Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2011 07:37:47 +0000 From: Tommy Evans Subject: Uriel and Jon: Growing up chapter 20 Disclaimer: The following story contains fictitious and sexual acts between characters. If this offends you in any way, please DO NOT READ IT. This is all a work of fiction. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- After a long time of hanging out in the Jacuzzi just talking I decided it was time to get ready for the dinner. "Lets get ready now shorty" I told him. "O yeah. I am kind of hungry" he said. "Well, then go take a shower" I told him. "Dude I didn't bring boxers" he told me. "Umm...wear mine I guess" "Do you think they fit me?" "I'm sure they will. I wear sport ones so they stretch and but then they are real tight" I said. "O ok. Like tighty whities" "Sort of but not white. More like anti sweat ones" I said. "O sweet" he smiled. "lets go then" he told me. We got out of the tub and I handed him a towel. He dried himself a little and then we headed inside. "brrr...its cold in your house" "that's because we were in a hot tub you goof. Go on run upstairs" I told him. He did as I instructed and I turned off the tub and then went up to my room. He was waiting in the bathroom. I grabbed a pair of undies and I handed him the change of clothes for him to wear. "here" I said as I put the clothes on the counter top next to the sink. "thanks man" he said. "alright well get showered" I said. "will do" he smiled. I walked out and closed the door. I heard the shower turn on. I stood by my window for a while just looking outside. It was really weird to be randomly hanging out with this kid. My natural big brother instincts kicked in though. It was so easy to take care of him. I just hoped he only looked like Jon and that he didn't have the mindset Jon had. I don't mind the fact that he resembles his brother at all, I just hate the fact that it reminds me of him. I waited for about 10 minutes before I heard the water shut off. That was my cue to go grab my change of clothes. I was just going to wear some nice jeans with a nice dress shirt. When he opened the door and was wearing the nice shorts and the shirt I gave him I was impressed. He cleaned up good. He even kind of fixed his hair. "You look sharp there buddy" I told him. "Dude I feel so weird. I never wear normal clothes" "you mean clothes that are your size?" I asked. "I like it loose" he told me as he pulled his shirt away from his belly. "I think you look great. You have a baby belly its not bad" I said. "I know but still. O well. I'll wait for you while you shower. Can I play?" he asked. "Do whatever you want" I told him. He sat down and turned on the TV. I headed to the bathroom to get showered. When I was in there I found his shorts and white shirt on the floor. I grabbed it and put it in the dirty linen so I could wash it and he could use it next time. I figured he'd be over plenty of times. I took my shower and got cleaned up rather fast. I didn't want to make him wait and I didn't want to make my friend wait either. When I was all ready I sprayed myself with some good cologne and then did my hair. When I opened the door he looked at me. "You smell great" he said. "thanks man" I answered. "How come you didn't give me some cologne" "You're a little boy." "I don't care. I want to smell good too" he said. "Okay go get some on. Pick one" I told him. "O okay. Under the sink?" he asked. "Yeah" I said as I went to my closet to pick out my shoes. When he came out of the bathroom he looked very happy. Kind of proud of himself for looking good and smelling good. "well now you're all good" I told him. "yeah. What time are we leaving?" he asked. "In like 10 minutes. I'll get the car going and then we can head out" I said. "Ok cool" he told me as he sat back down and went back to playing. I went downstairs and started the car while I checked a couple of things on my phone to make sure all the plans were still good. My friend had just texted me to let me know she would meet me a the place in 20 minutes. That was the cue to get going. "Lets go Max" I yelled. It took a few seconds before he came storming down the stairs and into the kitchen. "Yeah lets go" he said. He followed me out to the garage and we got in the car. "I hope your friend doesn't get mad because you brought a little kid" he told me. "O no she's very understanding" I told him. With that we got going and we headed to the theater. Every once in a while I would look back at him and realize how handsome he looked right now. He took control of the radio and he was playing his own mix of music. "hey aaron" he said. "yeah?" I asked. "do you think its going to be late when we get home?" "I don't know. Maybe a little late why?" "I wanted to see if we could get in the Jacuzzi for a while" "o well kiddo. I have a Jacuzzi tub in my bathroom if you want to get in that one" "yeah do we both fit?" "well yeah we both fit but a little tighter than the one outside" "I don't mind. Hey how much longer" he asked. Typical boy. "just a few more minutes" I told him. We kept a small conversation about the show and what kind of food there was to eat at the place. Apparently he was real hungry after playing basketball and what not. When we did get there he was practically ready to run inside. He was super excited because the place was fancy. "dude this place is super fancy" he told me as he walked next to me. "Its just a chill place to have dinner and watch some comedy" "ive never been to a place like this" he said. "well its really fun" We walked in and we met my friend at our table. She was really sweet. "whos this little guy?" she asked. "he's my neighbor. Kind of like a little brother. Babysitting him for the night" I said. "ah how sweet of you. How old are you sweetie?" she asked him. "im 10" answered max. "awww so cute. Well you look very cute today max. did you choose your clothes?" she asked. "o no. these are aarons. I don't really ever wear fancy stuff." he answered. "you guys look like brothers no lie" she said. "well yeah we get that a lot" answered max. Finally we ordered our food and max didn't know what to get so he just ordered what I ordered. don't think he had ever had prime rib because he thought it was a slab or ribs. During dinner we talked about work, and life, and school since max didn't work. My friend was really into kids because she wanted to be a teacher so she was having a blast talking to max. she thought he was the cutest thing. "so what are your plans for tonight after the show?" she asked. "well I think were going to just go home and sleep" I said. "I wanna party hard" said max with a huge smile on his face. "aww honey its going to be like midnight when you guys get home" "o darn" he complained. "I really want to stay up late for the first time" he said innocently. "o boy" I added. "well you should take the boy out and get some dessert after this. Let him enjoy his first comedy show dinner" she told me. "I will. I'll just be awake all night then." I said. Soon after that the show began and we laughed our butts off for about an hour and half. Max understood most of the jokes and the ones he didn't understand he just fake laughed to not be left out. I thought it was funny how whenever the jokes were sexual he'd look at me confused then kind of giggle. One of the comedians even pointed out max because he was one of the youngest ones in the crowd. I saw other kids but they weren't as young as him, guessing 13 and 14. When the show ended he was super excited because he wanted some ice cram. We said our goodbyes to my good friend and then off we went to the nearest open store. "aaron that was awesome" he told me. "I know man. I love comedy dinners" "what time is it" he asked. "about 11:30" I said. "cool so we can stay up all night" "max do you really want to stay up all night?" "yeah man why not. Lets party it up" "your 11" "I know I am but I can still party, just no drinks" he smiled. We pulled up to walmart where it was always open and we bought tons of ice cream. He wanted assorted flavors so I gave in. there was no way I could say not those puppy eyes. He was so funny too. He was so sweet which made him even more easy to spoil. Then he saw a sign for a video game he wanted. He immediately went to it and just stared at it. "well do you want it?" I asked. "I do. But I don't want you to spend more money on me. Its not right" "bro, don't worry about it." I said as I grabbed the game. After we paid at the cash register he was so happy he hugged me about three times. "thanks for everything today" he said as we walked out of the store. "your welcome little man" I told him. As soon as we got home he ran up to the bathroom. He was gone for a good 5 minutes. Then he came running downstairs. "I think I ate too much." he said. "did you puke?" I asked. "no I pooped huge. Hey can I take a shower so I can get into pjs?" he asked. "sure. Another one?" I asked. "yeah I like to sleep fresh" "sure go ahead." "ok thanks" he said. While he showered I took the time to serve 2 big bowls of assorted ice cream with whip cream and chocolate sprinkles and then I put them in the fridge to keep them from melting. Then I set up the living room so we could watch the movies we got. I went up to my room and changed into my pjs and then checked some emails and set up the bed just in case he got sleepy fast, although I doubted it. 10 minutes later he came out of the bathroom in shorts and his white shirt. "ready?" I asked. "yeah man. Lets do this" he smiled. When we got downstairs and I put the bowl in front of him he almost fell back. "this is amazing!" he said. "I know I know. Your welcome" "I don't know what my brother was thinking, but I would never let go of you" "o max. you're silly. Lets watch the movies now" We took our ice cream and sat down on the couch. He sat real close to me and there was a little smile on his face. He was so happy. I guess he liked being center of attention or just liked to be happy all the time. We watched a scary movie. I did not choose it, he did. I figured he'd be able to handle it since he was so eager to pick it at the store. He finished his ice cream in record time and I figured he'd be hyper, but with the suspense of the movie, he was just sitting there watching. At scary parts he would just slightly move his head towards my arm and just keep it there until it was over. About an hour into the movie he tapped my arm. "I have to pee" he said. "well you know where the bathroom is" I told him. "can you take me?" he asked. "you're kidding right?" "no. .. im scared" he said. "ok fine" I said. We got up and before I had a chance to even walk he held my hand. "o you're that scared?" "yeah lets go" he said. I walked him to the bathroom which was by a big window. I guess I could see why he was scared of it. When we got to the door he looked up at me. "can you come in?" he asked. "what really?" I asked. "this movie is really scary. Just stand by the door inside" he said. "umm...ok man. Only for you" I said. I was really surprised he was this scared. So we walked in. luckily the bathroom was not tiny so I stood by the door while he did his thing. Although it was still weird to see him stand there and pee. "I just feel like if I was alone the ghost would come in here and then I'd pee everywhere" he said as he turned at me. "okay well don't look at me. Its weird. Plus if u look at me you cant aim" I said. "o ok. But I never miss" he said as he finished up. He shook a little and then he turned around to go wash his hands. "ok all done?" I asked. "yeah lets go finish the movie. But I'm going to have to sleep real close to you" he smiled. "o geez. You don't sweat do you?" I asked. "no. who does?" he asked. "your brother does." "yeah he does. He kind of slobbers too. His pillows smell like saliva" "okay back to the movie" I told him as we sat down. Except this time he literally put his arm around me. "if you're this scared we can stop watching it." I told him. "no im a man. A little man" he smiled. So I hit play. We watched it until the end, and I must say I did jump a few times as well. Not to mention there was a different feeling now that I realized we were in my house, alone. When I used to watch movies at my parents house I always knew they were home with me, so I was never alone. Here, well I'm alone. I was the adult...so then I got a little scared. When it ended the creepy music started playing and I shut it off right away. I looked at the time. It was 2:30 am. "max, are you even tired?" I asked. "yeah a little. Im scared. I think we partied a little too much" he said. "ready for bed?" I asked. "yeah. We can relax in bed so I can forget this right?" he asked. "of course buddy. Lets go" I said. I let him walk in front of me but he stayed real close to me. When I shut off the lights he got even closer. Going up the stairs was an issue with him because he was walking so close he literally put his butt on my face. "hey kid, I don't want ass on my face" I said as I smacked it. "sorry. Im just scared" he giggled. We finally were in my room but we had one problem, the switch was by the door and he did not want to sit in bed alone while I turned the lights off. "I'll just wait in bed but just do it real fast" he said. "wow man. I'm not some stunt man" I said. But I did do it fast. I hit the switch and then jumped into the bed. The problem was that he moved to the middle so when I landed, I landed halfway on him. I felt his little body under me and I quickly moved away. "no don't move. Stay like this. Im scared" he said quietly. "but im squishing you bro" "no you're not. I'm ok" he said. But I felt his little body under my leg. Plus my stuff was literally on his leg and well we were both wearing thin clothing. I moved over just enough to get that part of my body off him but close enough to put my arm around him and have him close to me. "is that better?" I asked. "yeah that is" "ok so how are things at home?" I asked him. "well they are good most of the time. When jon doesn't feel like hitting me" "its that bad?" I asked. "yeah it can be but most of the time its not that bad" "okay. So what do you have planned for this summer?" "well I don't know. I'm not going on vacation this summer so its kind of weird. I guess I havent thought about it." "o man. Well you should. You don't want to waste it." "maybe I could hang with you and party hard every day like today?" "you want to get scared every day?" "you have a point. Well not that part. I mean sometimes its cool. As long as you don't leave me all alone" "ok I wont. I promise" I told him. "wait so does that mean I can hang out with you?" "Well max, if you want to, and I'm not working, sure why not" "awesome. Do you miss my brother at all?" "why do you bring him up?" "does it annoy you?" "no...but you say you don't like him, yet you bring him up a lot" "I guess because I can't believe I'm hanging out with you when he used to be your best friend you know" "I guess I see your point. Well I do...but then I don't. I just can't believe how much he's changed" "yeah I know right. Hey I noticed you didn't drink at that place. Do you even drink?" "not much. Sometimes a little bit here and there. But not a lot" "good because its bad for you right" "Exactly." The rest of the conversation kind of changed from interesting topics to random movies and then games. In less than an hour he was knocked out. The funny part was that he tried so hard to stay awake and he ended up falling asleep in mid sentence. When he did I slowly moved his little body a little more to his side of the bed to give him space to sleep. Then I just lied there, thinking. This kid was something else. He had some sort of spark that catches your attention. He had gentle eyes, but a strong charismatic way of talking. He wasn't a push over, yet he wasn't a bully. Just a great kid. I liked how he trusted me just because he knew how good I treated jon. Its like I had undivided trust from him, and seemed liked he was a really loyal boy. Eventually tiredness caught up to me as well and I fell asleep. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Aaron wake up" "I'm awake" I slowly said as I opened my eyes. I was so tired. I looked over at my cell phone. It was 8 am. I looked at him. He was so close to me hugging me. "O hey, you're close" I said. "Sorry I was scared. Hey I'm hungry" "REally? Wow you have a fast metabolism" "No, I'm just always hungry" "Okay well what do you want." I asked. "Cereal. And lots of it" he smiled. "Okay well can I get up then?" "Sure" he said as he moved his arm from my stomach and scooted over. When he stood up he sort of turned around and was moving a lot and messing with his shorts. "whats wrong" I asked. "nothing" he said shyly. Then he turned around and I noticed a little tent in his shorts. "o man that's normal. Just go pee" I said. "ok" he said as he practically ran to the bathroom. Minutes later he walked into the room tent free. "sorry" he said. "For what?" "I don't know. I hate when that happens." "Dude its totally normal. Don't sweat it." "It didn't' happen to you." he said. "because my bladder is not small like yours" "mean!" he said. "Bladder. The part of your body that holds pee, not the thing that you pee with" "Ooooo okay sorry" he giggled. "wow nasty boy" "Well I'm only 11. Its small." he said. "Thanks for the info. So cereal?" I asked. "Yeah, and lots of it remember" "okay lets go" He followed me to the kitchen and we had a cereal party. We mixed all sorts of cereal and we discovered that we both liked to drink orange juice while we ate cereal and we both liked to microwave it to get it kind of soft and warm. Right after we finished eating cereal his mom called and said she had to pick him up to go do some errands. He pouted for a while but like a good kid he was he gave in and begged to come back next weekend. Then he handed me the phone. I gave his mom my address and she was surprised I lived so close. Then she thanked me for being nice enough to take care of him. "So dude, if she says yes, can I come next weekend?" he asked. "Buddy its summer. You can come any day you want. But if I have to work I'll just take you back home before work" "really? You don't mind?" he asked surprised. "not at all. You're a good person to be around. Now go change you're mom will be here soon" "o yeah sorry" he said. He ran up the stairs and came back minutes later all changed and with his hair wet. "you change fast" I said. "I know. Hey I left my dirty stuff in your bathroom. Do I put it somewhere and take it home?" he asked. "no I'll wash it and keep it for next time you come" " cool great idea." he said. Just then we heard the door bell. He ran to the kitchen I don't know for what, and I headed to the door. I opened it. But I did not expect what came next. Jon was standing right there. "Aaron" he said boldly. "jon" I said back. "you live here huh?" he asked a little surprised. "uh yeah. Hey Max your mom's here" I said as I waved to her. "umm...ok. I see you lied." he said. "A little." I said. Just then Max ran up to me and hugged me. "Thanks bro. I'll call you later ok" he said. "no problem. See you later kido" I told him. He ran to the SUV while jon walked slowly. He looked so different. Bad different I guess you could say. "bye then" he said. "Yeah bye man" I told him. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next few days passed by kind of quick. Max and I now became regular texting buddies. We'd talk all day about random things and he'd ask me what I was doing about 30 times a day. He was so interested in my daily life. He thought it was so cool how I worked so much and I got to sell cars. It was Thursday and I hated the fact that I had to work both jobs today so I'd be home like at 7pm. But the good part was that I didn't have to be in to the dealer on Friday's til 1pm and I got out at 4. It was just the way my schedule was. I didn't have to stay at the restaurant all night anymore. Dad finally realized I was working too much I guess. My mom had invited me to dinner so I was kind of looking forward to a home cooked meal in the afternoon so when 7 hit I was happy to go home. When I pulled up to my parents house I realized that no matter what, It still felt like home to me. I walked into the kitchen from the garage to find my mom and Max's mom working on dinner. It looked like a cook out. "well hello" I said. "hey" they said in unison. "everyone's outside. Dinner will be ready soon" they said. I took off my dress shirt and walked outside. I found my dad and max's dad sitting down drinking some beer. They just waved hi to me. Then out of nowhere max jumped on me. I was quick enough to catch him. "Aaron! You came!" he said happily. "well hello there" I said as I put him down. I looked over to the pool to find jon and Kevin in there. "Why aren't you in the pool" I asked. "I don't know. I just didn't feel like swimming" he said. "don't you love swimming?" I asked. "Yeah I do. But jon was being mean. he's been extra mean since that day he picked me up with my mom" "I'm sorry" I told him. "its ok. Hey lets kick a ball around" he told me. "I'm in work clothes" I said as I looked down at my dress pants and dress shoes. "Well go change. Don't you have clothes here?" he asked. "yeah I do of course I do. Hold on then" I told him. He followed me inside though. "so you're coming along" I smiled at him. "yeah dude. I'm bored" he smiled back. His mom smiled at him when she saw us walking together. We walked up to my room and he sat on the couch while I walked into the closet. I changed into some lighter sweat pants and a sports shirt. Changed my sox and found some old sneakers I had left behind. When I was all set I walked out to the room and sat with him on the couch. "so how's life" I asked. "pretty good. And you?" "a little tired from work, I need to work out though" I told him. "yeah that's why we're going to play soccer" he smiled. "good thinking then." "Hey do you work early tomorrow?" he asked. "not really. At 1pm. Which is great because I get to sleep in" "can I spend the night?" he asked. "um if you want. You feel like scaring yourself again?" I asked. "yeah maybe. I just get bored at home" he said. "for sure. I don't have anything special going on." "cool. I'll tell my mom" he jumped up. "ok go do that I'll meet you down there in a bit" He zoomed out of the room and I went get some deodorant on and spray of cologne because I hated the smell of restaurant on me. When I was walking downstairs I overheard max talking to his mom. "sure honey. What don't you like it at home?" she asked. "Yeah but mom Aaron's house is cooler." he said. "O now he's cooler than us?" she asked. "No mom. But you know its just, I don't know" "Its okay honey. I don't mind. As long as Aaron isn't busy" "no I asked him he said ok." "you really look up to him don't you. You know you have a big brother, you have 2 of them" "Mom, they hate me. I like aaron as a brother better" he said. Just then I walked in. "O siblings" said my mom. "What?" I asked. "nothing max is just telling us how he likes you as a big brother better than his big brothers" said my mom. "o im sorry" I said as I looked at his mom a little confused. "its okay. I understand why. Whats not to like about you. A perfect role model" she said. I kind of blushed. "O thanks..." I said embarrassed. "Well Max, you can stay with Aaron whenever you want as long as its okay with him" she told him. "Yay!" he said happily as he hugged her. "lets go play aaron" he said right after that. He ran out the door and I looked over at the moms. "best get out there. He keeps me young" I said. "go be kids. You're still my baby no matter how old you get" said my mom. "Great" I said as I walked out the door and headed outside. I played soccer with Max for about half an hour. It was so fun. We laughed a lot and he really made me feel happy again. I don't know, I was happy before, but this was different. Like he just overall gave everyone a good vibe. He was a good source of positive energy I guess. Every once in a while the ball would roll over close to the pool and I'd have to meet eyes with jon, which was difficult. He was so different. Just being near him made me feel weird. He had a bad vibe now. He always looked at me so angry. Time had not been good to him I guess. When they called us to the outside dinner table I sat next to Max, well actually he literally jumped on the chair next to mine. Since there was a total of 8 chairs I figured Jon and Kevin would leave a chair empty between us, but to my surprise, Jon sat himself right next to me. He was still wearing his wet shirt and shorts so I felt the cold water splash me. "jon, take your shirt off. You're going to get cold" said his dad. "no dad. I'm ok" he said. "well I don't want you eating with a wet shirt. Go change" his dad told him. "He can change into one of aaron's shirts" said my mom. "Why we live a second away" said jons dad. "no why go through that. Aaron take jon to change" said my dad. I got a little worried but I didn't want any problems or anything so I got up and played it cool. "come on lets go" I told him as I patted his back. He slowly got up and followed me inside. When we got inside the kitchen he looked over at me. "good acting" he said. "thanks." I said. We walked to my room and he stood in the doorway. I guess he probably just felt odd being back in here again. "nothing's changed" he said. "no why would it. I don't live here anymore." "o yeah...should I wait in the bathroom?" he asked. "you know where my clothes are" I said as I sat on my bed and looked through my phone. I didn't want to be a jerk, but I mean we weren't friends, I was just being polite. "O ok..." he said as he walked into the closet. "any shirt and shorts or what" he asked. "yeah whatever fits you" I said. "idk man. I'm fatter" he said. "find something dude" I said. A few minutes later he walked out in some sweats and a t shirt. He walked into the bathroom and then came out with his wet clothes. "What do I do with this?" he asked. "Im guessing leave them in the tub. Mom will take care of that" I said. "O okay. Hey, umm...I'll give you your pants later cuz I didn't find any of my old boxers...so umm yeah" he told me. I guess that's his way of saying he was going commando. "Its all good" I said as I walked out the room. He followed me down the stairs. But as we were walking through the kitchen he stopped. I looked at him. "Are we not friends?" he asked. "random question...and umm...no. you made that clear 2 years ago" I said. "but that was 2 years ago" "jon lets just eat okay I'm hungry. The past is the past" I said. "o okay" he said. We walked out to the table and our plates were served. My mom gave me a look. Guessing she knew there was tension and was glad we spent some time together. "a lot better now" said jon's dad as we sat down. We got through dinner peacefully. I guess you can say we had a family dinner. We talked about lots of things and then we had cake and overall it was a great time. It had been a while since we all sat down like this and talked about life and what not. As it got darker my parents started a fire and they sat around the fire. I enjoyed this. I was surprised jon was still around. In fact the family conversation was so good we all talked about things. Jon did bring stuff up from the past and of course our moms talked about anecdotes from when we first met. At about 10 I got tired and decided I should head home. "well I should probably head home. Thanks for the great dinner." I said as I stood up. Max jumped up. "yeah it was yummy" he added. "you boys take care. Don't stay up too late" said my dad. "I'll try not to. I'm a party animal" said max with a grin on his face. "Max honey take a shower ok" said his mom. "yes mom" he said. I walked over to my mom and gave her a kiss and he did the same to his mom. Jon did look a little confused, and part of me did feel awkward with this. Few years ago, this would have been him going with me to my room. Then he stood up. "mom I'm going to go home and change. Can I go to my friends house?" he asked. "Sure don't get home past 11" she told him. "he lives around the block. I wont. Just going to pick up my game" he told her. Kevin stood up and followed him. With that max and I headed to the drive way. "do you think jon's mad?" he asked me. "no why would he be mad?" I asked. "just because im going to your house" "I don't think he has a reason to be mad. We havent talked for about 2 years" I told the kid. He got in my car with me and he rolled down his window. "I still think you have the coolest car" he said. "thanks kid" I said. Once we were at my house he got extra hyper. I miss the days when I was that age and simple things like going to a friends house got me super hyped up. We walked in and he instantly lied down on my couch. "what are we going to do?" he asked. "I have no idea man. I have to take a shower, you do too" I said. "okay you go first. Can I go play in the basketball court?" he asked. "Yeah but be careful" I told him. I wasn't too worried because my yard was fenced up and there were lights. But still, just in case. I headed up to my room and took a refreshing shower. 10 minutes later I went downstairs to the kitchen and looked out the window. He looked like he was having a blast just shooting the ball around. I made us a fresh strawberry shake and placed in the fridge to stay cool. Then I opened up some cookies and put them on a plate. I yelled out his name from the back door and he came back running. "Time to go in?" he asked. "well its only 11pm, I think so yes" I told him. "ok. I'll go shower" he told me. "I left the boxers you left last time and some shorts and shirt for you on my bed" I told him. "thanks!" he said happily. I sat on my kitchen just relaxing. I sometimes felt old when I did this. Man its so weird being an adult. Just then my phone went off. I ran to the couch where I had left it. Jon had sent me a text. -what r u guys doing- he asked. I was kind of baffled as to why he had decided to try to talk to me. I sat there for a few minutes debating if I should text him back or not. I wanted to be polite, but at the same time I didn't want him to think he could just talk to me now and try to maybe build something he already destroyed. -watching tv- I replied. -thanx for inviting me- he replied. -?- was all I could come up with. -so u and my brother best friends now?- -my phones dying. Peace out jon- I said. I did not want to continue that conversation with him. -I c how it is. Peace- he replied. I figured this was a good way to let him know I wasn't okay with talking to him like if nothing had ever happened. Just then max came running down the stairs. "hey, my brother asked me what we were doing" he said. "yeah me too. I ignored it. He doesn't need to know" I told him. "I did too. So whats for snack?" he asked. "A strawberry shake" I told him "sweet" he said as he walked to the kitchen and sat down. I grabbed it from the fridge and served us two big cups. Then I sat next to him and he randomly hugged me. "you're a great brother" he said. "thanks. You are too" We ate our shakes and talked about games and tv shows and movies, and then he came up with the brilliant idea of watching a really scared movie but in my room so that when it was time to sleep we'd already be in bed. So once the plan was set we headed upstairs. I told him to head up first so I could turn off the lights downstairs and just meet him up there. When I got to my room he was looking through my movie collection. He chose a scary movie then jumped on the bed. "you're going to be able to handle this one right?" I asked. "doesn't matter. I'm already in bed. If I get scared I can just cuddle" he smiled. "o boy, well if you say so. But hey no farting this time" I said. "O yeah, sometimes I fart in my sleep. Sorry" he said. "I guess its okay." I said. So I started the movie. It was an okay movie. Kind of creepy, but me being a scary movie guru, well it didn't affect me at all. It had some parts were he definitely jumped, but overall, it was ok. When it ended I looked over at him and he was staring up at the ceiling without even blinking. "Are you okay kid?" I asked. "Uh...yeah. I think" "What you mean?" "I'm scared" "I asked if you could handle it" "I know. I thought I could" "O should I turn on the lights?" I asked. "No...just hold me" "umm...like how?" I asked. He grabbed my arm and put it around his little waist while he rested his head next to my chest. I have to admit that this was a little too close for my liking, but I kept my calm. "Im going to sweat" I said. "I don't care. Take the covers off" he said. "A little demanding aren't we" I said. "Dude, im just scared ok" he told me. "You're fine. Its just a movie. Fake stuff. Plus I'm here to protect you" "I know man. Hey what time is it?" he asked. "A little past 3 am" I said. "O ok. I'll try to get some sleep" he said. "Ok me too" Silence took over. For the next few minutes all I could hear was the crickets outside and our breathing. I thought to myself about how things have lead to this. How the debate between all the boys lead to this one. But it came down to the decision to either see Max as my little brother, or as something else. I couldn't keep taking these risks. It was just too much. But then my phone interrupted my thoughts. I looked at it. Jon was texting me. -come outside- it said. I was shocked. What was he doing outside my house, and most importantly, what was he doing out at 3 am. I couldn't even move properly since Max was clung on so tight. I slowly tapped his forehead and to my surprise he didn't move. So I gently moved him a little away from me and slipped out of my bed. I went down the stairs and looked through the doors peep hole. Sure enough there he was standing. I opened the door. "What the fuck are you doing out at this time?" I asked. "I was at a party. I couldn't go home this late" "So then why not go to a friends house?" I asked. "I told my mom I was coming with you" he said. "why the hell would you use that excuse" "uh...I don't know. But I'm here" he said. I was speechless for a while. How he had the balls to actually do something like this I didn't know. Then I looked over at the street. There was a car, some guys in there. He looked at them and did a thumbs up. Then they drove away. "well my ride left" he said. "I don't know what to say" I told him. "Don't say anything. I wont do this again. I promise" he told me. But that's when I saw it. This was not Jon anymore. This was someone else. The little hope I had of maybe that little innocent kid being inside, lost, it was gone. I moved aside from the door and he slowly walked in. For a minute I thought I saw a glimpse of shame in his eyes. But then he killed it. "so where's that little bitch?" he asked. "sleeping...and that's your brother" I said. "yeah ok. Well where do I sleep" he asked. "on the couch" I said. I walked over to a closet and grabbed a blanket. He stood by the entrance. Then he took off his shoes and tried to look around. Kind of hard when it was all dark. I went to the couch and got the blanket on there and I patted it. Then he slowly walked towards me and sat down. "thanks man" he said softly. "I guess" was all I could say. "aaron. Can we talk?" he asked. "right now?" "yeah, im not sleepy. Are you?" "No but your brother was scared. He could wake up" "He's a heavy sleeper. He'll be out til the morning" "Jon I don't know what you have to talk about" "Umm...the past" "there is no past remember. You said you'd forgotten. Well so have I" "something like that is hard to forget" "dude, I don't know who you are, but you aren't the boy I met" "People change" "I agree. I changed too." "In what way?" "Many ways" I said. "well, I like your house" "thanks" "kind of wish you told me you were only moving a few blocks away. For 2 years I thought you were in another place" "I was." I said. "I don't get it" "I wouldn't expect you to" "why do you hate me?" "I don't hate you" "You don't treat me the same" "well no shit shirlock" "Aaron, its just a little bit of partying." "And drugs, and alcohol" "Just a little. I'm not out of control" "how old are you again?" "14" "Exactly" "O come on. You're telling me you were an angel at 14?" "no...but I wasn't what you are" "ok so tell me what changed?" "That, ... I don't care about you" I said. There was a moment of silence. A long moment. "At all?" he finally asked. But he quivered when he asked this. "my goal was to forget about you. And I did. Until now. But the feelings, they're gone" I said. I hurt to say it. But I said as honestly as I could. "did you replace me?" he asked. "no...I simply forgot you" "Yeah...I forgot you too" he said. I expected this. I wanted this. I wanted him angry. I wanted him to force me back out of his life. "I'm going to bed" I said. "yeah." he said. I got up and walked away. I didn't have the courage to even try to look back at him before I went up the stairs. Until I heard him. "come back" he said. I stood there. Half scared, half emotional. I heard him get up and walk towards the stairs. "come back" he repeated himself. "can I at least have good night hug?" he asked. I was confused now. After that, he asked for a hug. I slowly walked down the stairs and I got close to him. We were about to hug when out of now where. "AHHH!! Aaron!!" I heard Max scream. I ran up the stairs and into the room. I jumped to him and held him. "its okay. I'm here" I said as I held him. "I thought you left me or something. I was scared" he said. He was shaking. "you're fine" I told him. I had forgotten to turn the lights on when I ran in the room. Then I saw Jon's figure walk in the room. "is he ok?" he asked. "Jon?" asked Max. "what?" asked Jon. "what are you doing here?" "nothing." jon answered. "well go away. You trouble maker" said Max. "Fuck you!" screamed Jon as he jumped in the bed and tried to attack Max. I clicked the lamp on and picked Jon up. I set him down far from the bed. "What is your problem? The kid is scared. Shaky. And you try to attack him?" I asked. Max started crying. "Just go downstairs Jon. Go to sleep" I said. I couldn't deal with this. "man whatever." he said as he walked out of the room. "You'll be ok little man" I said as I held Max. We fell asleep like that. Just holding onto him. I felt his heartbeat. Man did it bring flashbacks. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ I apologize for the delay. I had some physical trouble. Injured my hand. Writing took longer. I'm still recovering. This is why the chapter was a little shorter than usual. I will keep working. Thanks for all the emails and of course, keep them coming. About the disclaimer. I had to add it because I wanted to make it clear that this is all fiction. Based on real characters, but still fiction.