me earlier?" He asked, trying to relieve himself. Jean looked at him uncertainly before answering. "Nothing. Just checking in on you." Ivan detected the falsity of her reply. "Oh, come on Jean." "Ugh. All right." Jean rolled her eyes at Ivan which caused both of them to chuckle. She cleared her throat before continuing. "Michael called." Jean paused briefly to look at Ivan's reaction upon hearing Michael's name. Michael had called Jean right after Ivan left the restaurant by himself, asking her if she could check on Ivan. Ivan smiled and tried to sound nonchalant. "Really? Why?" "He just wanted to make sure you were okay." She explained. Ivan shrugged. "I'm okay. I'm fine. I just," He took a deep breath before continuing with a convincing smile. "—need some sleep. I'm feeling tired from all that cheering." For effect, Ivan made a little yawn. Jean knew Ivan was lying but decided to forego interrogating him for another time. She nodded at him with understanding. "Go ahead and take a nap. I'll just wake you up when we arrive." "Okay." Ivan nestled himself into the tilted seat, closed his eyes and silently prayed that when he woke up, it would all just be a bad dream. Michael and Alex had just pulled over in front of Alex's house. Alex stared at Michael's face, noticing the boy was deep in thought. Having just announced her new relationship with Michael, she was in a good mood. She decided to distract Michael from his thoughts by kissing him on the cheek. Michael, however, didn't budge. "Hey." She said in a gentle voice as he caressed his jaw. "What's on your mind?" He met her gaze and sighed. He answered simply with, "Ivan." Alex gave him a reassuring smile and said. "He's probably just tired from cheering for the team." She studied his face, trying to find his hidden thoughts. Even though Ivan said the same reason earlier at the restaurant, Michael felt that something else was going on with Ivan. And that something was worth worrying about, especially now that the three of them had just started rebuilding their friendship. After realizing Alex was waiting for him to say something, he smiled at her. "Probably." She leaned in closer to Michael and threw her arms over his shoulders. "Tell you what; I'll call him first thing tomorrow morning." Michael just nodded. "Now be here with me." Alex whispered in his ear before kissing his lips. Ivan slowly opened his eyes to the feeling of a hand shaking his shoulder and the sound of his name being called. "We're here." Jean announced upon seeing Ivan's eyes opening. Ivan rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and as he focused them on the house, he saw Jesse standing at the front porch, looking at him. "I just got your messages." Jesse said as Ivan walked towards the house. "I thought you had plans for tonight." Ivan said standing in front of Jesse. Jean passed the two boys and opened the door. "You boys hungry?" She stopped to ask before entering the house. Both boys politely replied they were still full. "How's `Operation Max' going?" Ivan asked, sitting on the steps. Jesse sat beside him and answered. "He went home with Queen Randy." Ivan looked at him with surprise. "How did that happen?" Ivan asked with a scoff. Jesse just shrugged. "Long story." Jesse remembered that he was the one that was supposed to ask the questions, not Ivan. "How about you? According to your voicemails, you need to talk." Ivan smiled sheepishly. "Oh, that..." Ivan tried to formulate his words on how to approach the subject of what happened earlier that night. "Alex and Michael are dating." Jesse didn't quite know how to respond since Ivan had mentioned before that he could see something going on between the two. "Wow. That's...huge, I guess." "Yeah." Ivan was also at loss for words. "But like you said before, you've kind of seen this coming, right?" Jesse asked. "I guess I did." Ivan said, once again thoughtful of the situation. He had told Jesse that he had a feeling that a romantic relationship between his two best friends could develop. But what he hadn't told Jesse was that he was hoping for it not to happen. It became really quiet and Ivan knew Jesse was staring at him, trying to read him. He looked at Jesse and found out he was right. "I'm kind of tired. Do you mind if I go inside?" Jesse nodded. "No, go ahead." Once Ivan reached the door, Jesse called his name. Ivan turned to face his friend. "Can I sleepover?" Jesse asked. Ivan smiled. "Sure. Come on in." He gestured towards the interior of the house. Jesse grinned and went inside the house with his arm around Ivan's shoulder. After closing the door, Ivan remembered Jean. He still wanted to talk to her. "You go ahead upstairs. I just need to talk to Jean." He said to Jesse. Jesse complied and went to Ivan's room. "Jean?" Ivan called. "In here." Ivan followed her voice to the living room to the right of the foyer. Upon walking in the room, he saw her staring at a picture of his mother. "Hey. I was wondering if we could talk." Ivan said in a tentative voice. "Of course." Jean went to the nearby sofa and Ivan sat beside her. Like with his conversation with Jesse, he didn't know where to start so he just said it. "Michael and Alex are dating." Jean nodded silently. "And how do you feel about it?" "I don't know. I guess I'm happy for them. I mean they're my best friends. I should be happy for them." He said sounding more like he was trying to convince himself. "Right?" He asked unsurely. "Yes but my question is how do you really feel about it?" Jean asked. Ivan asked himself the question and thought about it for a few minutes. "I'm glad they have each other. I really am but..." He paused, not sure if he wanted to say the words. "I just can't shake the feeling of being..." He trailed off and avoided Jean's eyes. "Alone?" Jean offered. He met her gaze. "Yeah." He admitted. That's what it made him feel—like he had no one while everyone else was just falling in love with each other. "That's understandable." Jean said. "But I don't want to feel like that anymore." Ivan mumbled. Jean looked at him in wonder. "I mean, I'm alone in this house and even in my life in general... I have no one. And then there's you, and you're all alone too. You have no kids, no husband. I think you don't even have a boyfriend. I mean, not that I think you can't find someone who likes you because you're a very nice person." Jean smiled at Ivan's rambling. "Thank you." "I guess what I'm trying to say is I would love for you to adopt me. Mom and I wouldn't have it any other way." As he finished his words, Ivan looked down at his hands nervously. Out of the corner of his eyes, Ivan could see Jean standing up. The next thing he felt was a hand on his shoulder. "I'll have my lawyer draw the papers tomorrow." Ivan looked up to see Jean, her eyes filled with tears. "Thank you." She said. Ivan shook his head and hugged his godmother. "No. Thank you." Jesse was already half asleep when he heard the door of Ivan's room close. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to see Ivan walking towards the bed. "I'm sorry. Did I wake you?" Ivan asked lifting the covers as he lay beside Jesse. Jesse answered, "Not really." After the two boys settled on the bed, they stared at the ceiling silently. "I accepted Jean's offer to adopt me." "That's nice." Jesse said, happy for Ivan. "I get to have delicious free breakfast here every morning." He joked. Both boys chuckled. Just when the silence started creeping in again, Jesse decided to tell what really happened at his house. "Everything was actually going according to my plan of convincing Max to stay the night. A few of the guys were already starting to get a little uninhibited including Max, and I could see Randy getting pissed as Max flirted back to me. "But then I saw my phone and heard your mopey voicemails so I decided to cut the party short." Ivan removed his gaze from the ceiling to look at Jesse with awe. "I told Randy to give Max a ride and make sure he gets home safe. I think Max decided to sleepover at Randy's." Ivan was touched. Jesse just sacrificed his plans just to be there for him. Ivan was at loss for words. When he noticed that Ivan wasn't responding, Jesse decided to divert his eyes from the ceiling to look at Ivan. He saw him staring at him. "What?" He asked with a grin. "Thank you." Ivan said. "Ah, well. You know I love you, you sarcastic pansy ass." Jesse said, smiling at the end. Ivan smiled back. "I love you too, you slutty dirty cocksucker." Jesse laughed. "Now spoon me." He said and turned his back to Ivan. Ivan followed suit and spooned Jesse. Soon, the two boys were fast asleep. ______________________________________________________________________________ Once again, I'm sorry for the long hiatus, considering how I left you guys hanging. But at least I'm here now and my laptop is already working fine again. I first thought of submitting this chapter in two parts but then decided against it. I don't know but I feel like every chapter should be read on its entirety. Thanks again to Mr. Dennis S for editting my work and for those who aren't still members of the facebook readers' page, We have lots of room for you guys. If you want to join, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ISBreaders/ Thanks! Keep on reading :)