Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2009 18:00:38 -0700 From: Nate Luna Subject: The Spicy Side Ch 3 I wake up with my headphones still lying losesly on my head with Anberlin's Feel Good Drag pulsing to my ears. I can't believe I did this again. All weekend I've dozed off with my iPod still on full blast. I sat upright,rubbing the sleepy from my eyes so I can get a clear look of the clock. It was still too blurry to see so I gave up. Uhg. I hate Mondays but I suppose today is different. This weekend passed by so fast. I didn't see or here from Raul all weekend. I even got the nerve to ask him to call me. At least I'll see him today in English. ... at sixth hour... I can't wait that long! I hope it won't be awkward. I closed my eyes and try to sing along with the song, "You were my greatest mistake. I fell in love with your sin. Your littlest sin." I sang along until the next song, The Unwinding Cable Car. It's slower than the other songs I listen to but I love the feel and lyrics of the song that I just had to keep it. It didn't take too long to get lost in the songs again but then I felt my bed vibrate. I unplugged the headphones from my iPod. It wasn't an earthquake. I looked to my side and saw my cell vibrating. Something tingled throughout my body and I felt myself getting hard. Raul? I thought. I only glanced at the caller ID. The name was too long to be 'Ra'. "Do you have any idea what time it is?" I said, not really knowing myself. "Oh my God, I know. It's five in the morning and I can't sleep. Guess what happened to me on Saturday," Layla was on the other end. "I don't know but I have a feeling you're gonna tell me," I said, begining to get annoyed. Layla has a habit on calling me at the worst times possible. She's one of my best friends but she can still get under my skin. I try to pretend to listen to her. "My God, so I was at the store and this guy's all 'hey baby, what's your sign?' and I'm all 'Stop! No tresspassing' and he's all 'YIELD!'" she goes on. I know I'm being unfair. I'd be all happy and giggling if it was Raul who was calling, even at five in the morning. I continue to pretend to pay attention by asking questions. "I dunno, that's why he drove away; it's probably dead anyways," I know about an hour had passed and I may as well get up soon if Layla hangs up. It's Monday so she'll most likely skip the first hours of school and keep me from getting to there on time. "No, it doesn't even make sense, it didn't even penetrate. That's what rape is," I don't have the guts to hang up on her knowing I'll have to put up with her at school when I'm even more irritated. Layla can hold a grudge and act like a bitch when she wants to be. I've never been on her bad side, I make sure not to be, but I've seen her work on other people. She's ruined so many lives already. "I know! So I was like 'no!' and she's like 'yes!' and I was 'who?' she's all 'him!' and I went 'ew!' she's like 'yeah...' and was all 'God!' she's all 'I know!'"she went on. "Hey, Layla. I gotta get ready. Take a shower and all that shit," I tell her, not knowing what the conversation is about anymore. "Huh? Oh! Yeah. Okay. I gotta get ready too. See you at school, Gio!" and she hung up. I'm so relieved I didn't get her mad. My weekend was uneventful though my Mom told me I looked more alive on Saturday morning, something I'm usually not. Javier came over to help me with our World Cultures homework. From there we went on to talk about tattoos. I told him I wanted small bat-like wings on my back. Javier was suprised I even considered getting one telling me it wasn't me. That just made me want a tattoo even more, just to prove him wrong. "You're too ... boyish," he couldn't find the right word but I knew what he was getting at. Javier doesn't know, no one does actually, except for Layla. Oh and Raul too, I think. I know Joey supports gay marriage and other rights but I'm not ready to come out to him just yet. Javier probably wouldn't care, like always but I don't know about Raul. Is he gay? Of all my friends I'd never expect him. I can't wait to see him, I tell myself in the shower. I scrub really hard, I wanna look nice when I see him between classes before sixth hour. I scrubbed too hard because it felt really hot outside my cold shower. I brush my teeth, put on my fresh uniform my mom layed out for me before she left for work and flare my hair. My stroodles pop out of the toaster and I pour myself a glass of orange juice. My breakfast of champions. I don't get up as early as I would want to to prepare a proper breakfast. I nibble on my stroodles, not considering to finish them. Their centers were still cold. I trash the cold parts and chug my OJ. I pull my bookbag over my shoulder, ready for the Monday. Javier pulls up on my driveway when I locked my house. He picked up Joey before picking me up. I can see Joey yapping off, his happiness unfazed by Javier's obvious disinterest. Joey hops out of the truck. "Morning, G," he greets, allowing me in the truck. "Morning, JJ." He doesn't do this out of courtesy but to ensure he keeps his window seat. Javier's truck doesn't have back seats so I have to squeeze in between Joey and Javier. "Hey Javie," I greet him. "Hey, G," Javier answers back, driving towards school. I let my hand drop over Joey's thigh. I look over to see his reaction. He's still going on about the new fish he tried for dinner last night. It's really cute, he never realizes he always bores us. I don't know how his girl stands it. We passed Raul's house, his driveway empty. I guess he already left. Being two grades older than us, he has his own group of friends his age. I'm sure he doesn't like hanging out with underclassmen all the time. My mind went on thinking about Raul, ignoring Joey and forcing myself not to get a boner with Javier so close. Joey would laugh it off, considering he got one during a wrestling match at school. I scoot back on my seat and sit up straight and make sure my bookbag is over my crotch to make things easier. We finally make it to school on time, with a good parking spot to boot. Javier slides the key out of the ignition and Joey unbuckles his seatbelt. They aren't ready to get out. I clutch my bag unnervingly, ready to get out of Javier's stuffy truck. There's an awkward silence; of all times, Joey finished his fish story and Javier gazes out the window. I sigh, the inpatience clear. I'm hoping to run into Raul before the five-minute bell rings. "You really wanna get out, G?" Joey asks. "It's getting kinda hot in here..." I tell him. "Fine," he sighs. "But first, rub for good luck!" he yells, ruffling my hair. Javier laughs and joins in. They do this all the time and they end up making it look like bed head again. It's really annoying. I work really hard to spike my hair to make it look like horns. I headbutt Joey. May as well with my hair being how it is. He dwarfs me by a few inches so I only got his shoulder. I frown at him. He laughs and tries to 'fix' my hair by ruffling it more. He licks his thumb and is about to rub it against my hair but I shoved his hand away in time. I put up with this everyday, but it's funny and I know this would be different if it was Raul. I'd be turning so many shades of pink and trying to hide a torpedo under my bag. Things are different for Joey. I used to have a crush on him when we were in middle school. That's when he wasn't so into fish though. After entering high school, I realized how much I hate fish. I still think he's cute but Jesus! He needs a new hobby! The day he got his first girlfriend I was suprised I didn't cringe like I did with all my other crushes. I still have feelings for him but more like a brother than a crush. I think. Javier's perpetual disinterest and superior intellect put me off the moment I met him in fourth grade, a year after I met Joey. Normally I'd like smart guys but he breaks to the genius scale. I never knew someone could be too smart to like. He's not an unlikeable guy it's just how inferior you feel under him. He's not cocky but what ever you have done, he's done and if he hasn't, he can do it better. I can't imagine how he can put up with us. The ten-minute bell rang and we all still had our lockers to go to. Time for another Monday. At least there's one other left before the semester ends. I didn't see Raul on my way to my locker, nor on the way to first hour. I'm growing nervous. I'm not looking forward to the day if I don't have Raul to look forward to in sixth hour, English. First hour, Health went by in a blur. It's all review for the finals next week. The finals... that's another thing I'm hoping will take it's time to hit me. I've always been ill-prepared for tests. I never study, even after I tell myself to. Second Hour, Social Studies flew by just as fast. The entire hour my ears were filled with Javier's nonstop scribbling of review notes. I know he'll pass but "it's incase JJ decides to toss something" at his head and he forgets everything. He also said I can copy them later on. "I knew there was a reason I keep you around," I tell him. He smirks, unoffended. It pains him to see a friend fail a class so he helps how he can. While he thinks that, I'm thankful Raul flunked 10th grade English-twice. I went from nervousness to joy on Nutrition Break. I can see Raul in line for a quick breakfast. I'm debating on approaching him but I'm stuck on what to say. Should I smile? Should I play it cool like it didn't happen? Joey and Layla made my decision for me by taking me to the group. "Aren't you going to say 'good morning' to me, Gio?" Layla asked. "I already did this morning when you callled..." I murmured. She rolls her eyes. I pretended to listen on the group conversation. I caught on what the others did this weekend: Layla-shopping. Joey-fishing. Javier-studying. Laura, Joey's girl-reading Twilight. I didn't catch what the others said. What is it with girls and vampires? Is it that they both have a relation to blood? Periods and sucking? The girls in this town are weird... Laura leans against Joey and it took him a while to get what she wanted. He puts his arm around her and pecks her in the lips. I envied that. I'm happy for them but I'm jealous that I can't have anything like that, not in this school at least. I look over to the cafeteria line and noticed Raul's poor breakfast choice: Poptarts and strawberry milk. I shouldn't be one to judge. You can hardly call my meal a breakfast. He walks back to his friends, smiling and biting into his strawberry Poptart. He takes some strawberry milk and looks up towards me from across the cafeteria. "Oh God," I look away. Everyone stops their conversation to look at me. Um... something wrong, G?" Joey asks. "No... I'm fine," I assure him, blushing. Third hour, Finite Math proved challenging. I can barely remember any of the material. I really need to pass this class so I don't have to take a mathematics entrance exam in college. Layla and Laura are struggling too. They've always relied on me with this class, even though it isn't my strongest subject. I don't like asking questions in this class because Mr. Marcioni puts me on the spot all the time. "Mr. Cipriani! I don't have time to waste to reteach everything you've missed while you were dozing off!" I don't sleep in this class, Layla does. Fourth Hour, Japanese is a breeze. Oh God, I didn't mean to rhyme. Sensei's getting old. She crashes way too much. I remember last year she fell asleep writing on the board. The way her arm fell down, the marker still sliding across the board, made it look like she died right there. I do jack shit in this class and still have a B. I usually play my PSP or listen to my iPod. I take the occasional nap but I drool when I sleep. This is pretty much my prep hour. Fifth Hour, P.E., probably my favorite class. I walk into the locker rooms and find my locker. Joey's unbuttoning his shirt and exposes his torso. He's no where near as ripped as Raul. He said he's working on a six-pack but I haven't seen any development. He notices me staring. "What's up, G-Boy?" he asks smiling. It doesn't work when he says it, but it's cute nontheless. Laura's face flashes in my mind and I turn away from him to my locker. "Nothing, Can't wait for next hour," I tell him without thinking. "Huh? What happens next hour?" Shit. "Oh, 'cause it's the last hour before school ends," "Yeah for the day," We finish suiting up and walk to our numbers. I try to think of Raul instead of Joey. He probably isn't the ideal boyfriend I would want but I still think he's cute but I feel guilt when I think about him that way. It's like Laura is watching. There's a comfortable silence between us. Over the few years I've gotten used to his quieter side. When I have nothing better to do I join him on his fishing trips in Coronado. "Hey! You never replied to my text," Joey broke the silence. "Oh, sorry, JJ. I haven't asked my mom if I can go. Who else is going?" I ask. "So far Javier," "What about Raul?" "He told me he'd let me know after I told him if you were going," he told me. I can feel my cheeks burn but Joey didn't seem to notice. "Yeah?" I said, looking away. I couldn't come up with a better response. "Yeah... Are you guys mad at each other or something 'Cause I can tell him the trip is off and just you me and Javie go without him knowing," he offers. "No! No... It's okay. Tell him I'm going, I'll find a way to convince my mom. And no, we aren't mad," definately not mad. "So what's wrong?" "Nothing," "How did Friday night go?" he asked, almost as if he knows what went down. "It was alright, just shared some spliff," I didn't like how I said 'shared'. Joey chuckles. Like Raul, he thinks it's funny how I call it spliff. I watch too much BBC. Luckily before this conversation became more awkward, the coaches came out of their offices. It's a run day. I had a nice view of half a dozen hurrying asses. I hate running the hill but watching the guys get nice and sweaty is well worth it. I can hear Joey huffing behind me. My legs are on fire but the sooner I do six laps on the hill, the longer I get to freshen up for next hour. Joey made it passed my and I got a good view of his ass and legs. I hate myself for checking him out. I slow down a bit, a few guys pass. Some had their shirts off and provided a distraction from Joey. Some hairy, others smooth and they were all glistening in the sun from sweat. What I'd give to get laid by all of them... at once. But I'd turn them all down for another go with Raul, partly because I can barely remember everything we did. "Pick up the pace, Cipriani," I heard one of the guys, Eli say to me. I'm lagging behind. I guess I'm having too much fun. I finally finish my laps and I'm sweating as much as the other guys. "Eight-fifty-four," I heard Coach give my time. Damn, barely made it. I make my way to the student aid, who is leaning next to the locker room door. He's one of the guys Raul hangs out with at nutrition break and lunch. He has an unusual name, but it escapes me. "Eight-fifty-four," I tell him my time. He looks down as he records it on his clipboard, his hair falling over his eyes. "Cipriani... Cipriani...," he whispers, looking for my name on the roster, "Kay," he says. Yes! Done! This is what I love about P.E., if we finish early enough, we have the rest of the hour for ourselves. Joey's waiting for me inside and thank God, he's already changed back to his uniform. "Hey, G, you're falling behind," he points out. "Yeah..." I start changing. I'm more focused on seeing Raul. I change quickly and go to the bathroom to properly spike my hair. My hair is still short enough to lift a patch of it with the gel. Joey steps into the room, scrubs the right side of my head and starts on about wanting to catch a fish that's in season during the camping trip on Friday. I was about to elbow him but I stopped myself. My hair looked alright, actually, better with one horn. I igrnored Joey while fixing it alittle. I'm ready for Raul, all that's between us is lunch. I decided to skip eating but joined Javier and Layla to the lunch line. "So why wasn't I invited?" Layla asks. "Laura can't make it to the trip, and if she can't go, no girl can," Javier explains. Layla rolls her eyes. "Who would sleep with Joey?" she asks. I almost trip. "I guess Laura would?" I butt in. "I didn't mean it that way," she says, realizing how she said it. "I wouldn't try anything with Joey. I'm a bitch, not a tramp," she explains. "Laura doesn't like taking chances," Javier chuckles. I understand Laura's precaution. If I have Joey alone, a mini fridge full of beer and grow some balls I'd probably come on to him. Probably. Though I'd never forgive myself. I can see Raul talking to the P.E. aid. Raul laughs while trying to bite his pizza while the aid smiles, taking a piece of his mango. "G!" Javier shouts. "Huh?" I look around. Layla and Javier are across the cafeteria, near our table. "Come on! You're holding up the line!" Layla shouts over. I look behind me to find countless angry eyes glaring at me. "Oh shit!" I yell, catching up with the others. From my table, I can't look over at Raul without making myself look obvious. There are a few conversations going on at once in the group. I just want lunch to end. I pop on my white headphones and get lost to Phoenix's 1901. Finally, sixth hour, English. I rush to class with Joey and Javier not so far behind. I make it to the classroom, the third one here. I go to my seat and wait for the others. I notice Alejandra applying make up. It must add ten pounds to her face because it looked really thick. She must have noticed me staring from her compact mirror. She smiles and turns to face me. "Like what you see, Gio?" she asks. This is usually the part in cartoons when you hear a woman shriek when they get a closeup on an ugly character's face. She's not hideous but she's so God damn white. "You look... great, Alex. Who's the lucky guy?" I ask trying not to laugh. "Raul," she beams. I can feel my cheek quiver. "Oh," I turn away. "Good luck..." I almost whisper. "Who needs luck when you've got orgasm blush," she laughs holding up her makeup mirror. From the corner of my eye I can see Ms. Morton, the English teacher, almost lose balance from her chair. Alejandra did say it really loudly. Joey, Javier and other students enter the classroom. Joey sits down behind me and taps me. "Damn dude, why were you rushing?" he asks. "No reason, I just want to get the day over with," I murmur. Javier sits two seats to my left. Little by little, fewer students pour in, none of them Raul. I can see Alejandra is as anxious as I was earlier. The bell rang. I can see disapointment in her face. I snicker, enjoying her sadness. It's Monday, Raul might have ditched. It's not the first time he's done it. "Alright, settle down now," Ms. Morton hushed us. "You'll be continuing the work we left off on Friday, so I hope you brought your text books," she goes on. I hear Joey swear behind me. "Now, get into your groups," she said and went to her desk. Joey and I rush to the corner of the room, getting dibs on the only round table. Javier sets his text book down on the desk. "You and G can share right?" he asks. "Yeah, sure," Joey answers for us. The assignment is simple. I don't know how we couldn't finish Friday. We were deep in our work when I hear the door open. "Mr. Hernandez... you're ten minutes late," I hear Ms. Morton. "I'll let it slide today but it's detention the next time, and there better not be a next time," she warns. "Yeah," Raul replied. I smile as he passes behind me, sitting to my left. He dumps his binder and text book. "Sup, guys," he greets, flickering his eyes to me. "Hey," Joey and Javier greet in unison. "How-uh, how was your weekend, G?" he asks. "It was... alright. Yours?" "Boring..." Javier has his face buried in the text. I noticed every once in a while Joey glancing at Raul then at me. I'm not sure if he's doing this on purpose or not but Raul's knee rrubs against mine from time to time. It felt tingles of electricity. I gasp, looking at him. Joey looks up at me and I look at Raul. He stops his work and gives me a casual glance then goes back to his work. I raise my hand, "May I use the restroom?" I ask. "You may," she answers. "Can I too?" Raul asks. I look down, then I see Joey raise his hand, "Me three?" "No," I almost shout. Raul gives him a glare that can only be read as "Back off!" Joey lowers his hand, "Nevermind," he says. "Okay, but straight there and straight back," I rush to the the bathroom with Raul following silently behind. I make it to the bathroom, pass the sinks, the urinals and the stalls. I reach a wall and back to a corner, facing Raul, who is leaning with his hand against the wall, facing me. I hate being the one to break the silence but I had to say something. I open my mouth to speak but Raul gestures his free finger over his lips and then gives me a light grin. He leans closer. I back up. He gives me a crooked smile. "What's wrong, G-Boy? I thought you would like this..." "So... you are... too?" I ask. He almost frowns. "I dunno, I need to check it out again to see," he leans even closer. I remember last year a senior got arrested for having sex with a freshman in the bathroom. He's still in jail and the guys still tease the girl. I wouldn't want Raul to be put away because of me, but I want this so badly. "But..." "Sshhh... I'll be quick," he leans in and kisses my forehead. It's awkward but it feals tingley nonetheless. I look up at him and his face looked serious like it did on Friday night. He leans over me, kissing my nose then my cheeks and finally my lips. It felt better and more natural but I can feel he was holding back. He slides his hand under my pants, gripping my member. I gasp. He's the first guy to touch me there. On Friday, I only came because my cock rubbed against his abs while I was under him. He stops. "You do want this right?" he asks before continuing. "Yeah," I answer, not smiling. I'm trying to match his seriousness. He smiles and continues to rub my cock while kissing my neck. I wrap my arms around him and rub his back. I lift enough of his uniform to allow my hands to get through and rub his bare skin. I moan involuntarily. He lets me go to whip out his growing cock. I reach out to it with one hand to wiggle it with my fingers. I pull him closer to the point that his cock is rubbing against the lower half of my uniform shirt. I never realized how tall he is. I let him lead by rubbing against me and me just holding him close. Every once in a while we'd stop because we think someone is walking in but no one entered the bathroom. Eventually I came in his hand and he put his cock away without coming. He pulled out of my pants, looks at his hand and licks my cum off of it. I'm flushed while Raul looked normal, as if this didn't happen. "Aren't you gonna finish?" I pant. "Nah, I'm good. I just wanted to see something," he tells me. I doubt he's using me, otherwise I would have been on my knees and I wouldn't have gotten off. "Come on, Morton'll get pissed if we stay any longer," he says, walking away. "Right..." I'm still panting. "Must have been some shit," Javier says as we take our seats. "Yeah. Had to wait for G to finish," Raul says, elbowing me. "Shut up!" I kick him, not enough to hurt. I begin my work. I'm on the last section for review. Even though I can't see him, I can feel Joey looking at me. I look towards Raul and see he's looking back at Joey's direction. "G's going," I hear Joey tell Raul. I see Raul's arm slightly flex. "Ah okay," he responds. "So you goin'?" Joey asks. "I'll have to see," "'Kay, just let me know whenever," "Can I see your sheet, Ra?" Javier interupts. "Yeah," Raul hands him his notes. It's funny, knowing where that hand has been. I tried my hardest not to laugh. I went unnoticed. The bell rang. The school day is over. Just nine more days till the end of the semester. We pack our things and leave. "You gonna be on tonight, G-Boy?" Raul asks. He's refering to the Xbox. Now that he has a gold account he can play Live with us. I love how he just asked me and not the others. "Yeah, I wanna beat Blood Harvest on expert," I answer. We play a lot of Left 4 Dead. It's my favorite Live game. "Need any help?" Joey butts in. "Yeah sure," Raul answers for me. "Okay, I'll be on around three," he says "Later, Ra. See you at the truck, G," and leaves. "Need a ride home?" Raul asks, ignoring what Joey told me. "Javie is taking me," I motion to Javier, who is walking to his locker. He puts on a sour face. "It's cramped in there. There's more room in my car," he says. I'd be an idiot to turn his offer down, not wanting to relive what happened this morning. "'Kay, lemmie just let Javie know," I tell him, pulling out my phone. "Cool, he smiles. "May as well stay at my place till the game..." he offers. There's a lot we can do in half an hour at his place... Yay! This one didn't take two months to type! That's an achievement. To me at least :P. I guess it's easier to type for Gio than it is for Raul. I think it's because I can relate to Gio more. Actually, that's being too generous. I'm more of a dork, but that's alright. Well, anyways, e-mail me for your thoughts at spadeofnate@hotmail.com :).