Date: Thu, 3 Mar 2011 09:06:56 +0000 From: Tommy Evans Subject: uriel and jon: growing up chapter 19 It was now April. I ended up moving the same weekend Adrian moved. It was weird how it worked out that way. It did take a month though. My mom and I did have fun furnishing my place and getting it painted accordingly. I even had a room for Adrian and a spare in case someone came over. I knew it was rubbish because Adrian would just stay with me when he came over but o well, her idea. I was over at Adrian's helping him get everything boxed up and ready for the movers to take it to the truck. "So, we're both moving. I wish I was staying at your house today" said Adrian. "Me too. No lie it might be a little lonely" I said. "Just enjoy it man. FREEDOM!" he said excitedly. "Dude, I know. But remember, too much of a good thing can be a bad thing" "Yeah this is very true. Well remember in the summer I can come stay with you" he said. "Yeah, and you're mom wont be alone because she'll be with family" "Correct. So we all win. I like winning situations" "Good. Alright well is everything packed?" I asked as I taped the last box. "Yep. Lets go to your moms house to get some food" he said. "Good idea" I agreed. We walked to my moms house, because my house was now 15 blocks away, and we walked to the kitchen for some lunch. "Boys, why are you taking my food?" my dad asked. "we're hungry" I said. "Well young man, go to your house and eat your own fooD" he smiled. "Smart. Well I'm out of groceries" I joked. "Nonsense, your mom filled them up this morning" he said. "DAd I was supposed to do that. What's the point of me moving out if you guys do everything" "Well you would have forgotten" he said. "Dad its not like I'm even going to cook" "Good point. Do you need a chef?" he asked. "No and that's that" I said as I went up to my room. Well my old room. It still had everything, except for half my clothes. I had moved the stuff I wear most to the new place. Adrian and I ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches just sitting there thinking about what was happening. We didn't really say much, but we knew things were going to change. I think we were both scared to see what would happen. "So did you get that job you applied for?" he asked. "Yeah...dad wasn't too happy about me leaving the restaurant." "Well you're just trying it out right?" he asked. "Yeah and I'm still working at the restaurant at nights" "how are you going to make time for school?" "O umm...I took my last class. Taking a break" I said. "You dumbass. Well how much money are you going to make working both?" "Plenty. But im not worried about that. I'm just having fun" I said. "Your just working yourself to death" he said. "Yeah this is true" "Aaron, you and I havent kissed in a while" "Yeah, umm...we haven't" "I don't mean to be rude or anything, but, do you still like me?" he asked. "Yeah. You're sexy" I said. "Well what happened?" he asked. "Umm...I got lost" "I see...well...do you think we can...you know...before...we move" he asked. "Adrian, I'm still trying to fix myself" "I know Aaron. But he's gone. He's been gone" "I know. Listen, we'll see ok. Maybe not today, but on the weekend" "Dude, its Sunday. But ok I'll sleep over Friday" "Okay deal" I said. Just then we heard my mom calling us downstairs. "Yeah?" I said as we peeked down the stairs. "Visitor in the garage" she said. "Visitor?" asked Adrian. "O could be your friend from the park?" I asked him. "Maybe. Lets go see" he answered. So we walked to the garage but we were both stumped when we saw Jon standing there. He looked ghetto, confused, and well silly. His outfit was awful and a couple of sizes too big. Although he did look heavier. It had only been a few weeks though, where did all this come from. "Umm...hi?" said Adrian. "You're moving?" asked Jon. "Yeah...I told you a while ago" answered Adrian. "O shit I probably forgot" he said. "uhh...yeah." said Adrian confused. "Well...uhh...that sucks" said jon. "You just noticed now?" I asked. "Umm yeah I saw the trucks" he answered. "Well...don't think it matters too much. Aaron and I are moving" said Adrian. "What?" Jon said surprised. "Yeah" I said. "You're moving?" he asked as he look straight at me. "Yeah, we told you" said Adrian. "Where to? Why?" he asked. "Fairview Heights" said Adrian. "Dude that's like 20 minutes away" said Jon. "and?" asked Adrian. "Um...fuck that's far." he said. "Yeah. Well we have to get going." said Adrian. "O okay...see ya" said Jon. The tone of his voice changed. Adrian gave me a weird look. But I knew what he meant. He wanted Jon to think I was moving away to see how he would react. "Wait Aaron" said Jon as Adrian and I were about to head inside. "I'll be inside" said Adrian as he closed the door. "Yeah" I said as I turned to see Jon's confused face. "Why are you moving?" he asked. "to try things out" "Adrian's going with you?" he asked. "No. he's moving with his mom. I'm living alone" "why alone?" "Why not?" "but that's far dude" "I guess" "well...good luck" he said. I could tell he was stumped. "Thanks dude." I said as I began to turn again. "I'll miss you" he mumbled. "Yeah, I'll miss you too" I said. But I didn't turn to look at him. Just then his friends whistled from outside the driveway. I turned to see them, and then I met Jon's eyes. I think I caught a glimpse of pain. But I wasn't quite sure. "Well see ya" he said. "See ya" was all I could say. Guess that was it. For as much drama we both have caused for each other, our good bye was pretty simple and I guess easy. I went up to my room where I noticed Adrian was looking at the pictures of Jon and I that were around the room. "Hey, I think having all these pictures doesn't really help" he said when he saw me. "Um...yeah. We just say see yaa" I said. "no bye?" "no...it was...see yaa" "Great. You guys are awesome at saying bye" "Well he did said he'd miss me" "Right, like he's missed you these past 3 months?" "Adrian, its different. He knew I was here. But now that I'll be far, maybe it changes things for him" "Well he changed himself. He doesn't even say hi to me when he's outside much. that's bull crap" "Okay I know that. I'm just saying. I havent seen him so confused as he looked today" "Well I don't blame him. He cares about you. He just realized today he kind of lost you for good" "nah. Bet he wont even remember that I moved. He'll just get high and forget" I said. "True. Alright well, my mom just told me I have to go" he said. I walked to him and gave him a hug. A meaningful hug. I was going to miss being his neighbor. "I'll see you Friday dude. Hang in there" he said. "Thanks bubbles" I said. He just punched me in the arm and we walked downstairs. His mom and my parents were hugging and saying goodbyes. Then they told each other they'd visit often and that she had to go to florida this summer with them since she didn't go last year. A lot of byes and kisses and good lucks and then she wished me good luck and then my parents hugged me and wished me good luck. All in all, it was one big huggy kissy good luck/bye fest. My mom was fighting to keep her tears back. Adrian and his mom left first and then I just stood there with my house keys and my car keys in my hand. "Well mom, dad, I'll see you around" I said. "Hon, be careful" said my mom. "Honey, he's 19. He'll be alright" "Do you want me to call you to wake you up? Or go cook you breakfast for your first day at your new job?" she asked. "No mom. I'll be ok. Thanks though. I love you. I'll be ok. I'll call you and let you know how it goes" I said. "Honey, I don't want you to go" she said. "mom, my stuff is there. We spent money getting it ready" I said. "I Know but honey. You're my baby" "let him go. Go champ. Go do your thing. Call me if you need a party brotha!" said my dad. "Dad...no. and thanks" I said. I opened the door. O boy. This was it. I felt that weird rush of emotions run through my mind. My stomach felt weird, my legs felt weak, my senses were tingling. "I love you honey" I heard my mom say. "I love you to mom and dad" I said as I shut the door. I looked at my car, I looked at the road. I looked at my surroundings. This part of my late childhood going away. I had just become, an adult. I slowly walked to my car. I opened the door. I took a second to soak it all in. I turned my car on, turned on my lights and then, I heard Jon. "Wait" he said as he ran from my backyard towards my car door. "You're really moving?" he asked. "yeah. You think I was kidding?" I asked. "Dude, but you're parents. Are they going to miss you" "Yeah, a little." "Dude" he said. And then he just stood there. "Yeah?" I said confused. "I... don't...you forgot to close the garage" he said. It did confused me though. "o um...ok?" I said as I clicked the button and closed it. "Well...uh...later" he said. "Later Jon" I said. He backed away from the car and then started walking back to his house. I felt crushed though. This would have been a lot easier if I left without him doing that. It was as if he wanted to stop me, but froze when he realized he couldn't. I mean I could have told him I was only moving a few blocks down, but I didn't want to ruin the whole reason why I was moving. I slowly drove to my house. Memories flashed through my mind. The first time I met Jon, the first sleep over, the first time we did my bed together, the time went shopping, the trip to florida with uriel, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the tragic. It all went through my head. I had lived so much in such a short period of time. Now it was as if I was leaving it all behind as my car left tire marks on the road. I was turning the page on my life. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I didn't feel too weird waking up at my own house the next morning. Partly because my parents and I spent a few nights here while we were painting and arranging things. I did feel a little weird getting dressed in a suit for my first office job. I couldn't believe I had an office job. I was the assistant of one of my dads friends. He owned this car dealership in the city and needed me to help him with a few numbers and with managing some stuff. Since he really wanted to help out my dad, and of course, get on my dads good side, he gave me the job. It paid very well, and if I helped the dealers numbers go up I'd get a bonus. So I drank my hot chocolate, because I don't drink coffee since its too cliché, and then drove to work. It felt weird pulling into an office at the dealer though. It was a fancy car place too it was all weird. I walked into the place and my boss greeted me. He introduced me to the staff and then took me to where I'd be working. I got the basics down, and then he basically told me I'd be running the place while he was gone. Kind of scary when it was my first real job. But what the heck, I was trying to keep busy, and this was surely going to do it. So I went through my first day of work and most everything went smooth. Except the time where I was supposed to get coffee for my boss, and I forgot. He joked about it and said he had a secretary for that anyway he was just testing to see how much of his bitch I'd be. I hope he saw that I was no ones bitch. I spent the day reading about what my duties and responsibilities where until it was time for me to go home. I didn't do much that first day, but I didn't mind. It was after all, my first day. Once I was at home, with my take out from burger king, I called my mom and dad and told them about work. We chatted and then I went back to my living room to watch tv and relax. I had an hour before the clock hit 5 and I'd have to be at the restaurant for my night shift. I decided to call Adrian. "Hey mr. big office man" he answered. "Yo. Whats up" I said. "How was it?" "O you now. Simple. Nothing too hard for me" "Whatever. Your dad pulled strings" "Hey, he did but I have to pull them once im inside to even keep the job. I have so many things to do. I have to count all the cars, then order more cars, see whats selling, approve sells, manage the show room, and much more" I said. "sounds like you'll stay busy. don't you work at the restaurant tonight too?" he asked. "yeah, from 5 til 10" I said. "geez. You're not a robot. You worked 8-3 at the dealer, now 5-10 at the restaurant. Did you even eat?" "yeah I had a whopper" "very healthy man" he said. "Yeah I know" "Aaron, don't over do it ok." "Its all good. When I get home I'll work out for an hour, eat some cereal, and then start all over again tomorrow" "You're going to worry me. Are we still down for Friday?" he asked. "Yeah of course. Our first sleep over here. How's school?" "Well its weird without you there. But its ok. Nothings changed. same stuff different day" "Good. Do you like your room?" I asked. "Yeah dude. Mom is saving so much money now that we live here. She bought me a new tv and games and stuff right away" "Well that's great buddy. Well I have to get going" I said. "Okay dude. Have fun at work. Keep in touch" "You too. Later bro" "later" Even though I didn't quite understand how this was happening so fast, I was glad I could somehow keep up with all this. My night shift at the restaurant was actually pretty tough. Im not going to lie, I kind of preferred working behind my desk dealing with a computer and orders and money, than dealing with food and the random unhappy customers. I ask myself sometimes if people don't have anything better to do than to try to bitch and moan about how much my kitchen messed up their food. I mean really? If you wanted a perfect meal according to HOW YOU like it, then stay home and cook it. If you want to come to my restaurant and try my food, then eat it the way I cook it. I don't know how I did it, but I did end up going home after my second shift and working out. Then I randomly felt like getting some yogurt so I drove myself to McDonalds and got me a parfait cup. I guess this was the cool thing about living alone, you do random things with ease since you follow your own rules. It did feel kinda cool to pull up to my garage and walk into my house and know that its all mine and that I was a grown up. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adrian and I did spend almost every weekend together for the next year. But shortly after his 16th birthday he had to move out of state with his mom. We promised we'd keep in touch, and we did for the most part. We called each other a lot, but the funny thing is, we didn't do anything sexual ever again. In fact he found himself a nice girl shortly after I moved into my place and that was the end of our little romance. Oddly enough it didn't affect us at all. We were still great friends. Another year passed by, even without Adrian I was fine, and I was able to continue working at the dealer and the restaurant, but I had to cut down to only 4 nights a week at the restaurant because it was draining me. I eventually managed a way to keep a good routine going and visits to my moms house for dinner were very frequent. I loved living life on my own. Holidays we're great because it was kind of cool to go back to my own house and fell all warm and cozy because its just that feeling it brings. Sometimes you don't know what you have til its gone so that's what I felt. When I lived with my parents, I didn't pay too much attention. But now that I lived on my own I felt great on holidays because it meant going back home. Weird I know. Either way, it was now the summer after I turned 21. Even with all of my friends at work pushing me go out to the bars and what not, I didn't. I found myself just working out, playing basketball, and really drinking was not what I wanted to do. It was a Saturday night and I was sitting on my backyard relaxing, thinking. I've been on my own for almost 2 and a half years now. Time flew by. It was fun. Living life alone had been good, but I was starting to feel lonely. Even with my parents living so close, I felt alone. I kept myself very busy for the last year in order to not miss Adrian so much. Both my jobs were good, and of course money wise, I was good. Yet I was still missing something. I knew what it was. But I hadn't even heard of him much. I've seen him around though. Saw him at some cook outs, and the most we said to each other was hey from far away. As for the other friends I used to have, I lost touch with them. Uriel I heard moved into his friends house and became a party animal. Sounds crazy, I know, but not surprising. Luis and I just didn't really keep in touch anymore after I lots contact with Uriel. It was actually kind of sad. The people who once ruled my life, or at least I felt like they would always be in life, weren't exactly in it anymore. I guess its just the way life turns out. It felt good to know that even though I wasn't really happy, I was still ok. That night I got a call from my dad. "Aaron, can you do me a huge favor?" he asked. "Sure. Whats up?" I asked. "I need you to come stay the night" "What why?" I asked. "Your mom and I are going out of town and we just got a puppy." "What? I always wanted one" I said. "Yeah well your mom needed a baby" "Ok. So u need me to baby-sit?" I asked. "Not really. We have a sitter. But we need you to just make sure things are ok. I don't know. I just feel safer with you in the house" "So u want me to be there to watch the baby-sitter watch over the puppy?" I asked. "Yeah" he said. "doesn't make sense dad" I said. "Well...can you just do it?" he asked. "Sure thing father" I said. It was good to go back every once in a while. I liked spending some nights in my old room. It felt refreshing. I was a little confused about why my parents waited so long to have a dog. In fact I was a little insulted to know that a dog replaced my baby status. But o well. I grabbed my keys and turned on the alarm to the house and then walked to the garage. One of the perks of doing really well at my dealership job was that I got bonuses. My latest bonus was a car upgrade. I still had the awesome BMW my dad got me, but also a new blue Lexus IS F. it was one of the sweetest rides I ever thought I'd own. Anyway, I got into my shiny car and drove myself to my parents house. I found my parents outside playing around with a puppy, but then I saw a kid come out of the front door. I pulled into the drive way and parked the car. "I hate how you have random cars now" my dad said. "This isn't a loaner dad. I bought this with my bonus" I said. "You're insane. How much" "Well without the bonus its like 40 something. But with my bonus discount, I got it for around 23." I said. "Not bad. Im kind of jealous" he said. "You shouldn't be. This is a young man's car dad" I joked. "Hey max come check out my sons car" said my dad. Max? that's max? no it can't be. He looks so much...yeah. That's max. as I saw max run up towards us I swore it was a replica of Jon. "Max you're so big now" I said. "thanks. You are too" he said. "isn't his car awesome?" asked my dad. "yeah its sweet" answered max. Just then my mom came out and she kissed me hello. "honey we're going to be late" she said to my dad. "Okay so we're going on a business dinner. Could be gone all night. Max you know the deal. Aaron take care of max" said my dad. "So max is the sitter. And I'm the sitter of the sitter?" I asked. "Yep. I knew you'd agree" said my dad. "Gee thanks dad" I said. "Love you honey" said my mom from the passengers seat. Then they drove away. "So you got hired to watch the dog?" I asked. "Yep. And you got cheated into watching me" he said. I hadn't been this close to max in about 2 years, and boy had he changed. he was now about 5foot 3, exactly jon's build, super nice smile, and a darker light chocolate skin. Not dark enough to be chocolate but not light enough to be tan. I don't know. It was nice though. Weird. This was too weird. It was like seeing Jon but...just darker. "listen kid, I haven't been around little kids in a while. What do you guys do now for fun?" I asked. "I'll be with the puppy" he said. We walked inside as he carried the pup. I looked at him closer. He wasn't exactly a clone. I could see the small differences now. He didn't a cute button nose but he had a normal cute nose. He had longer normal hair, not short and ghetto, and he was a rather outgoing and talkative boy. "Okay sounds good. I'll be in my room if you need anything" I said. "O ok. When I get hungry do I get pizza?" he asked. "Is there any in the fridge?" I asked. "Uhmm...I don't know" he said. "Well look max" I said. "okay okay." he said. I was halfway up the stairs when he yelled. "Nope non. Just veggies and soda" "Well then yeah order some" I said. "Ok thanks. Whats my price limit" he asked. "you don't have one. Just make sure you eat it all" I said. "SWEET" he yelled happily. I tried not to think too much about the situation. I mean it was just a kid. I had lived the past 2 years without any worries, just making money and having fun. I even managed to hang out with a few girls and I had a 6 month relationship with one. It was actually great. I felt pretty good about my life. Nothing needed to change and I wasn't going to even start to try to ruin what I had going on. I sat in my old room just relaxing. I turned on my computer. I hadn't used it for a bit and I knew I needed to check some of my work emails. When it fired up I realized I had a lot of old pictures in it. I kind of looked through a few and when I stumbled upon one of Jon and I, I froze. We looked very happy. Where had time gone? I closed it down and went back to reading my work emails. It didn't matter anyway, jon was in the past. I answered a few emails and looked up some information I needed and before I knew an hour had passed by. Then I heard the doorbell. I figured it was the pizza guy. I headed downstairs and opened the door. "delivery" the guy said. He handed me 2 pizzas, 2 little boxes, and grape soda. "ok family feast" he said. "he ordered a family feast?" I asked. "yes sir" "O wow...how much?" I asked. "65.75" "O wow." I said confused. What kind of pizza was this? I gave the guy 80 and told him to keep the change. I was a nice person when it came to that. I took the stuff and walked into the kitchen. Max was on the kitchen floor putting the puppy to sleep. "You ordered 65 dollars worth of pizza?" I asked. "o...um...I didn't know how much. Sorry" he said with a very cute puppy face. "Its okay...how much can you eat?" I asked. "A lot" he smiled. "Where do you put it?" I asked. "In my tummy" he smiled. He stuck out his small belly. He wasn't fat, but he had a very evened out body and I guess he was a little husky. Nothing to worry about. Unless he kept eating pizza. "Well enjoy" I said. "You're not going to eat with me?" he asked. "Um...its not really in my diet" I said. "Come on dude. You're already buff. You can eat" he said. "well...I guess if you want me to I will" I said. I sat down on the little kitchen island and opened the boxes. He walked over to the cabinets and got plates. I guess he was over here enough to know where everything was. "How often are you here Max?" I asked. "Well, I come every day to watch the puppy and to play with it" he answered as he sat next to me. "I haven't seen you that much" I said. "You are never around. Always working. If you come to parties you say hi, you drink a little and then you leave" he said. "O um...I stay busy" I said. "I know man. Jon tells me you're busy a lot" "Jon? He talks about me?" I asked. This was the first time I even heard someone else say his name. "Yeah. Sometimes. He mentioned you a few days ago when he saw your picture in the family room" "What he say?" "Well, that those were good days. How far away did you move?" he asked me. "Well...not too far" I said. "O ok. Well yeah. I could tell him you're here if you want to see him" "O no dude. Its ok" "Ok. Do you remember when we went to florida?" he asked. "Yeah. It was fun. You were really little back then" I said. "I know man. I was like 8" "Yeah. I remember." "Where's Adrian?" he asked. "He moved to another state. And he's in college" I said. "isn't he little?" "No he's 17 now." I said. "Already in college?" "He's very smart" I said. "O wow. Like you?" "Maybe smarter" I said. We continued a very interesting conversation about what I had been doing for the past 2 years while we ate pizza and wings and cheese sticks. Then out of nowhere came a knock from the back door. Mom had installed blinds so we couldn't see who. I got up and opened the blinds and slid the door open. My jaw almost dropped. It was Jon. He was taller, I'm guessing about 5'7. He was definitely stockier, more ghetto, and a very round face. I could still see the Jon I used to know, but this one was something else. "o uh...aaron?" he said confused. "Jon?" I said. "Um...uh...is my brother here?" he asked. His voice had really changed. it was almost completely changed to a man's voice. Well young man's voice. He was wearing terrible clothing. Jeans that were hanging off him, a blue oversized plain shirt, and a white hoodie. "Yeah let me get him" I said. I looked over at max who came over. "What do you want?" he asked Jon. "mom wants to know if you're coming for dinner" said Jon. "No I'm eating pizza with aaron" answered max. "o umm...well she said to come home" said Jon. "No dude. She knows I'm spending the night. I'm watching the dog" replied Max. "With Aaron?" asked Jon. "I guess so" said Max simply. It was so weird to see the smaller replica of Jon, with Jon's old voice, well sort of old voice. Max had a different tone to him. Jon gave me a weird look. I don't know what was going through his mind, but I was almost 100% sure that only the worst case scenario came to his mind. "Well uh...I guess see you guys" said Jon a little confused. "Alright" I said. He turned around and walked away. He walked differently though. That little step he had, the happy go lucky way to him, it was gone. He just waked very slowly, with his head down, and well in a thuggish way. "Man he annoys me so bad" said Max. "Why?" I asked. "Ever since like he stopped talking to you he's been nothing but trouble. He's always smoking and partying and mom doesn't even notice. She just says he's different because he's quiet. I know its the drugs" said Max. "So she doesn't know he does drugs. You wont tell her?" I asked. "No. she'd be so sad." he said as he ate his pizza. "o wow...well...umm...I don't know what to say. That was the first time I see him in a very long time" "Yeah I could tell. Do you miss him?" he asked me. "In a way. But that's the past." "Yeah I bet he doesn't even miss you" said max. "Great. Thanks a lot." I said. "No I mean, he doesn't miss anyone. He's heartless" "You really think he's that bad?" I asked. "O yeah. I wish he wasn't my brother sometimes" "OKay how's your tummy feeling?" I asked. "almost full" he said. I had kept count, he had eaten 8 slices of pizza. Grant it the slices were pretty thin since there were 16 in one pizza, but still it was a lot. "Okay lets not eat so much. What are you going to do now?" I asked. "I'm going to play." he said. "Does the puppy wake up now?" I asked. "No. its too late for that" he told me. "its only 8" I said. "yeah he's a lazy one." "O ok. Well then I don't know what to do. Its so weird. This used to be my house and I never was bored, but now I feel so out of place" I said. "Maybe you need to take a nap?" he said. "Do you?" I asked. "Not now. But later yeah I will" he said. "O okay. Do you stay in the guest room?" I asked him. "No I stay in your room" he smiled. "O um...good to know" "I don't mess with your things. Just play games and then sleep. I do shower in there sometimes though" he said. "that's cool little dude. Someone's got to use it" I said. "Awesome thanks. I don't now why jon said those mean things about you before. You're super nice" "O well thanks. Jon, well he's just Jon" I said. "Yeah a dumb ass" "Hey, uh...chill" I told him. Just then my phone vibrated. Jon's name popped up. I hadn't received anything from him in a very long time. -what are you guys doin- it read. Why was he interested in this and why now? -chillin-I replied. I wanted to keep it simple. -o ok. Take care of my lil bro-he said. I showed that message to Max just in case I wasn't reading it right. "Uh he never worries about me. Why does he worry now?" asked Max. "I don't know. that's why I wanted to show you" I said. "can I text back?" asked Max. "Sure" I replied as I gave him the phone. -why do you care if he takes care of me. You hate me. From max- he typed. I looked at him and just gave him a questioning look. "Its true. He says it all the time" he told me. -wow fuckin short fuck. Mind ur own biznes-replied Jon. That was the end of that. I didn't feel like replying after reading that. Just the thought of Jon talking like that and treating someone like his little brother like that made me angry. "Well, lets take the dog upstairs" said Max. "okay you're the boss" I told him. He carried the dog and put him into the carrier. "he sleeps in there?" I asked. "only until he is completely trained. That way he doesn't pee everywhere" he said. "Why are you so good at this?" I asked. "O well, I been taking care of dogs for a while its how I make money" "For what Max?" I asked. "For school clothes, toys, and games and shoes" he replied. "o okay." I said. We carried the dog in his crate to my room and we put it on the side. The dog was deep asleep. "so what now?" I asked. "Well, I'm going to the couch over there to play" he said as he pointed towards the tv. "okay sounds good." I said. "What are you going to do?" he asked me. "I'm going to change into pjs and lie down" I said. "O ok. I'll change too" So he followed me to the closet. Then he just dropped his shorts, but he had another pair of shorts under that. But these were like lighter sports shorts. "You wear your pjs around?" I asked. "no, I just knew I was coming so put them on. I don't use pjs, I use shorts" he told me. "O I use pjs" I told him as I grabbed my pj pants. "o ok. Well see you out there" he said as he left the closet. Man, this kid was really different. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. There was just something about him. I wasn't falling for him or anything, I just liked his aura. I felt comfy with him. I had spent so much time with older people and people my age and with my co workers that I had forgotten that theres another world behind all that. A world of imagination, fun, and simplicity. The world of young people. I walked over to my bed and lied down. He was playing a game and he seemed to be really focused on it. After a while of him just playing in silence he spoke up. "Do I get to sleep on the floor or on the bed with you?" he asked. "You choose" I said. "Umm...its your bed" he told me. "No but you're the guest" "I don't mind sharing with you?" he told me. "O ok" I said as I set up the bed. He turned off the Tv and the game system and then came to the bed. "Its only like 10 pm dude. Why are we in bed so early?" he asked. "Well I'm used to waking up super early, we can talk or just chill. I didn't tell you to turn of the game" I said to him. "I know but I did because it bored me" he smiled. "Well that's good. Do you want to talk about something in particular or just anything" "Anything. I'm open to anything" he smiled. "O okay. Well first question. What grade are you in?" I asked. "im going to 6th" he answered. "O I see. Girlfriend?" I asked him. "O no. not that" he blushed. "Okay no girls." I said. "you?" "No I'm single at the moment" "Yeah girls are annoying" "That's so funny. Just wait a few years, I give it one or two before you start wanting to talk to them" "No I don't think so. Hey are you hungry?" he asked. "What? Again?" I asked. "When did we eat?" he asked. "not so long ago." "O its because I usually drink milk and cookies before bed" "um...so you want to go downstairs to get milk and cookies?" I asked him. "Only if you want to" "I don't mind" I told him. "Okay lets go" he smiled. So we went downstairs to get the treats. We sat on the kitchen island with our glass of milk and cookies. "I love cookies" he smiled. "I can tell. So hows life around here?" I asked. "What do you mean?" "what do you do for fun?" "O me...well I play games, I go to school, go to the park. Or just chill." "sounds great. I wish I could do that. I go to work, then the gym, then to work again, then sleep, then I start all over" "Yeah but you have lots of money" "Well, yeah but money isn't everything." "Yeah mom always tells me that. that's why they don't give me too much. They say if I work for my own money I'll be a better grown up" "This is true. Very true. I'm glad you like to work for your money" "Well I take care of my neighbors dog, and now your dog. So yeah" "Its not mine. I moved out remember" "O yeah I forget. So this is your second house?" he asked. "Yeah, maybe you can go to my actual house one of these days" "That would be cool. I bet its awesome" he said excited. "its not as big as this one. But I mean I'm the only one there so yeah it feels cool" "Do you have lots of games and a big tV?" "O yeah. I do. I have a huge TV" I said. "I can't wait!" he said. "Chill boy." "Its not far from here is it? I mean I don't think my mom would care since you're aaron. But I mean, if its too far she might" "well, its in the next subdivision. About 15 blocks" "ok that's not too bad" he said. After we ate almost the whole box of cookies I decided it was time to brush our teeth. "dude, but I want more cookies." "Hey, you're going to get a stomach ache boy" "Ok fine. Lets go" he said. He put the cookies away and I put the cups in the sink. Then he followed me up to my room where we went to the bathroom. I handed him a new toothbrush and told him to brush his teeth. When he was brushing them I decided to join him and we were real close to each other. His little arm kept going near my lower side and it felt kind of weird. Like tingly. He just smiled. "Dude, you're so strong" he said with toothpaste in his mouth. "Thanks" I said. Then he rinsed out and smiled in the mirror. He had a set of very nice cute teeth. When we finished he just stared at me. "Can I help you?" I asked. "Can you carry me?" he asked. "I'm sure I could. Why?" "I just want to see how strong you are" he smiled. So I picked him up easily and threw him around my back so he piggy backed on me. He had his legs around my waist and his little arms around my neck. "I can feel your muscles" he giggled. "you're one silly kid" I said. "well I'm only 11. Just turned 11 a few months ago" he giggled. I was holding him gently from his lower back just in case he slid of, just a little lower and I'd be holding onto his round little butt. I walked to the bed and I flipped him over and threw him on there gently. He just giggled. "Well happy late birthday" I said. "Thanks. Do you use night lights?" he asked. "max, I'm 21. I don't use night lights" "Well I'm 11, I do" "Hey, there light coming in from the window a little. Is that ok?" I asked. "Umm..I guess. Plus I wont be alone so I'll be ok" "okay then. That makes sense" I said. So I walked over and turned the lights off. I knew this room still so I walked to my bed without hitting anything. When I got in bed I felt him real close to the middle. "A little close to the middle aren't you?" I asked. "Sorry" he said as he scooted over. "Its ok. I just don't want to like sit on you or something" "no its ok. Its because I kind of get scared" "Well then I guess u can sleep close to me. Not too much cuz if I get hot I sweat" "Me too. Lets just not use covers" he said. "um but then its cold" "not if I hug you. Im very hot" he said. "you're a funny kid. But ok" I said. I laid on my back and just looked up over at the window to see the night sky. It was a beautiful night. My life had been full of the same thing for the last 2 years so having this boy next to me who seemed to be so interested in my life was something very heart warming. I guess I got used to the monotone routine. "Aaron, good night" said Max very tired. "Good night max" I said. He snuggled on my side and he put his arm around me. I felt his little body breathing in and out and I just tried to clear my mind and go to sleep. It didn't take very long for him to completely knock out. Eventually he put his little leg around mine and this sent a wake up call to my middle area. I had not been in this position in a while. Not even with Adrian. I felt his little balls on my leg and I just didn't know how he could be so comfortable doing something like that. He's just a kid though so I didn't really sweat it. I just closed me eyes and eventually fell asleep. I woke up the next morning at around 7am with max sleeping literally on top of me. I don't know how that happened but I didn't move at all. I just staid like that. I did have a boner though, and that was weird. His head was on my lower chest which meant his stomach was right on my boner. It was a little weird, but I was too tired to move. I kept my eyes closed until he woke up. I didn't open my eyes, but I felt him move a little. He didn't say a word, he moved around a little but that's it. Then after a few minutes he moved his hand and lightly smacked me. I let him hit me a few times before I woke up. I shook my head and opened my eyes. "What are you doing on me?" I asked. "No clue. I just woke up here." he smiled. "O well move I got to pee" I said. "I know me too. that's why our dicks are hard" he said. "Umm...you're a doctor now?" I asked. "No, but I know every morning my dicks hard cuz I have to pee" he said as I he got up. "well I got to pee a lot" I said as I ran to the bathroom. I let it out and everything went back to normal. When I got out of the bathroom he went was standing by the door. I did see a little tent on him. It was kind of funny cuz he didn't even try to cover up. He went and did his business and then found me on the couch sitting. "I have to walk the dog" he said. "okay I'll be making some breakfast" I told him. "Okay I like French toast" he said. "You're picky too?" I asked. "I'm a picky doctor" "funny man" I told him. He got the dog out of his crate and we both walked downstairs to the back door. He went out with the dog. He stayed out there for quite a while. I had enough time to prep the French toast and get two of them ready. But I didn't make them from scratch. My mom always had some in the microwave and it was no sweat. 15 minutes later he was back in the house washing his hands. Now I have to say he was growing on me. I don't know if it was the same way as anyone else, but he was growing on me just because of his innocent way of acting. "Aaron it smells delicious" he said. "you took a while" I said. "Yeah I was playing with the dog for a little bit." We had breakfast and chatted for a while. I found out that he was good in school, he liked music, specially techno, he liked to bike ride, he loved swimming in my pool, he liked cars, movies, and LOVED LOVED LOVED video games. We also talked about how he doesn't really get along with his brothers and how Jon constantly harasses him and makes his life hell. Yet max wont tell on him about the drugs because he cares about his mom too much. So basically this kid was so good, but had so much to go against. At around noon his mom called and asked him to come home. My parents got home at the same time he was on the phone with his mom. When he hung up he looked a little sad. My mom thanked him and paid him for babysitting. Then she went on to take care of her little baby(puppy). "hey I'll walk you to the backyard" I said. "Okay cool" he smiled. So we walked out and then he stopped and pulled his phone out. "Whats your number?" he asked. I gave it to him. "thanks. Just in case I need something or like if Jon gets in trouble" he said. "Sure kid. Anything you need" I told him. "alright thanks man. See you" he said as he ran home. I felt good. He made me smile. No one had done that in a while. Not since Adrian moved away. I walked back to my parents house and sat down in the family room. "so how was it?" she asked. "Well I didn't do anything. Max took care of it all" I said. "I know. Well I kind of wanted you to bond with Max" my mom said. "Why max?" I asked confused. "Because Hon, he needs a role model. Jon and him don't talk. His mom told me. She said she hoped you could help out. Said Max was acting depressed and felt lonely" "Mom, I'm not some doctor or something. I'm really busy. He's a good kid though. There's nothing to worry about" I said. "Honey, give him a chance. You wanted a little brother. The last 2 years all you've done is work too. You don't even date. The last girl you dated was nice and you dumped her" "ok mom. Ok. If he talks to me and looks for me, I'll give him a chance to hang out with me. But I'll take him to work with me" I said. "That's fine. He needs to talk to someone" she said. "Fine mom. But I have to get going. I have to get to work" I said. "Honey, its Saturday" she told me. "Mom, I work on Saturday's too" I said. "not at the restaurant" "at the dealer mom. We open Saturday's too" I said. "Honey, I don't like you working so much" she said as she hugged me. "Okay I'll take it easy" I said as I got up. I literally ran to my room and tried to find something good to wear. I had most of my nice clothes at my house so it took me a while. Once I got all dressed up and ready to go I ran to say bye to my parents and then literally ran to my car and sped to work. Once I got to my office I started taking care of my usual business. Sometimes I forgot how much work I actually did, I didn't even get to look at my phone until about 2pm. I had a missed call from someone. I had the secretary call them back since I didn't know the number. Then my office phone rang. "sir, it's a boy named Max" she told me. "O okay put him through" I totally forgot that it could be him. The call went through my office phone and I picked up. "Hey" I said. "I didn't know you had a secretary. Wow. I feel weird" he told me. "O sorry man. I just didn't recognize the number so I had her call back. It could have been like a customer or something" I told him. "So you're like important?" he asked. "O no. just deal with a lot of customers." "You didn't answer and it took forever for your secretary to call." "Sorry Max. its busy. But I'll be off work in an hour" I said. "O ok. Hey, can I come over to your actual house?" he asked. "Today?" "IF its okay. I asked my mom she said I could go with you whenever as long as I let her know" "O sure man. If you want I'll pick you up after work. I have a few things to do but you can come with me if you want" I told him "Awesome. I'll tell my mom. What time will I be home?" he asked. "O I didn't even think about that. Well um...about midnight. I have a dinner to go to that might run til 11:30. If its okay with her" "Well I could just stay over" he said. I was kind of shocked about him wanting to stay over at a strangers house so fast. Well I guess I wasn't a stranger. I just feel like one since I hadn't seen him in forever. "If your mom lets you" I said. "hold on" he told me. I heard him walk and then he asked his mom. "She said sure" he told me. "Ok then see you at about 3:30" I told him. "can't wait" he told me. "I have to get back to work now" I told him. "Okay Mr.Important. Call me when you're at my house" he said. I hung up the phone with a smile on my face. I couldn't believe that the highlight of my weekend was hanging out with him. I mean, I usually go to the gym or the movies with friends, but it was so boring. This weekend though, I had been with Max and it made me totally happy. It was kind of cute in a way. I finished my days work and when the clock hit 3 I was out of there. I headed over to Max's house to pick him up for our adventure. It took me 20 minutes to get there and when I did I just decided to ring the doorbell. I with I would have thought this one through because his mom opened the door and invited me in. "Aaron honey how have you been. O my gosh. You're so different. Look at you. You look great." she told me. I had hit the gym hard since the last time she saw me. "thanks. How have you been?" I asked. "O good. Working and taking care of my babies you know" she said. "I see. I been working 2 jobs and then the gym. Busy life." "O hon. I hope Max doesn't get in the way." "O no. I need to relax now and then. And he makes me laugh so its all good" I told her. "Yeah, well thanks. He doesn't do much. Just plays games. His dads busy working all the time. So take him whenever." she told me. "I will on my free time. He's a good kid" I told her. "Yeah, he fights with Jon all the time. Guess Jon just likes to fight with everyone. He's only nice to his friends" I wanted to just say something, but I couldn't. I couldn't let her down about her son like that. If she found out on her own, then ok. "yeah, I now what you mean. we've been on and off friends. Its just life, kids go through stages" I told her. "O I know. But I know you're great with my boys so its ok. Well go upstairs max is in his room" she told me. "Thanks." I said. "Oh and im going to be out of town tomorrow. So I mean if you're not busy and max and you want to hang out more he can stay until Monday." she told me. "O okay, well, I don't have much going on so I'll ask him" I said. "great. Well you guys have fun. I'm off to the store" she told me as she headed out. I went upstairs to Maxs room. But again, I wish I would have thought this through because as I was going upstairs I heard shouting. "What do you mean you're going with aaron?" asked Jon. "I'm staying at his house ok!" shouted Max. "what the fuck. Why? Since when are you friends with him" "Since like a while ago chill" said max. "Dude he lives far" said Jon. "So what. Get out of my way I have to do my hair" said Max. "What for. Fucking friend stealer" said Jon. "Man you guys don't even talk anymore chill" said Max. I didn't want to hear any more of this so I walked up the stairs and walked into the room. "O hey Aaron" said max with a smile. "Hey kiddo. You ready?" I asked. "yeah just going to do my hair" he said. "Hey" I said to Jon. "Hi" he said. But then he just turned around and walked to his room and shut the door. "Whats his problem?" I asked max who was walking back from the bathroom with his hair now done. "He's mad cuz I'm going with you" he told me. "O weird. Ok lets go" I told him. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it. So he locked his door and then we headed out of the house. I couldn't believe Jon was actually making a big deal out of this. We hadn't spoken for 2 years. I mean that's enough time for him to move on, and realize that maybe our friendship was nothing but trouble. Max jumped into the car excitedly. Then looked at me. "I'm excited" he said. "I can kind of tell" "Yeah I've never spent the night a friends house. And you're the first and you have your own house" he said. "O yeah I do." "Can I eat whatever I want?" he asked. "Sure knock yourself out. But we have dinner at 7 with a friend of mine." I said. "boy or girl?" he asked. "Girl. But she's really nice. it's a place where you watch a show and you eat at the same time" I told him. "is it boring?" he asked. "Its actually a comedian. So I think you'll enjoy it" "I didn't ruin your plans did I?" he asked. "O no kiddo. Its good." I told him. "Sweet" he said. We were at my house in no time. When I pulled up to it he was amazed. "I thought you'd have a small house. This house is almost as big as mine, and its only for you?" he asked. "Boy your crazy. You're house is bigger." "I know but I mean almost. Theres 5 of us at my house, theres 1 of you're here." "Well, 2 right now" I said as I pulled into the garage. "O wow you have 2 cars?" he asked. "yeah, my dad bought me that one for my 18th. I had to keep it." "Dude its been a while. I feel like just yesterday we were in florida" he told me. "it does man. Time just flies." I told him. We walked into the house and he was completely amazed. "dude its so cool. You have lots of high tech things. Nice tv. Its huge. O man you have lots of games. And movies. And o my gosh you have a DJ set!" he told me as he ran to the set. I love music so from time to time I put on a show for myself. I have lights and 2 big speakers and some other equipment. "yeah, I like to entertain" I said. "O man. I'm in dream world" he told me. Then he walked into the kitchen where his draw dropped. He opened the fridge and found lots of chocolate milk and sports drinks and food, and fruit and a lot of things he liked. "its like you prepared for me or something" he said. "O no man. that's what I usually keep in there" I said. "cookies?" he asked. "O yeah" I said as I guided him to the pantry/closet I had. "You have SOOO many cookies" he told me. I had to keep an assortment of cookies. I had almost every type. Lets just say I had a lot of time on my hands so I had random little things like that to keep me busy. Since I work out, I like to eat a lot of junk food because I burn it right off. "We're going to have so much fun!" he told me as he sat down on my couch. "okay kid. First things first. I need to get you into some nice clothes" I told him. He was wearing shorts that were too long for him and a shirt that was too big for him. It was not a good style for him. "Why do you wear baggy clothes?" I asked him. "Because I don't like it tight" he told me. "well come with me" I said. I walked him to my room and again he was surprised, but I hushed him and just guided him to my closet. I measured his waist and he was size 30. So my pants would probably fit him, but just too long. So then I gave him some nice khaki shorts which were a good length. "Okay so we have 3 hours before we leave. What do you want to do?" I asked him. "Can we please go in your Jacuzzi?" he asked. "How do you know I have one?" I asked him. "Because your mom told me" he smiled. "O you little devil. But those things are hot. And its hot outside" I told him. "Its ok." he told me. So he took off the shorts he had on and he had swimming shorts under that. Then he took off his shirt and he had a nice little muscle shirt underneath. He had a great body. Well it was just like jons when he was his age. Just the right amount of meat and the right amount of belly. Not too much not too skinny either. "I see you were ready" I said. "Yeah I as" he told me. "Well go out there and in the kitchen you'll find a remote by the wall, click medium and it should turn on" I told him . He literally zoomed out of my room and out the door. I quickly changed into my shorts and a muscle shirt and then headed outside. I found him outside shooting hoops on the basketball court I had built. "this is awesome" he told me as he shot some hoops. He played around on the court for a while until he came to where I was at and dipped his foot in there. "its not hot" he told me. "I put it to medium so its just normal water with bubbles to relax me" I told him. "O cool!" he said as he sat down. "it works for you since you're sweating" I told him. "I know. I just love basketball" he said. "Well that's nice. You can play here" "I like that you have that little thing that returns the ball to you" "Yeah I like it too. So I can work on my shots better" I told him. We hung out for a while out in the Jacuzzi and talked about basketball and how cool my house was and he kept asking me how many more things I'm going to add to it and he kept giving me ideas. Real good ones too. Basically we had a great time. The kid was great. Maybe he did need someone to talk to. I wasn't going to let him down. I might have failed with jon, but if Max lets me, I'd be there for him for whatever he needed. -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thanks for reading. : D I know this chapter was kind of, tough. It was a drastic change. I debated for a long time about the time warp. I kind of didn't have much to write about in that time frame I skipped. Although it would be interesting, those 2 ½ years that were skipped really didn't have much going on. But I mean in the future maybe I could write something just about those years. Just leaving some options. Either way, let me know what you think. Tommy199212@hotmail.com