Date: Sun, 20 Apr 2014 15:38:06 -0700 From: andy dearth Subject: Rings and Promises #12 by Kane *Chapter Twelve: That is a the Worst Birthday Present EVER!* *[Author's Note: **I'm just gonna go ahead and forward it okay?]* *Vulcan POV* Aiden and Seth have been getting along better. I don't know what happened between them, but it seems as though whatever it was cemented their feelings. Now I know I should be happy about that, but why am I so effing annoyed? "Dude, where does this go?" Oh right, I'm decorating for Maia's party. "Whose idea was it to get a piñata? This thing is creepy." Seth was looking at the thing like it was one of those possessed dolls that was gonna come to life and kill everyone. "Maia wanted one." She asked for a Dora the Explorer piñata. Thing is, she hates that show. So when I asked her why she wanted it she said, "She might as well be good for something." I just looked at her. My sister was gonna be a smart ass when she grew up I could feel it. "Uh dude...the piñata?"Seth was still freaked out by it. "Just hang it wherever." I replied. "Okay, but I get a swing right after Maia. I mean seriously, who lets a schizophrenic five year old travel around the world by herself, talk to strangers, and frequently encounter a fox wearing a mask that could quite possibly be a pedophile? Plus that show is so annoying that even the commercials make me want to set my TV on fire." "Dude..." I looked at him like, "WTF man?" He just shuddered and held out the piñata at arm's length as he looked for a place to hang it. "Here comes the birthday girl!" I heard Aiden yell as he entered the room with Maia on his shoulders. Maia giggled. She saw the piñata and immediately glared at it. Sheesh she must really hate that show. "How does her mommy let her travel the world with a talking monkey!?" I sighed. "Well damn..." I muttered. Aiden thought it was adorable though. He lifted her off her feet and swung her around. "Happy birthday little lady!" "Whoa where did you come from?" Seth asked, startled at Aiden's sudden appearance. "My mother's womb." He answered. Seth just stared at him. "Smart ass..." He said. Aiden grinned. "I was in the kitchen. Aw gawd it's that skitzo pre-schooler!" He said as he eyed the Dora piñata. "Okay enough with the Dora hate." I said, starting to feel bad for the show. Maia pushed herself from Aiden and he set her down. "Hurry, so I can take a whack at her!" She said as she clapped her hands together. I wasn't sure this was the proper lesson to teach an 11 year old. But Seth hung up the damn thing anyway. He tugged on it to make sure it was secure and then stepped down from his ladder. "I'll bring out the food!" He said as he dashed for the kitchen. "You've been good for him." Seth said. I looked at him. "Are you sure it's me? I mean these past two days..." I trailed off. Seth chuckled. "Dude, I like Aiden but it is definitely not the same as the way you feel about him." I just looked at him. "What are you talking about?" Seth sighed. "Not this again. Look, do I really have to say it out loud for you to get it?" I was confused. I've been confused a lot these days and I didn't like it. "I don't get it." "Of course you don't." Seth sighed again. "Look the reason you've been so frustrated about Aiden is because you obviously care about him." I still didn't get it. "Well of course I care about him. He's my friend." Seth face palmed. "Not like that! I mean--" He was cut off by the voice of Aiden. "FOOD IS OUT AND READY FOR DEVOURING!" He yelled from the kitchen. "Food!" Seth practically skipped his way to the food table, our earlier conversation completely forgotten. What was Seth about to say? He obviously knows why I've been so frustrated. "C'mon Vee!" Maia giggled as she pulled on my hand. I decided to forget about it and just enjoy this party. We ate our weight in food and stuffed our faces with cake and ice cream. Maia beat Dora the piñata into oblivion after Seth took a few swings at her. Candy burst from her body and I began to wonder if it was morbid to eat it. Maia and Seth sat down and ate most of the candy. Aiden and I only had a few mini chocolate bars and gummy candy. "They're gonna make themselves sick." I said as I stared at them. Aiden chuckled. "I never expected I'd be this happy." He said suddenly. I looked at him. "I mean, in such a short time I went from suffering in a hell hole to living with you. I keep waiting to wake up and find all this a dream but it's not and I'm happy." I grabbed his hand. "You are not going to go back there." I said. "Not as long as I'm breathing. Though, I did expect your dad to file some sort of report." He just looked at me. "Oh please, I think he's smart enough to know that if he reported this then everything he's done to me would be aired out in the open." He seemed so sure of it. "If he does show up, will you go with him?" I asked. He shook his head. "I've had enough. I don't want to go back to a motherless home and deal with an insane father." "I don't understand why your mother didn't take you with her." I said. Apparently I hit a sore spot. "I'm sorry." I apologized as soon as I saw his face. It had gone from anger towards his father to something more than sadness. "I never understood either. But she did leave and she didn't take me." He leaned against me. I put my arm around him and squeezed his against me. "Well I'm glad she didn't take you. Otherwise you and I would never have met." He looked up and I smiled. "I guess that's one good thing that came out of it." He muttered before getting comfortable. I smiled. He fit perfectly in my arms. I wanted him to stay there. "Is Aiden all right?" Maia asked and I snapped back from my thoughts. "Oh, yeah he's fine. We were just talking about some serious things." I replied. Maia seemed to think about this. "Does he miss him mommy and daddy?" She asked. "He's like us Maia." I told her. Aiden offered her a gentle smile but didn't make an effort to move away from me. "Oh, then be a part of our family." She said as she returned his smile. Aiden nuzzled closer to me. "I'd like that." "Good! All you have to do is marry Vee and then we'll be together forever!" She saw no harm in saying this out loud. Seth burst out laughing. Aiden and I quickly separated. "Maia!" I scolded. She jumped. "What?" She really did see nothing wrong with saying it! Aiden was blushing and wouldn't make eye contact. Maia just scoffed and shook her head. "Boys..." She said as she left the room and went upstairs. Aiden peeked over his shoulder. "Where did that come from?" He asked, his face still red. I felt my own face heating up. "I have no clue." I replied. We sat there completely confused and continued to watch Seth tear into that candy. "Dude, stop." I said. Seth looked at me. "What?" He asked all innocent like, with chocolate smeared all over his mouth. I rolled my eyes. Suddenly the most high pitched scream rang out from upstairs. Seth immediately stood up and so did Aiden. "Maia?" Aiden looked at me. I panicked and dashed upstairs. I found the bathroom door ajar and knocked. "Maia? Are you okay?" I heard her sobs. "Vee..." I peered inside and saw blood running down her leg. "SETH CALL YOUR MOM!" I yelled. "MY MOM? WHY?" He yelled back. "JUST CALL HER DAMMIT! MAIA'S BLEEDING!" She sobbed louder. "Aw shit..." I mumbled. "It's okay Maia. Don't worry about it." I said soothingly as I knelt beside her. A few minutes went by and Seth came into the bathroom followed by his mom. "Let me see sweetie." She said. "You boys, out!" Seth and I were kicked out of my own bathroom. "Oh and while you're standing there doing absolutely nothing go get a change of clothes for her." I walked over to Maia's room with Seth in tow. "Is she gonna be okay?" Seth asked, worry in his voice. "She will be." I was pretty sure I knew what was going on. I walked into Maia's room and picked out a new dress and a fresh pair of underwear. I brought them over to the bathroom and knocked on the door. Seth's mom took them out of my hand and closed the door in my face. "I forgot how in charge Valerie is." I said. "You know it weirds me out every time you use my mom's first name." Seth said as he leaned against the wall. Maia and Valerie stepped out. As soon as Valerie saw her son she hit him over the head. "You made it sound like she was dying you moron!" Seth rubbed his head. "She's not!?" "No she's not blockhead, didn't they teach you anything in health class!?" I laughed. "So Maia, are you okay now?" I asked. She rubbed her eyes and looked mad. "This is the worst birthday present ever!" She said. I smiled. "Well no one said puberty would be a cake walk." "Puberty? Wait...so you mean..." Seth looked at Maia then at me and started laughing. "Aw man what a way to celebrate your birthday!" He was hit again. "Don't laugh! I swear I raised you better!" Valerie was a strict overlord. I laughed at Seth. Then she hit me. "Ow what!?" She glared at me. "I just thought you could use it." She then smiled and hugged me. "I'll be off now." She disappeared downstairs and out the door. Aiden came up as soon as she left. "Let me guess...Maia's on her period." He smirked and looked down at my little sister. "You're a lady now Maia." Maia stuck her tongue out. "Being a lady sucks!" Aiden chuckled. "And here come the mood swings." Maia huffed and walked away, heading downstairs. "Aw man, that means I gotta go out and buy her some...whatever those things are called." I said as I looked down. How was I suppose to go to the store and buy those things? I'm a dude! "I'll go." Aiden volunteered. "I'm not shy." Seth and I looked at him. "I'll go with him. You know, just in case." Seth said. Aiden looked at him and raised a brow. "In case of what?" Then he seemed to think about it. "Oh..." Was all he said. "In case we run into my father." "Okay, I am entrusting you with the task of buying my little sister...toiletries." I really couldn't bring myself to say it. Aiden and Seth chuckled. I tossed them my wallet and out the door they went. My sister is growing up too fast. Now that she's going through puberty I feel old. "Next thing you know I have to buy her bras." I went downstairs and found Maia eating cake and ice cream with chocolate sauce, sprinkles, and Doritos. "Maia...isn't that a bit much?" I asked. She glared death at me and I almost backed away. "This must be the part where the cravings come in." I muttered. "My stomach hurts, but I want to eat this!" She shouted as she stuffed spoonfuls in her mouth. "Okay, the cramps have started. Ooh boy." How was I gonna deal with this? I cleaned up and put everything in order. Maia was asleep on the couch. Seth and Aiden came in and were laughing their heads off. Seth ruffled Aiden's hair and grinned. "Now that was fun!" He said. "What was?" I asked. "Okay so we're like, at the store and buying the pads right?" Aiden began. "We then go to the cashier and she is staring at us like we've lost our minds. So Seth takes it up to pay for it and proceeds to flirt with the lady." "Hey she was hot!" Seth cut in. I rolled my eyes. "Go on..." Aiden tapped Seth on his chest. "So this guy is flirting up a storm while holding a pack of always and the lady is buying every minute of it. He starts on some shit about his best friend's little sister going through her first cycle and how he just wanted to help. The cashier lady ate that right up." I looked at Seth. "You used me and my sister to get some ass?" Seth grinned. "Well..." I didn't know whether to hit him or congratulate him. "So then he pays for it and then tosses the bag at me and immediately takes her who knows where!" Aiden started laughing. "Dude, she took me to the back room and I think we did it on her boss's desk." Seth said as he began laughing with Aiden. "You did use protection right?" I asked. Seth rolled his eyes. "Of course, I always carry a condom in my pocket. Better safe than sorry, you know me better than that bro." I held up my hands in mock surrender. "But dude, it was amazing." Seth said with the goofiest smile on his face. "I'm waiting outside for numb-nuts and he's taking forever when all of a sudden I hear a high pitch scream." Aiden said as he eyed Seth. "You must've gave it to her good." I said. Seth said. "Dude...amazing. I didn't even know we could go that fast." "A few minutes later Seth runs out with the store's boss chasing after him with a baseball bat. His pants were barely up!" Aiden said, trying to stifle his laughter. "You're really proud of yourself aren't you?" I asked, grinning at Seth. He shrugged but I knew he was. "Hey, before I bolted she gave me her number." He showed me the digits scribbled on his hands. "Okay so can I have the pads now?" I asked as I hold out my hand. Aiden sets the bag in my hand and I walk over to Maia. I gently shake her awake. "Maia, here go take a shower and you know..." She looks at me and then at the grocery bag. "Oh, I know how to use these." She said as she got up and took the bag from me. "Thanks guys." She smiled as she proceeded to the bathroom. "Well looks like she paid attention in health class." Seth commented. I just looked at him. "So like, this girl..." Seth grinned again. "Want the juicy details?" I shook my head. "I don't wanna know about your sex life." "Oh c'mon dude, when was the last time you got laid?" Seth asked. I had to think about it. "Last year, at your birthday party. I had sex in your bed." Seth eyed me. "You had—oh hell no!" I grinned then stuck out my tongue. Seth's facial expression was a cross between anger and a smile. He put me in a headlock and gave me the most painful noogie. I thought my hair was gonna come out. "What about you Aiden?" Seth asked. Aiden hummed. "Um...around last year yeah..." Seth and I stared at him. He let go of me and we sat Aiden down. "Okay tell us all about it." He just looked at us. "Well what about you guys?" "We just told you. I mean, you obviously know about Seth. As for me, it was Seth's birthday party and his parents were outta town. So we danced, we drank, and I was horny so I started flirting with Jenna Chase and we went up to Seth's room and did the deed." "I still can't believe you had sex in my bed man." Seth said. "What? I washed your sheets right after." I pointed out. He just looked at me. "Well okay then..." Aiden sighed. "Well it wasn't as well played out as yours. I snuck outta the house and just walked around. I mean, anything to get away from my dad right? I ended up on a bus not knowing where it was going. A boy sat down next to me and at first I didn't even look at him. Then as the bus ride stretched out he began making small conversation. He asked me where I was going and I said I didn't know. He took out his iPod and put one of the ear pieces in my ear. We sat down listening to music until his stop came. He held out his hand and asked if I wanted company. We just suddenly ended up at his place and I'm suddenly on top of him, making out like crazy." He stopped and looked at us. "Are you sure you wanna hear this? I mean, it's between two dudes." We motioned for him to continue. "So we're completely naked and I found myself completely in charge. It was new to me. I was always the one taking it you know." I didn't but hey, I knew the mechanics of it. Seth seemed really interested in the story. "It lasted for a while and we didn't sleep at all. I was sore the next day. I left before his parents woke up. He thanked me for fucking his brains out and asked for my number. I told him I couldn't give it to him and he just shrugged and gave me his. He told me to call whenever I felt like sticking my dick in something." Aiden sighed as he finished his story. "I think his name was Jason." "I guess sex between two dudes is a lot deeper than straight sex." Seth commented. Aiden nodded. "I know it takes a lot to be vulnerable like that with another person but between two guys...even two girls...you're not just vulnerable you're exposed. It's like anything can shatter you, but it's only in that moment. Afterwards it's just like any other encounter. You're tired, you're sweating, but you're sedated." "I never thought I'd be getting sex advice from Aiden." Seth said. He hugged Aiden. "Dude, I'm glad we're friends." I joined in the hug. "Yeah, me too." Aiden hugged us back and chuckled. "Geez guys I thought I was the only gay boy in this room." Seth laughed. I on the other hand was a little miffed that someone had the pleasure of knowing Aiden's body. For what reason I don't know. It was Aiden's body...and Aiden's a dude. Why should I care? I let go of Aiden and Seth soon followed. Aiden stood up. "I'm gonna go check and see if Maia's okay." He said. I nodded and smiled. "Dude, you're blushing." Seth whispered. I looked at him. "What?" I placed a hand on my cheek. When did I start blushing? Seth laughed. "Dude, it's okay. Are you annoyed right now?" How did he know that? "Perfectly natural when someone's jealous. Though it's kinda stupid that you're jealous of something that happened a year ago." Seth shrugged. "Jealous? Why would I be jealous?" He suddenly had a devious look in his eyes. Seth moved behind me and put his arms around me. I was confused now. "Don't you wanna know what his little body feels like?" He began. I almost hissed at the way he was holding me. I was snug against him. "You're annoyed because someone had that pleasure before you." I knew he was right, but I didn't know why I felt that way. "I don't understand." His hands moved to my chest and then moved one hand to grip my neck, moving it slightly so that I could feel his lips move. "See Vulcan I think like this you can understand why you feel the way you do whenever it comes to Aiden. Think about it." I thought about everything up until now. Every single detail since I met Aiden played over in my mind. "You protect him, you care for him, and you lust for him." Seth whispered. His lips were wreaking havoc on my skin. Why was he doing this? "Lust..." He sighed. "Vulcan I don't want to do this anymore than you do but I think this is the only way to get you to seriously think, and I mean seriously." Then he switched tactics. "If I were Aiden how would you feel right now?" My imagination took no time in replacing Seth's image with Aiden. I hissed. I understood now but I didn't want to admit it. How could I? "Let me go Seth I get it now." He let me go as soon as I had told him too. "Do you really Vulcan? Because honestly I didn't know you were that dense." "Did you have to molest me?" I said with an arched brow. Seth smiled. "Well I thought it was the only way to get you to completely think. I'm your friend so I knew you wouldn't reject me." I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe you did that." "Well you're my best friend Vulcan, and for you a little gay moment doesn't bother me much." I laughed and hugged him. "Thanks Seth...though I don't know how I'm gonna deal with my new found feelings." I said as I let him go. Seth ruffled my hair. "Oh I know you'll manage. Besides, I completely approve." I smirked. "Are you gonna tell him?" He asked. I shook my head. "Not yet. I want to tell him when I'm good and ready." I was experiencing something so brand new and frightening that I was getting dizzy from it. I...love Aiden.