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Family – The New Addition

Chapter 1

Meeting Riley

Blake and Ian are sitting in the school's auditorium waiting for Ms. Browning to step up to the podium to discuss her fledgling club. Its purpose is to the bridge the gap between the kids in her special education classroom by pairing them up with the general education kids who signed up to be members. Trace wanted to be here to listen to the presentation but he agreed to cover someone's shift, so he could pick up a little extra money. Ian agreed with Blake that this club would be a good way to volunteer at school, and he might make a few new friends in the process, so it's a win/win for him.

"Dad, I'm a little nervous."

"Why, Blake?"

"I'm afraid that I won't be able to do this."

Ian just stares at Blake, because he cannot believe what just came out of his son's mouth.

"You can do this son."

"Thanks for believing in me Dad."

Ian is hoping that Blake will take this club seriously and form a new friendship with someone who might need a friend. Blake wants to experience new things in the club, and more importantly, he wants to help others via his club membership.

***

As they're waiting for the meeting to start, Ian scans the room looking to see who else is attending the meeting. As he's looking across the rest of the audience, his eyes spot three friends of the family. Caden, Jared, and Riley are in the audience and he cannot wait to introduce them to his son. He hopes that Blake and Riley will become friends because of their participation in the club. First he has to get Blake interested in meeting Riley.

"Blake, do you see the guys sitting over there?"

Pointing may be rude, but how else do you show someone where to look in a crowded room.

"Yeah, what about them?"

"I don't think they've been to the house, but you may have heard Dad and me talking about Caden, Riley, or Jared?"

Blake thinks for a second and recalls a phone call a few days ago, where Trace was speaking with someone, when his dad mentioned the name, Riley. Blake nods his head acknowledging the fact that he's aware of Riley's name, at least.

"Well, Caden is sitting on the aisle, next to him is his brother, Riley, and next to Riley is Jared. Jared is Caden's boyfriend. I don't have time to tell you about Riley, but I think you should at least meet him. He's a good guy."

The young man decides that maybe his Dad is right and Riley might make a good friend. Blake watches to see if Riley turns around so he can see if he knows the teen. Blake knows Riley's name but he can't put a name to the face. Something else catches his eyes though and he faces the front.

***

Ms. Browning approaches the podium and looks out across the audience. She smiles as she gazes out across the crowd stopping occasionally to glance at people in the audience. Blake's guessing that she must be looking at some of the kids in her class.

"First, I'd like to welcome all the students from my class as well as their families. I would also like to welcome all the students and their families who are interested in being in the club. Tonight, I want to talk to mainly the adults that are here tonight, because all of the teenagers in the room have already heard this talk earlier in the day. The idea for this club came from a friendship that I noticed last school year between one of my students and a young lady who was serving as a peer mentor in my room. I noticed that they interacted in my room, in the hallways, at breakfast and during lunch. It wasn't long before I noticed my peer mentor's friends were also interacting with her charge, and my student's circle of friends grew. I sat down with my aides and did my best to come up with how I could help all my students find that circle of friends. Together, we worked on building this club. The club will serve as a social network for my class and those students who are here with us tonight. I hope that your son or daughter will choose one or more of my kids to befriend and hopefully before the end of the year my students will have their circle of friend's increase. We hope to engage students in my room and those outside of my room in social events throughout the year. Parents, I ask that you support your children as we move forward. I ask the members to likewise support each other and your new friends. Now, I'll take questions from the audience."

There were several questions from parents and students before she stood up again to address the crowd again. Blake and Ian are listening to her every word, so they can learn more about the club, so that they can grab hold of some excitement for what lays ahead of them.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, I have 12 kids in my class, and each one of them deserves to have a friend. I know there are more than twenty general education kids in attendance today, but I will not stop anyone from being a friend to my students as long as they treat my students with respect. Our first meeting will be next Friday during 7^th hour. Students don't worry, you will be excused from your 7^th hour class as long as you don't have a test that hour. Our first activity is going to be a meal that you all will plan, you will prepare the meal, and then we will sit down together to eat it. Now with eating in mind, I would like to invite all the students and their families to come up and enjoy some refreshments. Feel free to mingle and I encourage you to talk to someone new tonight. Thanks for coming out."

She ends her speech and closes the formal meeting. Blake's eyes immediately go back to where Riley and family are sitting. Maybe, it is his dad's words or something else inside of him, but having Riley, as a friend feels right to him.

***

Ian and Blake walk over to the food and grab a few cookies to munch on and then head over to the punch bowl before Ian leads the way over to where Caden, Riley, and Jared are standing.

"Hey guys, I would like you meet my son, Blake. You've heard a bunch about him, so I thought you should meet him."

Caden and Jared reach out their hands to Blake.

"Hi, we've heard a lot about you from your dads. It is nice to finally get to meet you. Are you participating in the club?"

As Caden finishes speaking, Riley reaches out to shake Blake's hand. Blake notices for a second that Riley's hand shakes just a little bit. Reaching out, he accepts the offer to shake hands with Riley.

"Hi...hi, I-I'm...Riley."

Riley's face is lit up. He's hoping that this guy will be his friend.

"Hey Riley, I'm Blake."

"I...I know. Would...you like...to be my...friend?"

`How could I not want to be his friend?'

"I would love to be your friend."

You can see the happiness in Riley's eyes. Blake is happy to welcome Riley into his circle of friends. Blake decides that he wants Riley as his friend for the club. He also wants to take their friendship away from the club.

"Riley, we need to go, say goodbye."

Caden says as he looks at his brother. It's pretty clear that Riley doesn't want to leave but Caden and Jared have shopping to get done before they go back to the house and continue packing.

"Bye guys, have a good one and enjoy what's left of the day."

Ian says as he shakes hands with Jared and Caden. Turning to Riley, he reaches out his right hand and waits for Riley to reach out his hand.

"Bye Ian."

"Bye Riley, I hope you have a great day."

"Bye...Blake. Thanks...for-for coming. See you...you later."

Blake smiles as he pats Riley on the back.

"Be good man, see you at school okay?"

Riley shakes hands with Blake before they turn to leave.

"See you at lunch?"

Riley turns to Blake one last time and says "Yeah." and then he carefully turns back towards the exit. The guys disappear from the auditorium. Blake and Ian talk to a few other people before heading out the door to head home themselves.

***

After working in his room on a project, Blake comes downstairs with some questions about Riley. Finding Ian in the kitchen, Blake stands up near the island in the kitchen while Ian is chopping some vegetables for dinner.

"Dad, what do you know about Riley?"

Ian pauses his chopping and looks at his son. Not knowing what Blake wants to know, he decides to tell him everything he knows about the young man.

"Well Blake, Riley is a special young man. I'm not talking about him being in that class, but because he is a survivor. He came out to his dad only to be punched and knocked to the floor hard enough to cause him to suffer a bad fall onto the hardwood floor in his house. Riley ended up being knocked unconscious by his father. His brother thinks that he may have bounced a little when he hit the floor. Riley suffered a traumatic brain injury, and it's that injury that left Riley as he is today. Riley had to learn a bunch of stuff that you take for granted over again. He does not remember things very well. Caden was telling me one day that it is not uncommon for him to ask about what happened to him, where his dad is, or why he can't ride his skateboard any more. Do not be surprised if he doesn't remember your name. He does not want to forget things, so do not let it phase you. Always answer his questions, even if you have to repeat yourself twenty or thirty times."

A tear runs down Blake's face as he listens to Riley's story. It is hard to imagine someone causing their child that much pain.

"His dad really did that to him?"

Ian can hear the disbelief in Blake's voice.

"Yeah, he did and his mom just stood there and watched it happen. She even lied to the police in order to protect her husband."

`At least my parents didn't take my life away from me. Sure, they kicked me out of the house and sent me to live on the streets, but thanks to my dads, I bounced back. What chance does Riley have of ever living a normal life?'

Blake feels guilty for just being able to remember his name. How is he going to be able to face Riley without feeling guilty? How is he going to be able to face Riley without those feelings getting in the way?

"Blake, if it helps, you can't feel sorry for him or feel bad because you can do things that he can't. You have to accept him for how he is now and then move forward. He's going to want you to be his friend and you can't do that if every time you see him, you start feeling bad for him."

"Dad, how did you know what I was having trouble. I was so sure that I wanted to be his friend at the meeting but not, how do I go about being his friend now?"

Blake's eyes are moist now and it is hard to hide the pain. Ian comes around the island and hugs his son.

"I could see the pain in your eyes; I guess I just figured it out. Let me ask you question, if you were in his shoes, would you want his friends who were only your friends because they felt sorry for you or would you want your friends to accept you for you?"

"I'd want people to accept me and be my friends regardless of what happened to me."

Ian pats his son on his back and smiles at him.

"That is all anyone would want son."

Blake is curious as to what might be asked of him. He looks at Ian waiting for him to say whatever is on his mind.

"Promise me, that you won't let anyone be mean to him, and don't ever put him or allow him to put himself in a situation where he might get hurt or embarrassed."

Ian doesn't want Blake feeling bad for Riley.

"I promise Dad, I won't let anyone put him down."

When Blake gives his word, he keeps it and Ian knows this and worked it to the young man's advantage.

"Are you good?"

Ian asks as he picks up the knife back up from the cutting board.

"Yeah, I'm good. Thanks Dad."

With the questions answered, Blake heads back to his room and Ian goes back to the chopping vegetables.

***

Blake is not in his room too long, when his cell phone rings. He is expecting it to be Trace and instead it is Uncle Michael.

"Hi Uncle Michael. What's up?"

"Not a whole lot man, I was just calling because it's been a little while since we talked talk. So, what is going on with you?"

"Well, I joined a club at school."

There is a moment of silence of while Michael is talking to someone at his house.

"Sorry about that, I had someone pop in to say hi. So what kind of club are you in?"

"It's a club where we get to befriend another kid that's in the high school special education room. We do activities together and the goal is to hopefully bridging the gap between general education and special education."

Michael smiles as he listens to his nephew talk about the club.

"Yeah, I haven't told Trace yet, but I am going to pair up with this kid that Trace and Dad know. From what Ian was telling me, that kid suffered a traumatic brain injury at his father's hands, when he came out to him. He has not been the same since the attack, and he's in need of friends, so I figured why not. I want to make him happy. I know he'll be an awesome friend. Maybe, I can introduce him to Ben."

What Blake doesn't know is that Trace has come home and is listening to what his son is saying. He's glad to hear that his son is making a decision that will bring happiness to someone else.

"Hey Blake, it sounds like this guy is lucky to have you as a friend. I hope you can make this club work for the two of you. I wish my high school offered something like this when I was in school. I would have joined up for sure."

Michael knew kids who were in those classes, but with his class load, he could not have been a peer mentor (assistant) in the classroom, so this club would have been an asset to him.

"Yeah, Ian and Trace are being great about me being in this club, then again, they've always supported me no matter what. I love my dads."

Trace knocks on the door and just waves to Blake in passing.

"Your dads are awesome. Trace as always been supportive of Ian and me is incredible. You really lucked out when it comes to those two guys."

"Yeah, they are pretty great guys."

Again, Trace overhears him talking and loves it, and he cannot wait to tell Ian what he has heard.

"I think I had better let you go Uncle Michael."

"I'll talk to you later my nephew. Bye."

With that said, Michael ends the call and Blake goes back to work on his project. It takes him a half hour to finish it, and then he heads downstairs to help Ian in the kitchen. Working in the kitchen is fun for Blake, and it gives him a chance to hang out with whichever of his dads are making dinner on any given night. Even now, he finds himself thinking about Riley.

***

The family is sitting around the dinner table and the conversation, at least to start with, is dominated by Trace talking about some of the craziness that happened while he was working today. Eventually though, the conversation turns to the meeting that Ian and Blake went too. Trace is happy to hear that the meeting went well.

"Ian thinks that I should become friends with Riley, what do you think Dad?"

Trace looks up from his plate and looks at Blake.

"Do you like Riley?"

"I haven't really had much time to get to know him, so I'm not sure, but I'm willing to take a chance on him."

"Good, because I don't want you giving up on someone no matter who they are."

He is so proud of his son for accepting Riley as a friend.

"Blake, Dad and I don't tell you this often enough, but we are proud of you."

Trace reaches out and pats Blake on his back.

"Thanks Dad, thanks Ian."

Blake knows that they love him, and he knows that he doesn't want to let them down. By not trying to be friends with Riley, he would be letting his parents down as well as Riley. The very idea makes him sad.

"At some point, I want to introduce Riley to Ben. Maybe I'll do it at school on Monday."

"That would be awesome; do you guys have the same lunch hour?"

Blake stops to visualize the lunchroom for a second or two before replying to Trace's question.

"Yeah, yeah, he does have the same lunch hour as me. He's been sitting with a senior guy."

Now that Blake thinks about, he believes that something is going on between the two of them.

"You should introduce yourself to his friend or better yet, maybe Ben will introduce him to you."

Ian suggests to Blake thinking it might expand his son's circle of friends.

"I can do that with no problem. Everyone likes me or will like me."

He is right, though to be honest, there are some people who refuse to give in to his charms. As dinner winds down, he walks up to his room to clean it up a bit before heading off to bed.

***

Ian stops by the office and in the process, he passes Blake's bedroom. Blake sees Ian and it reminds him to ask a question. Putting on his robe, Blake heads towards the office. He knocks on the door and then enters the room.

"Dad, do you have a phone number that I can use to get in contact with Riley?"

"Um yeah, can you give me a minute?"

"Sure." Blake is tired and would rather be in bed but this is important. Ian finishes what he is doing and then takes out his planner and looks up the number. Grabbing a pencil and a piece of paper, he writes down the number for his son.

"Here you go sir."

"Thanks Dad." Blake leaves the room and heads back to his room. He hangs up his robe on the coat hook on his door and then returns to his bed.

***

In the morning, Blake finishes organizing his room, and then heads downstairs to clean the living room. He hasn't discussed it with his dads, yet but he plans to invite Riley over to the house today. He wants to get to know him. When he's finishing up in the living room, Ian comes down the stairs and looks surprised by what his son is doing.

"Are you okay? What did someone do with our son? There must be an alien invasion."

"Wow Dad, I was just cleaning the house. Can't a guy clean house from time to time?"

Ian just smirks at his son's latter comment.

"I'm glad that you're cleaning but I can't help wondering why!"

Blake just shakes his head and sits down on the couch. A few seconds later, he turns to his dad and smiles.

"I knew it, you want something. What is it?"

"I was just wondering if I could invite Riley over for a while?"

Ian looks through his planner to check for anything that might interfere with Blake's plans.

"Yeah, you can invite him over."

"Thanks Dad."

Blake says as he runs up the stairs almost knocking Trace down in the process.

"What's got him so excited?"

"I gave him permission to have Riley over at the house today."

Trace sits down and puts his left arm up on Ian's shoulder.

"Sounds good to me, it will give Riley some time with a friend other than Ryan."
Ian smiles at Trace's words, because he's thinking the same exact thing. Meanwhile, back upstairs, Blake has already called Riley's house and spoken with Caden. Caden knows that Blake intends to invite his brother over to the house, but he still wants Blake to do the inviting. A few seconds later, Caden hands the phone over to his brother.

"H-hello, Ri-ley here."

"Hey Riley, it's Blake. I was wondering if you wanted to come over to my house for a little bit."

Not having anything else to do, Riley looks at his brother and quietly asks if he can go to Blake's. Caden gives the okay for him to go over to Blake's house.

"Ca-den says...says that I...I can come over."

Both Blake and Riley are excited; they can't wait to have some time together.

"See you soon Riley."

Blake is happy to be spending some time with his new friend. While he is waiting for Riley, Blake heads upstairs to his room does some work with his photography.

***

Fifteen minutes later, Blake is downstairs when a car pulls up. In a heartbeat, he's at the door and waiting for them to knock. Almost as soon as he's at the door, there is a knock at the door. Opening the door, he finds Caden, Jared, and Riley so he welcomes them into the house.

"Blake, Riley can be a little wobbly on his feet at times, so be careful with the stairs if you head upstairs."

Caden advises Blake before Caden and Jared go outdoors to talk with Trace and Ian while the teens talk. Blake and Riley take a seat on the couch and start their conversation.

"So what hobbies do you have?"

Riley takes a second or two to consider the question.

"I...I...like to draw, but I...I...can't draw...as much."

Blake decides that he wants to see Riley's drawings at some point.

"What would you like to know about me?"

"Do...you...ska...te-board?"

Blake has never been on a skateboard in his life, and he really does not want to ride one.

"That would be a big fat no."

"Why...not? It's...it's fun."

A smile breaks out on Blake's face as he looks at Riley's face.

"I would be on my butt, scrapping up my elbows and my knees. At any rate, it would not be pleasant."

Deciding to move away from the current subject, Blake decides to ask about his favorite subject at school.

"I...like English...and...and art."

"My favorite course is my Digital Photography class."

They exchange a few more questions with each other before Blake gets them some milk and Ian's homemade chocolate chip cookies.

***

As they are enjoying their cookies, there is a knock at the door. Blake gets up to answer the door. He smiles when he sees who was knocking at the door. "Hi Babe." Ben says as he looks into his boyfriend's eyes. Blake welcomes him, takes his hand and walks with him to the couch. Riley sees them holding hands and his eyes get big.

"You...you...are...gay?"

He is looking up at Blake as he asks the question.

"That is not a problem, is it?"

Blake says hoping that Riley does not have a problem with him being gay. If you think about it though, it would be hypocritical of him to be against someone because of their orientation. Ben's at a loss because he does not even know who the other guy is that's sitting on the couch.

"No it...it isn't, I...I am too."

Blake already guessed that part.

"Cool, that makes things easier. So I guess I need to introduce you to my boyfriend. This is Ben, my boyfriend, and this is Riley, his brother and his brother's boyfriend is friends with my dads, but Riley is one of my newest friends."

"Hey nice to meet you."

Ben reaches out his hand to greet Riley. They shake hands and instantly Riley's charm goes to work on him. Pretty soon the guys are watching television and enjoying each other's company. Blake and Riley are on the road to becoming good friends. Riley is fitting in nicely with Ben so far, so maybe the three of them can be friends, not that Blake needs Ben's permission to be friends with anyone, but it would be nice to see Ms. Browning's dream come true for Riley. Blake runs upstairs after the show goes off to grab his photo album to show Riley and Ben. Coming back down, he joins them on the couch and shows off the pictures that he likes the most.

***

It's not too long after Blake got the album that the adults came into the house. Caden walks up to where the teens are sitting and looks at his brother.

"Hey guy, we need to go. Jared has to get to work."

"Do...do I...I have to leave?"

"Yes, you have too. You can see Blake again, but for now we need to go."

Riley stands up and looks a little disappointed as he turns to look at Ben and Blake.

"Bye...guys, see you-you next...time."

"Bye Riley! You be good."

Blake says as he gets up from the couch. "Bye man." Ben says as he waves to his new friend. Riley doesn't say anything, instead he just waves.

"Thanks Blake for inviting him over, that means a lot."

Caden smiles at Blake who feels good about what he decided to do.

"You're welcome, thanks for bringing him."

Caden, Jared, and Riley head for the door followed by Blake, so he can close the door behind them. He's smiling all the way to his seat.

"You look happy."

"I am Ben. I think I just made Riley's day. I'm not sure why but I get the impression that he doesn't get invited to come to friend's houses very often."

Ben reacts to Blake's sentence by frowning.

"He seems like a great guy, why wouldn't he have friends."

"I think a lot of people see only his disability, and they don't know his story."

Blake spends the next few minutes telling Ben what happened to Riley. His reaction is very much like what Blake's had been, a bit of anger and sorrow.

"I think, we should do lunch with him tomorrow at school."

Blake likes the idea and hopes that Riley will be okay with it. It would give them more time to socialize.

"I hate to say this buddy, but I need to run."

Blake kisses his boyfriend before his dads can see them. He hates it when Ian or Trace make a big deal out of it. They never do it while Ben is around so they do not embarrass him as well. Course, Blake knows they're only joking but Ben may not take it as a joke.

"Bye Ben, I love you."

"Bye Babe, I love you too."

Blake and Ben head towards the door and Blake escorts him out of the house.

***

A few miles away at Caden's home, Riley is on the phone talking to his boyfriend. He starts by being a little mushy with Ryan, and then they move on to what Ryan was doing, while Riley was gone and what Ryan has planned for today.

"Ryan, I...I...met a new friend."

"Awesome Riley." Since the accident, Riley has made friends but there have been fewer people stepping up to be his friend, so having a new friend is incredible.

If Riley is going to have Blake in his life, then perhaps he had better be Blake's friend too. Blake's friends should be his friend also; likewise, Ryan's friends need to accept Riley and Blake as well.

"You...you...haven't answered? Okay...to...have lunch with him?"

"It's fine with me if we meet him for lunch tomorrow."

Riley's face lights up as his world becomes a little bit larger and brighter. . More and more, the guys are developing their bond, and it is stronger and stronger every day. With lunch plans set for school on Monday, it's time for the guys to say goodbye. They said their goodbyes; Riley puts the phone and lays down to sleep.

***

It's Monday around 11:30 am, and Blake and Ben are sitting in the cafeteria waiting to see if Riley shows up. They talk amongst themselves as they wait, and then very slowly Riley and another guy that Blake doesn't recognize come towards the table. Blake and Ben stand up to greet their friend.

"Hey Riley, please sit down."

They take turns shaking Riley's hand, and then they face the new guy. Riley turns to Ryan who is busy setting down their lunch trays at the empty spots at the table.

"This...is Ryan. He's...my...my...boyfriend."

Ryan, Blake and Ben exchange handshakes before he sits down for lunch. Their conversation is mostly small talk just the guys talking between themselves. Ryan wants to thank them for befriending Riley, but then it hits him that maybe he should not be thanking them for doing what others should be doing because it's the right thing to do. When Riley is done with his lunch, both Ryan and Riley get up to return his tray.

"Why don't you follow me up to return my tray?"

Ben asks as he looks at Blake as they watch Ryan tenderly help Riley as they walk.

"You never asked me to follow you, plus I'm usually the first one done, and you're still eating."

Ben laughs at the comment, but his boyfriend is right, he is usually the last one eating.

"Maybe, we could just walk up together and dump our trays."

As Ryan and Riley head back to the table, Blake can see the same love that he has for Ben burning in Ryan's eyes as he looks at Riley. It's clear that the two of them share a special connection. It's something that he can see and anyone else who can see them should be able to see their love. that is if they aren't blind. Ben and Blake stand up to dump their trays and as they head for their table, they hear someone say, "Look at the fags" and their hearts break. It makes Blake's skin crawl, and Ben's face glows with anger, but they don't know who said it, so they ignore it. When they sit down, Blake looks at this new friends and he wonders if they have had people call them fags. Ben and Blake take each other hands and ignore the comments. They get back to talking amongst their friends at the table.

`Wonder what Ryan sees in Riley?'

Ben doesn't see it, but if it works then it works. It's not our place to judge any relationship.

***

As Blake is sitting with the guys, his dad walks up to the table. Ian usually doesn't bother Blake at school, but on rare occasions, he'll visit him at lunch. Today, there are teacher meetings after school and he does not think that Blake would want to stick around for the hour or two that the meetings might continue after school. He's arranged for Blake to be picked up from school, and he wants to make sure that he knows.

"Hey Blake, I'm sorry for interrupting, but I wanted to let you know that Dad will be picking up today so be looking for him."

Blake loves it when Trace picks him up from school, because it usually means a stop for ice cream or a ride in the squad car.

"Thanks Dad. Am I meeting him in the back?"

"You're welcome. Um, you're going to meet him where the rest of the car-riders meet their rides okay?"

"Okay."

"Love you Son."

"Love you Dad."

Ian turns around, leaves the cafeteria, and heads back to his room. Blake is left with his boyfriend and their friends. He's glad that they've made friends with Riley and Ryan.

***

Ian is back in his room looking over his lesson plans for his next class. He's looking down at his plan book when Ms. Browning enters his room.

"Hey Ian, do you have a minute?"

She startles him causing him to jump.

"Um...yeah, I have a minute. How can I help you?"

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about your son."

He looks concerned that maybe Blake has got in trouble.

"Is everything okay?"

She can see the concern burning in his eyes.

"Yeah, Riley Bishop has been talking about Blake since he came in this morning. I noticed that today at lunch he was sitting with Blake, Ben Hatcher, and Ryan Mitchell, and that is awesome. I would love for Blake to be a peer mentor in my classroom for next year. Do you think you could talk to him? I thought, I would pass it by you and see what you thought.

Blake would learn something about himself in the process of participating in this club. He'll have opportunities to help others. It might even look good on high school transcripts and on job resumes, either way Blake needs to at least consider this for next year."

"We will sit down with him and talk it over with him tonight when I get home. First though, I need to pass it by Trace."

Knowing Blake, he'll jump at the chance to be more involved. It will give him a chance to get to know the students in Ms. Browning's class.

"Thanks Ian, I hope I didn't keep you too long."

"You're welcome. I will let you know what Blake decides to do."

He'll do it; there is no doubt in his dad's mind that Blake will stand by these kids. Ms. Browning leaves the room hoping she'll have a new peer mentor who will be there for the right reasons.

***

The end of the day has finally come and Blake has walked to the spot where students who are being picked up are gathering while they wait for their rides. If Trace is working, he'll be the first in the lineup so he can grab Blake, drop him off at home, and then go back to the station. Today though, he is at the tail end of the line up since he doesn't have to go back to work. Getting into the car, Blake wasted no time in getting buckled up.

"Ready for ice cream?"

Blake is silent which is typical of him.

"Did you finish work already?"

Blake is hoping that they can just sit at home and have some fun, maybe watch a movie.

"Yes, I did. Didn't you notice that I wasn't home when you for school this morning?"

Blake feels kind of silly, because when he thinks back to morning, Trace's car was missing from the driveway.

"So, are we doing ice cream tonight?"

"Yeah, we are doing ice cream."

Blake wouldn't have it any way. Blake just wishes that Ian could be here too.

"Okay, we are headed for ice cream then."

When they arrive at the ice cream parlor, Trace and Blake get out of the car and head inside. Once their ice cream cones are in their hands, they sit at one of the tables that are located inside the business. Trace and Blake start talking the minute they sit in their chairs. It seems that Blake was impressed with how loving Ryan was with Riley. It's not every day that someone affects his son the way that Riley seems to have and that is a good thing or at least Trace hopes it's a good thing. When they are done, they head home to get some quality father and son time behind them.

***

Ian is cooking tonight, and he already knows what he's making for dinner. Tonight is pasta night. He already has Italian sausage browning in a pan, the sauce is cooking in the saucepan, and the pasta is boiling in the pot. The house smells wonderful as the fragrances of spices, onions, and peppers are cooking on the stove. Blake is up in his room working on homework, and Trace is working on getting the table set for dinner. Ian calls everyone for dinner and it doesn't take long for everyone to gather round the table.

"So I had a visit with Ms. Browning today after I spoke with you today, Blake."

Blake looks at Ian as he waits for his dad to tell him what she wanted.

`It must be important if he is bringing it up at dinner.'

Trace is waiting to find out what Ms. Browning wanted with Ian.

"She is impressed with Blake already and how he's interacting with Riley. Anyway, she wants you to be a peer mentor in her classroom next school year."

A little bit of pride builds in Blake's heart, but he has no idea what a peer mentor does, so he gives his dad a glance. Curiosity demands that he knows.

"What does a peer mentor do?"

"Well, you will be under Ms. Browning's wing, working with her students, maybe grading papers, going with them to gym along with one of her aides. You do what she says, you don't talk about the kids outside of the class, and you'll be okay. She'll explain everything, but I know that you'll do just fine."

"So what are the perks of being a peer mentor Ian?"

He doesn't need to hear the perks, because he likes her class, and would love to be able to help out.

"I think she does several field trips during the year, that she brings her peer mentors on, she is willing to help you out if you're having a hard time in a class, she'll speak up for you if she feels that you're in the right, and she'll listen to you if you need to her to listen to you. She is an all-around good person.

Blake laughs at his dads.

"You didn't have to butter me up. I would have agreed to it even if you didn't tell me all this stuff."

His dads nod at each other and then they smile at Blake.

"So, I can tell her to say that you'll be there next year with a smile on your face?"

"Yeah isn't that what I just said."

Trace gives him the "don't push it look" and he means it. Blake tones himself down a bit and then finishes his meal. In the meantime, Ian is busy texting Ms. Browning. She is one of a small handful of teachers at the school that he enjoys talking too. This is one teacher who doesn't like drama, he prefers his friends to be more or less drama free.

"Okay Blake, you are locked in for next year as long as your schedule allows you to have an assistant hour."

Reaching across the table, Blake high fives Ian and then he does the same to Trace.

"We expect you to do good and not goof off too much, while you're in there."

There is no doubt that they have high expectations for their son, and for the most part he's lived up to their hopes for him.

"I won't let you guys down."

Trace pats his son's back and then gets up and scrapes his plate, and puts into the sink. Blake follows behind him and then goes to check on the animals.

***

Blake is cleaning up his snake cage, when Ian enters the room to deliver a message.

"Hey Caden's on the phone for you?"
Blake puts the snake down in its tank and closes everything up before he sanitizes and heads for the phone. Grabbing the phone, he sits down living room while his dads do the dishes.

"Hello."

There is a brief second of silence of before Caden speaks up.

"Hey Blake, I just wanted to say thank you for being a friend to my brother. You made Riley really happy. I haven't seen him this excited since the day he met Ryan. It really meant a lot to Jared and I that you invited Riley over to your house."

"Thanks Caden, I really appreciate you calling me. Riley is great guy."

`Ryan isn't bad either.'

Caden just hopes that Blake does not do anything to hurt Riley, because it would not go over very well especially not with Ryan. When it comes to Riley, Ryan just might explode on someone who hurt his boyfriend.

"Riley wanted me to tell you that he thinks Ben is a great guy."

Blake smiles in agreement.

"Yeah, he is pretty special to me. Oh and can you tell him, that I hope Ryan and him last forever?"

"I will tell him."

Caden chuckles a bit as he finishes his sentence.

"Hey Caden, I need to let you go. I need to get back to cleaning up after the animals."

"Okay well, you take care and talk to you again soon."

Blake can't wait to have that chance to speak with Riley again. The world seems so much brighter right now. It feels great to have a new friend in his corner. It's incredible to know that he's appreciated for just being him.

***

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