Date: Thu, 4 Aug 2022 03:04:13 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Cadence - Chapter 13 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. The emails I have received thus far are greatly appreciated. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. This story will contain graphic depictions of sex between males of teen and adult ages (M/m, m/m). If this is an issue for you or the laws where you live, you are obviously in the wrong place. Also, this is a story with plot, not merely wank material. You have been warned. I have posted another story in the Gay / high school section, called A Ghost Finds a Body. Feel free to check it out. Cadence Part 13 Cade felt like he was floating through the rest of the day. He got his English report turned in, and that was about all he was good for, academically, for the day. In fact, his run in with James took him through Monday night, including once in the shower and another in bed before sleep overtook him. Obsessing over those kisses meant he barely had to touch his cock either time. Jordan teased him the next morning that Cade was going to get in trouble from whatever he was smoking. Tuesday was a bit better. He still have James intruding in his thoughts constantly, but at least he was able to take better notes. And speaking of notes, Cade about freaked out when he opened his locker to drop off his morning books and get ready to swing by the library for lunch. Inside was a piece of printer paper, folded in thirds and taped to the inside of his locker door. On the outside, hastily scrawled with sharpie, were the words "Open in private". Cade found this very weird for several reasons. First was that the school had an anti-graffiti ordinance that made it a severe detention-worthy offense to have permanent markers in school. And second, this note or letter or whatever it was, was not merely slipped through the vent slots in the locker door. This was taped to the inside of his locker, meaning someone had to have opened his locker. Cade had an idea who that "someone" had to be, but heeding the message, decided to wait until he reached the library to open and read it. He shoved it inside his Physics book, which he added to his backpack, and slammed the locker door shut, headed down the hall. No teacher would give a note in such a manner. However, locker assignment and combination records were stored, of course, in the front office. And a certain someone would have just come from a shift in the front office about an hour prior. Sure enough, once Cade was able to get settled in at the back of the library, he was able to pull out his Physics book and open the paper, to find a hand written note. It was not the sharpest handwriting, but perfectly legible. James was obviously someone who, while not necessarily taking penmanship seriously, at least would not drive his teachers to an early grave. Hey there, to a certain individual last seen being dragged off to theater-land. I'm skipping name-dropping here for obvious reasons. Feel free to burn this after reading if you have serious concerns about reputation or bodily harm. I really did have something to talk to you about yesterday, even if I did get distracted with a pair of tulips. LOL. I heard Mr. Jordan talking about you needing extracarricular stuff and thought you might want to join me in theater. It would get you out of gym, if that is something you want. Plus you could hang out with me every day. Score! Period. It's not as homo as it sounds. We have a lot of fun and are able to get away with real shit. Theater is how I got my third period gig. Good times. It give access to reaching out to certian "way to hot to be cute" individuals. LOL. But period, think about theater. As for a certain other off, I was serious about Friday, if you want. If not, its cool. And I still think you are way too adorable when you blush! LOL. Your "office"ial fan. Ugh, that was just too much! Cade was blushing by the end of the letter. He read it through twice more, practically committing it to memory. Of course, the spelling was atrocious, but fuck, if he had been fan-girling over James before, now he was sliding off the deep end. Although truth be told, he was not a fan of the slang. It was bad enough having to think of bleeding girls every time someone mentioned class "periods". But now this whole thing about using "period" to mean "seriously". Oh well, it was what it was. Cade folded the letter back up and placed it back in his Physics book. He grinned when he thought about taking it home and putting it under his pillow! Then he started thinking about what James had actually said in his letter. First, the idea of joining theater. Sure, on the one hand it could be fun. But he also imagined that it could be time consuming, especially as it approached showtime. And that would mean commitments, stress, and a bunch of other stuff he really didn't need. Plus, as he had already decided, he wasn't willing to give up AP class slots. There was also that one, last, tiny thing James had also mentioned. A date. An actual dinner-and-a-movie date. The thought thrilled Cade, but also frightened him. How would he arrange it? What would Nathan say if Cade blew off a D&D session? He and Jordan hadn't missed a Friday since they had joined the group. And what would Jordan say? How would he react to Cade blowing him off and disappearing on him? But if he didn't do it on a Friday, he wouldn't have anyone for Jordan to stay with. Was ten old enough for his brother to stay by himself? Could he even enjoy himself, knowing that his little brother was alone? Maybe Saturday night, he could get James to come over to their house. He and Jordan could tell him that their parents were out for the evening or something. Wait, sexy times with James in Cade's bedroom? Wow, sounded hot! Or maybe he could get Duncan to come over Saturday. He could stay with Jordan while Cade went out with James. But then Duncan would know he was seeing another boy. Or a boy. Anyway, that Cade was seeing someone who was not Duncan. Surely that wouldn't be good. See? This is why Cade had always insisted that trying to have a boyfriend would be bad. Cade put the idea of a date out of his mind, buckling back down into his life. He did take Nathan's advice, however, and began doing small amounts of research into high school D&D gaming clubs. He found a half dozen organizations that helped with organizational ideas, and how to get supplies. He also identified four different high schools in their state that had similar clubs, and the contact information of their academic sponsor. It wasn't as much as he would like, but it was a start. Maybe Nathan would have better luck. Duncan had said he would be away until midweek. That turned out not to be Tuesday night. Cade kept himself from wallowing in the full refrigerator and pantry, ensuring that he planned meals around what ingredients would have the earliest expiration dates. He was actually fairly impressed at the variety Duncan had left him to work with. They had been able to eat well since the weekend. "When's Duncan coming back around?" asked Jordan after dinner Wednesday. "Don't know, Jor," said Cade. "He said 'midweek', whatever that means to him." "Should we call him? I miss him, and I want to talk to him about that Black Friday shopping you said we might do." Cade turned a bit on the couch, pulling his leg up to his chest and looking toward his little brother. For a minute, he really took him in. He was fully four years younger, and yet nearly as big as Cade. By the look of him, Jordan appeared healthy and normal. But truth be told, how 'normal' could he be, the way Cade was making him grow up? Hell, how normal could either of them be? There had to be a better way. "What?" said Jordan with a giggle, looking from the TV over to Cade. "Why are you looking at me all weird?" "Nothing," said Cade. "Are you missing mom?" he asked in a soft voice. "I miss her a lot, too." "Yeah, I do miss her. I had a bunch of stuff happen this last weekend that reminded me of her hard." "Yeah," said Jordan, his eyes dropping to his lap. Cade leaned forward, grabbing Cade and pulling him in to snuggle them together for a hug. They held each other for several minutes, luxuriating in physical contact with no guile, no expectations, no intentions, other than the intimate needs of two brothers who had nobody else they could safely rely on. "I'm sorry, Jor," said Cade, just barely hanging on to keep himself from breaking down. "I'm sorry I can't give you more." Jordan pulled back enough that he could look Cade in the eyes. "What do you mean, 'give me more'?" "You should have friends you can hang out at the park with. Friends you can spend the night with. You should be able to have buddies spending the night over here." Jordan was shaking his head, ever so slightly. "I don't need any of that," he said. "You're the best brother ever! You are the one missing out. You're in high school! You should be out dating and going to parties, right?" "I'm not exactly party material, my guy." Cade laughed. "My idea of a party involves rogues and clerics." He became more somber, the laughter leaving his eyes. "I don't know how to take care of us." "You seem to be doing an awesome job right now," said Jordan. "But I wish you didn't have to. I know I should help more. I should... should..." Jordan looked around, as if scanning for chores that needed doing. "I should help with the dishes more! Or, or, you can teach me how to cook! You always cook awesome food. You can teach me, and then I can help with some of the cooking." Cade gave Jordan a big hug, than relaxed back against the arm of the couch. "But see? This is what I mean, Jor. You shouldn't be having to think of ways to help around here. You should be, I don't know, sneaking out of bed an hour past bedtime, because you want to see what is on the TV." "What? But if I am sneaking out of bed all the time, I won't be able to get up for school on time in the morning!" "See?" said Cade with a laugh. "You're ten! You should be fighting for five more minutes of sleep, and getting drug out of bed in the mornings, fighting and grouching." I don't want to sneak out of bed though," Jordan said more soberly. "If I did, I might get in the way of what you and Duncan do, you know, when you 'keep the bills paid'."