Date: Fri, 24 Jul 2020 23:41:22 -0400 From: Frank Kalau Subject: Barriers 6 Authors Notes: Alot of emails about how great Chapter Five was and I appreciate them all. I found myself thinking nearly all the points where the main characters got emotional were incredibly unrealistic and broke immersion. It's still great to hear that everyone enjoyed it. In bad news, this is formerly Chapter 9 so after the next chapter(Should be out on Sunday) theres going to be a long break. I'm still looking for an editor and someone to bounce ideas off of as i'm still too embarassed to show this to my real life friends. Thanks as always for reading and Enjoy Chapter 6 **** Barriers - Return to Reality I woke up to a familiar mouth gnawing on my neck and purring. "Jon I get it you're a cat now stop. I pushed him away and hid under a pillow" "Lion. I'm a Lion" He snatched the pillow and straddled me."Do I need to mark you again to remind you" He wiggled his eyebrow as I forced my eyes open into the daylight. "Please don't" It was way too bright and way too damn early for his antics. "What time is it" "Ten. I tried to let you sleep as long as possible but we have to check out and get Brunch with my uncle" He messed up my hair then hopped off."I packed your shit and got your clean sweats out, just brush your teeth and lets get going" "How are you like this right now" I groggily muttered as I crawled out of bed."We drank so much last night" "YOU drank so much, I had like 2 shots worth of booze" He sat at the table waiting for me to be ready to leave."My uncles gonna knock on the door any minute now, at least have your pants on so he doesn't think we were doing anything crazy" "Fuck off" I said as I walked into the bathroom to brush the lingering taste of Jack out of my mouth. I did as Jon asked and even managed to get in a quick 10 minute shower before we heard the knock on the hotel door. Jon waited for me to finish putting on my clothes before opening for his uncle. He bowed and I felt the need to follow suit and the two Chinese relatives began talking in their native tongue. Lots of anger was expressed on Jon's end and his uncle just laughed him off. To the end the conversation he gave Jon an address to type on his phone and pointed to the other elevator and waved off. "The restaurant" I surmised as we picked up our things to leave. "Yeah. He blew another four grand last night" The disbelief in his voice was expressed vividly."My mom is gonna have a fit when we get back" "Well surely he's not spending beyond his means right" "The problem is he's using his half of what my dad left. He's been doing this for years, and we tell him to seek help for his gambling problem but he just laughs and says he doesn't have one. Whatever. I'm over it. Let's just get lunch and then I'll drop you off and give my mom the bad news" He sighed as we took the elevator to the parking deck. As we left AC I thought back to last night. I remembered most of the details and then recalled Jon putting me up on his story. My curiosity got the best of me and I had to look at the comments one more time. A bunch of messages surprised Jon was in AC for the weekend and even more surprised seeing me with him. I was literally the talk of the school for the first time since I was outed by Houston but this time it was overwhelmingly positive. "You're looking aren't you" Jon asked as he kept his eyes on the road. "Yeah, nobody was mean besides your boy Smith" I kept scrolling looking for negative comments. "Smith is just pushing my buttons. He's harmless I promise" "Do you just surround yourself with smartasses" "You're one to talk. Jenna Peterson is a million times worse than any of my friends. My friends don't have their boyfriend fighting other guys" "The difference being I know Jenna's a bitch. You say your friends are great" "Alright I get it you don't wanna deal with them. I'll drop it sorry. My uncle just got the table and we're about five minutes away just giving you a heads up" I didn't realize how fast time flew because we were already in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Jon made his way to the back parking lot of another above average Chinese restaurant and parked. "Wow they really did redo the place. I can't wait to see inside" He opened back door to the kitchen and motioned me in."This is my Uncles restaurant. I haven't been here in like five years. It'll be nice to see it again" It was busy as hell on a Sunday. I wasn't sure what was going on but the chefs were making several dishes and throwing them into carts and the wait staff would come in to change out their carts. When we got to the main dining room I noticed the line packed out the door waiting a table and I was suddenly grateful that Jon's uncle literally owned the place. "Have you even done dimsum before" Jon's uncle asked me directly."Jon tells me you've traveled quite a bit" "Uhh no" I took my hoodie off and put it on the chair behind me before sitting down. "We'll take good care of you" He cracked a smile that Jon shared and started shouting across the room in for service startling me. "It's basically a buffet but they come to us with the food instead of us getting it. You do it on weekends with the family to catch up."Jon poured everyone tea and went to get silverware. "You'll love it I promise" They continued their back and forth as I awkwardly stared at my phone. Jenna on queue sent me a message. "When" "Idk like a 2 hour drive after lunch" "So what 5" "6 if we hit traffic on the way back yeah" "I saw you dancing" "Shut up" "Right Jason" Jon was waving my attention away from my phione. "Huh sorry what" "You have no food allergies right" "Yeah and I love seafood so don't be afraid to get the weird shit" Jon chuckled as he grabbed several dishes out of one of the carts and happily placed them in front of everyone. Much to my surprise I loved everything he put in front of me. The fried shrimp rolls were mind-blowingly good and my favorite dish he got was these pan fried noodles covered in lobster sauce. His uncle asked me about my aspirations for the school year and I gave him the trained answers I was accustomed to giving my parents friends. Jon laughed as he told his uncle what could only assume was to be my parent's net worth and his uncle's eye went wide and shook his head. We finished it off with some ridiculously sweet egg tarts and thanked the staff with a generous top since they refused to take my money. I passed out in a food coma on the ride back and was violently awoken to some screeching breaks and my body being launched forward. "THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING ASSHOLE? IT'S RED FOR YOU" Jon screamed as he slammed his horn."Sorry, we nearly died" I came to my senses and realized we were back on Planviel Road which meant we were basically home. "I was gonna wake you but then that happened" Jon shook his head and made the right for the last road before my house."It's good to be back at least" "Yeah we'll see" I muttered and sighed. "Don't be like that" Jon put his hand on my lap."Tommorow will be great I promise" "We still need to talk about your expectations for this relationship" "I will not do anything you are uncomfortable with as always" He made the last turn and we both saw Jenna waiting on the doorstep as she always was."My favorite person" Jon smirked as he pulled into the driveway and she was obviously none too pleased to see him either. "Thank you and I really do mean Thank You for this weekend" I kissed him on the cheek as unbuckled my seatbelt."I'll remember this for a while" "I'll see you before school tommorow" He put his finger under my chin and smirked."Don't drink too much ok" "No promises" I grabbed my bag out of the back and waved him off. As soon as he pulled out Jenna was behind me lighting a smoke of her own. "So it's official" Jenna's light blue lipstick contrasted her black hoodie very well. She had gotten her bangs cut since I had last saw her and her body was as incredible as always. "Pretty much" I shrugged as I walked up to unlock my door."Why don't you just hang out downstairs? You know where the key is" "And run into your banshee of a mother again? Absolutely not" "She isn't that bad" "She almost sued me over that fender bender. I had never been so scared in my life" "Yeah you just don't piss her off and you're fine" I threw my bag on the couch and went to the cabinet."Gin" "Sure. You eat" "Yeah we had a buffet lunch at Jon's Uncles Restaurant" I forgot what it was called I would have used the proper terminology."He's nice but apparently has a gambling addiction...I didn't tell you this obviously" "Yeah yeah yeah" She plopped on the couch and looked up at her phone as I poured the shots."You see what everyone's saying on Jon's story? Everyone wants to talk to you no" "Great, droves of fake ass people want to be my friend after they let a bunch of homophobes bully me throughout middle school. Wonderful" I pounded the first shot and immediately poured another."I will not have the patience to deal with everyone tommorow" "It's fine" She elongated as she got up and picked up her shot."Between this and Marky you'll be the most popular guy in school in like a week" "Oh yeah. So what happened last night" She shot me a look that I gladly took with pride knowing I had her. "You don't get to do this" She grabbed the bottle and took a hit. "Oh yes I do. Don't think I forgot that you tried to sabotage my relationship you dumb bitch" I laughed as I took my place on the recliner."Now spill. You owe me" "I called Steven to pick me up and he did" "And Houston starting a fight" I know Jenna too well she was hiding something. "Ok maybe I like found Mark and then kissed Steven right in front of him" "YOU DIDN'" I said far too loud for no reason. "Yeah next thing I know, Mark has Steven in a headlock and I'm far too drunk to tell either of them to stop" She pouted, almost remorseful. "And so now" "Can you fuck off and let me think about it" She spit out a bit too quick. "You still like him" I said holding my laughter back. "SHUT UP JASON" She got off the couch and started for the door."I swear to fucking god you're the worst person to talk to about this shit because it's all just a gigantic joke to you" "Oh come on Jenna if this happened with Jon you would be the exact same way" I followed her knowing she was putting on a show like she always does. "Bringing up Jon immediately. Can't take your mind off his stupid dick for ten seconds" She put her hand on the door. "You're definitely still in love with him" I folded my arms and smugly called her bluff."You're doing everything to avoid this conversation" "Fuck You" She opened the door and as if on queue we both found Houston about to knock on the door. He had a black eye from last night so I imagine they got into it pretty rough. Despite it Houston looked as crisp as he always did. I quickly remembered all the reasons I fell for him in the first place and felt pretty disgusted with myself. "What the fuck are you doing here" Jenna and I said in unison. "You both talk the same too? This is too much" He chuckled before continuing."My mom sent me over here with your birthday present" He shook a small envelope in his hand. My relationship with Houston's parents was far better than with their son. They were pretty remorseful how everything went down and his mother in particular said that if I ever needed anything that I should come to her. Our parents still regularly got dinners together as well. Now usually his mom would stop by the drop off a present every year to catch up but I'm sure Houston lied to her and got the present for an excuse. "Cool, give me it and leave" I reached out for it with my other hand on the door. "Now just one second. I said I wanted to talk again when I thought about things and I've thought about it" "Ah yes, you get to decide everything" Jenna was hiding in the back at this point giving me the space I want."I'm not drunk this time. Give me the damn present and leave" "Jenna come on help me out here" He targeted her with his best puppy dog eyes and I turned around to see the effect they had on her. "Mark you need to leave" She said tacitly. "Oh come on not you too" He crossed his arms quickly getting frustrated at being told no twice. "She needs time to think just like you" I answered for her."Whatever, if you don't want to give me your mom's gift you can fuck off" I said before slamming the door in his face before he could get in another word. I looked back and Jenna with her scratching her arm confused. It was only natural to hug her. "Why are you being nice to me? I was dating that asshole" "Because he has his stupid charms and if you don't know about it you fall for it" I told her and I walked us back into the living room"I'm used to it and you aren't" "He's really not that bad you know" She sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than me. "Yeah until he doesn't get what he wants then he goes apeshit and fights Boticello" I reminded her hoping to ground her in reality. Eventually we settled back into the couch and watched this garbage documentary on Netflix. After a few episodes I would walk her out and tell her to call me if he tried to see her again. I would find Mrs. Houstons present on the steps outside after we opened the door and opened it as I walked downstairs to my computer. Dear Jason, I'm almost certain Mark lied to us about you two making up but I hope you enjoyed the party at our place for your birthday. It's been an entire year since I've seen you and I see you're doing much better. You were always such a bright child and I'm happy that it's all finally turning around for you. I wish you the best on your eighteenth birthday and hope you make the best of your last year in high school. I know you always end up refusing the gift cards but here's one you can use on a nice date. Always Here for You, Martha Houston Martha was honestly the mom I wished I had in my life. In my entire history of knowing her she only had yelled once and it was when Houston was being absolutely unreasonable about a lunch she spent literal hours making for everyone. Her kindness was always genuine and you felt like you could tell her the world. It was still a mystery to this day how she could produce such a narcissistic piece of shit like Houston but I guess when you're coddled all your life you think you can get away with it all. I threw the card on my desk and wiggled my mouse to turn on my computer to find Wilker had sent a couple more messages since I checked Facebook this morning. I decided to put an end to all of this nonsense before I got dinner and called him. "Hey man" Wilker sounded like was cooking."Whats up? Huh? No, it's Jon's boyfriend. Yeah he has a boyfriend now. I didn't think I would ever see the day either" "Who are you talking to" "Oh that's my mom. I'm cooking dinner for us" I felt a pit in my stomach immediately knowing that I wasn't close to my parents like he was."So why'd you call" "I was calling to tell you to not feel the need to smother me just because I fucking your best friend. I'm sure we'll get along fine" "So we're cool for lunch tommorow" Wilker sounded way too excited to eat a meal with his best friends' man. It made me think he was into me too. "No promises. It's been an eventful weekend and I might take a day to myself" "I totally get it. I'll stop texting so much. Sorry, I'm just really happy Johnny finally settled down on someone and I wanna get to know you" He said full of pride for his best friend."Anyways man I have to make sure my mom eats and put her to bed. I'll talk to you tommorow after third period ok" "Sure Wilker, talk to you then" I hung up, giving some thought to what he was talking about in regard to his mom. Eventually I realized it was none of my business and stopped thinking about it. This is where it begins, the garbage cliché story trope where everyone realizes how cool I am and I embrace my popularity and we all live happily ever after. Yeah no. I'm willing to give Jon's best friend a shot but if anyone was coming up to me tommorow to play nice because of Jon I was ready to tell them off. I'm still bitter and I gladly admit it. I stared into the smoke discolored ceiling for a bit until I heard my phone go off and looked to find my trust fund enablers happened to be on the other line. "Hey champ" Melvin Andrews, first generation immigrant from Scotland Graduated top of his Class at Stanford University `s business program and my neglectful father was greeting me warmer than I had anticipated. `How was your birthday party? Sorry we couldn't be there, you know how it's been with the economy going into a recession" "Fine father" I composed myself to hide any hints of drinking."I had a friend take me to Atlantic City and we had a great time" "That Julian guy right" "Father, it's Jonathan" "Oh right, Karen Han's brother. She's brilliant you know. You should have James introduce her to me" My father was always a hawk for talent and surely the only reason he knew Jon was because of his Genius sister. "Father, it's Jonathan" "Right sorry. Anyways, I was just calling to say happy birthday. It was today right" "It was Friday but close enough" I said not trying to draw his ire. "Oh right, I had my assistant tell me that and I thought she had it marked wrong. Sorry champ. Beth, it was Friday" I was surprised my parents were together, I'm sure he was wiggling my moms law firm in some matter out west."I think we're going to be slow on returning Jace. You'll be fine without us right" "I have all the money in the world and my boyfriend I think I'll be ok" "Just don't have an HIV scare like your uncle did when he was your age is all I ask" "FATHER" I was frightened beyond belief at his implication "Jace, I accept you for who you are. Just you know...be safe" I think this was my father's ridiculous version of giving me the talk like five years too late. "Father I assure you i'm not humping everything that moves and I'll make Jon use condoms" "Ok great. Beth, do you want to talk to him? Ok great here. Take care Jace we'll see you in a month or so" "Thank you Fat" "Jace I hope you didn't let that Jenna girl in the house again" "Mother I was away all weekend. (A lie) She wasn't here. (Another Lie" "She was driving drunk that one day I swear" Beth Andrews pretty much completed my father. For every area he was clueless in she was able to make up the gap. They had met when dad was on a business trip in Los Angeles some thirty years ago and apparently, he was smitten with her and she was smitten with his connections. "She wasn't here I haven't spoken to her since she started dating Houston" "She's dating Mark? That's a match made in heaven for me as far as I'm concerned" "Mother you hate Jenna I get it, did you want to get anything else out of the way? Tell me my boyfriend isn't good for me either" "The Hans are wonderful people. Their father passed away when you were a Freshman and they went to my friends firm to settle the estate. I would never say anything bad about them" The social aptitude of my mother was always something I never got quite used to. Despite only attending PTO meetings when she was in town she knew everyone and everything in town. "What a relief, I don't have to be nervous when you actually meet him five years after we get married" "Jason, I know we aren't around in your life but" "Mother I stopped caring years ago(A lie). Please stop the drama.(Please care..." "You've really grown up to be such a wonderful person. You haven't needed us since you were eleven. Happy birthday" She sounded genuine. It was actually super creepy. "Thank you, mother" "We're going to get a dessert to celebrate. Ok? We love you and will see you in about a month if everything goes right" "Love you too Mother" She hung up as soon as she heard that. They really did try, just they were just so bad at it. My mother was far more concerned with her image that she was fine keeping me indoors and my father was a business analytics savant with absolutely zero social aptitude. I honestly believe that I was an accident and they didn't find out until it was too late to abort. I lit a cig as I went back to my computer. I thought about calling Jon but that was way too needy. Had to maintain the façade. At this point it was ten and that was a decent time for bed. If I didn't sleep early, Jon knocking on my door would put me in a bad mood for the day and I didn't want to start off that way. "Good Morning" I heard as something woke me by snuggling up behind me. There was only one person who would be bold enough to growl but I was still confused how there was a cat behind me. "How did you get in" I rubbed my eyes as he dotted my neck with his lips. "I found the key in the potted plant under next to the door a couple of months ago but I didn't want to use it. I figure I can use it now because ya know" "I don't know Jon what do you mean" I nudged him off me and attempted to rub more sleep out of my eye. "That I'm dating a fantastic guy and when you date someone you can sneak up on them unannounced" "I'm hiding that key somewhere else" I mumbled as I walked into my closet for a change of clothes."What time is it" "Like 6" He laid in my bed as he watched me disappear into my walk-in."Want breakfast" "Not enough time. You gonna park there or here" I decided on black clearly wanting to shake things up. "I'll meet Kenny here for practice anyways so there's no reason to drive the car to the other side of the school" "You're dead set on me meeting him huh" I took some eye drops and threw them in, didn't need people see me bloodshot. "Do this for me please" He begged and I heard some rumbling."You guys will have a great time" "I said I would think about it, that's still the case. I have no idea whats going to happen today with the news spreading through Leena Patel's stupid fat ass fingers" I threw on some deodorant before leaving the closet and found Jon sitting in my chair fumbling with his phone. "You're so fucking cute here" "How do you still have that video? That story was over a day ago" I'm assuming he was watching that shuffling video for the millionth time. "Like I didn't save it for my personal use" He winked and moved to go upstairs."You ready" "I'm smoking on the way to school. Maybe Jenna will show up" "Whatever you want babe" We stepped into the cold fall air and immediately I reached for my smokes. Jon stayed a respectable distance away as we walked. I was really hoping that nobody gave a shit and it was just gonna be a normal day and I would just get Chipotle at noon and go home. My steps became heavier as we approached the school, the feeling of eyes on me was choking more than the cigarette smoke and I had to take a moment to look at my surroundings. "Everything ok" Jon back over to me and looked around."Ah, yeah everyone coming out of the Junior lot is looking at us. Sorry, maybe this wasn't the best idea" He kept his distance with his hands in his pockets, he didn't want to make a scene even though he clearly looked like he wanted to kiss me right then and there."God i'm an idiot I'm sorry" He turned around and walked towards school trying to create distance."I'll see you today ok" I kind of just stood there frozen as he walked away. He knew he had to create distance at least. It was another one of those situations where I was torn. I wanted to have him hold me in public but then that draws the crowd. I mean I'm literally dating the school's point guard, a guy who has college scouting him and I'm just a skinny loser burnout. "You're so stupid sometimes Jason" An annoyed bitch was behind me to snap me out of my paralyzed state."Just play tonsil hockey with him in the lobby and get this over with already" "Shut up Jenna, lets go" I had to reset before class started. I walked over to our spot on the abandoned path but today it just so happened it wouldn't be abandoned. "Morning" Of course Ken Wilker was waiting for me here. How did he even know about this place? "Aren't you Johnny's goon? Don't you have some basketball software to program so you two can suck each other off on the court" Jenna ripped into him immediately. Today was not going to be fun. "Relax mama" WIlker took a hit from his vape."I'm here to smoke like you guys" "Wilker..." I mumbled. "Ok cool, vape over there then" She motioned to keep his distance and turned around to light her smoke."Fucking idiot" I sat down on a tree stump as she smoked and we let the day slowly encroach on us. The sun was rising so beams of light were making their way through the trees. I took a few deep breath and attempted to regain my composure. After about 5 minutes of utter silence I felt a large hand on my shoulder. "You good" Wilkers's acne ridden face was not pretty, but his snapback made him look really cute with the light shining behind him. "Nah, everyone's gonna be looking today" "You'll be fine dude. I've got your back" I see what Jon meant about Wilker being a softie. Everything about him seemed warm. In another universe I probably would of fallen for him based on this one interaction."If anyone fucks with you" "You're gonna eat up this bullshit" Jenna interjected as she turned around "Mama" "No shut the fuck up. You had literal years to be nice to the guy and now that he's blowing your best friend you think it's ok to start defending him" Jenna really was leaving it out on the floor today. "I went to a different middle school. I didn't know anything about Jason till I opted to come here so I could play ball with Johnny. Stop grouping people together when you don't know them" Ken chuckled as he took another hit of his vape waiting for a response. "Whatever. I can't deal with this bullshit right now" She walked off. I assumed to find Houston. "Alright mama take care then" "WILL YOU STOP CALLING ME MAMA" She screeched to no visible effect "You're pretty much Jason's mom it's pretty apt I think" Even that got a chuckle out of me. "WHATEVER. Jason I'll talk to you when I get out of class" She stomped off. "She's so fucking hot" Wilker mumbled as she walked away. "The fuck did you just say" I got up and pushed his hand off my shoulder. "Did I say that out loud? Shit" He cracked into a fit of laughter."I love girls like her, always keep things exciting. Don't tell anyone but I don't date cheerleaders because they're all boring ass prudes. I want a girl that can throw down like me and Jenna is fucking perfect man. Mark is a lucky dude. I should have taken my shot" He walked toward school and pat my shoulder one more time."Anyways, if anyone fucks with you come find me. I'll mess them up" I looked at my phone and realized homeroom was in about 5 minutes. I took 5 deep breaths and braced myself for impact. I thought everyone would be staring at me intently but without Jon at my side I was able to blend into the crowd. Homeroom was uneventful. Kelber cracked a joke at my expense but your homeroom teacher of four years is allowed to make fun of you. I immediately walked over to English for my day to truly begin but it seemed that my luck was actually looking up. "Ah the birthday boy is back" Ms. Cantera said as she filled out some forms at her desk. "Good Morning Judy" I giggled knowing it would annoy her. "You know, I get you a birthday present and you still disrespect me. I'll be right back class time to stop Mark from transferring out" She got up and walked to close the door as the bell rang. I looked at the desk behind me and saw it was empty."What happened to" "As I said, I had him transfer out of this class and instead he's taking AP English for some college credits" She started writing something on the board."I was not going to have a year of you guys fighting and Mark's too smart for the lot of you anyways" The latter part of her statement sparked outrage from the rest of the class."Oh be quiet, you know I'm kidding" I took my seat and smiled. I felt a few people looking at me wanting to talk to me but it was easy to ignore as Ms. Cantera taught. I actually managed to pay attention for the entire period and was surprised when the bell rang. As I walked out the door, saying farewell to my favorite teacher, I felt a familiar hand drape over my shoulder. "How goes it" Jon looked deep into my eyes out of concern. "I thought you were giving me space" I didn't have time to stand there and be gawked at because my next class was in the other building. "Sorry I just can't help myself" He moved his arm to under my side and brought me in a little closer."I missed you and I'm not gonna hide it" "Jon I really don't want the attention today please understand" I moved his arm off me as we walked outside. "Damn I thought you would say that" He followed along throwing his books to his other arm."Ok but can we talk about everything tonight" "Yeah sure" I waved him off as I walked into my next class leaving him standing there. I couldn't be bothered to look back. The entire class saw the spectacle this time and I wasn't avoiding a conversation about it. It was just a matter of who was going to ask. "Damn you really are together huh" Eric Smith sat in the back corner looking at me as if I was an alien. I had completely forgotten that he was in my next class. "Eric can we not do this" "Do what? I want to know what my friend is doing with a basket case like you" "Yes, I'm crazy fucking Andrews. What did you say in that group chat again? I was going to" "Man shut the hell up" He flinched not wanting to think about what he had said on Saturday. "Nah come on, you can talk big in a group chat but you can't say it to my face? I was going to" Jamal got in my face and stared me down, I could feel my heart beating out of my chest. He could beat the living shit out of me but I was too stupid for my own good and loved running my mouth. We had developed a crowd, many people ready to break up the potential fight and some cheering it on. "Damn, Johnny actually can pick them huh" Jamal put out his hand for me to shake and relaxed his demeanor."You're alright Jason, sorry for saying all that trash. I'm just looking out for my friend ya know" "Yeah I'm still pretty confused about everything panned out too" I took his hand a shook it with confidence. We took a seat next to each other and he inquired about my dance moves and the next rave. I told him we didn't have anything planned for the month but I'd keep in touch with him if anything cool popped up in the area. The rest of the day went without incident and word got out quick about my little exchange with Eric. Jon wasn't kidding when he said he was going to propel me to a pretty comfortable spot in the social hierarchy. Everywhere I went everyone knew my name and I didn't hear a negative word out of anyone. It was nice but I was grateful to be done with school for the day. As I fiddled with my phone on the way home, I bumped square into someone and fell down. I looked up and there was Wilker looking down at me with his arm out."You forgot to tell me where we were getting lunch" "Can we get a rain check? I'm tired man I just wanna nap" This was a half lie. I didn't want to be with Wilker after the Jenna incident this morning. It was just so weird now that I knew he was in love with my best friend. "We'll get coffee on the way" He pulled me up effortlessly. I guess when he's twice my weight its not really an issue for him. "It was a rough day" "Cool let's hang out at your place and order some takeout" He turned on his phone and started walking towards my street."What kind of food do you eat" "Jesus Christ you and Jon are like brothers. You're both so relentlessly annoying" "Oh right! You had dimsum with Jon yesterday. Let's get some Indian" I groaned in frustration. Somehow in less than a day I went from no friends to having a bunch of jocks play bodyguard."I'm getting some butter chicken. You eat that right?" "Don't you have class right now" Ken wasn't like me, he was actually really smart and surely he wouldn't waste his senior year fucking off like I was. "I have an elective period I take where I just work on stuff for the basketball team. Coach knows I'm doing something else and that's all he cares about" "Another genius. You're like Jon's sister" "She's smarter than I would ever be. It's funny, I always tease Jon about how I wanna date her. It gets him so mad. I'm putting the order in, what's your address" "Wait I thought you liked Jenna" "No it's a joke man. It would be the easiest way for me to actually be Johnny's brother. I'm not actually interested in her, she's like super socially awkward. 12 Peace Street" He ran up to my house to get the number. "Ken, I really" "You're dating Johnny, let's just get all the shitty awkward crap out of the way" "Do both of you think you can just strong arm me into doing whatever you want" I have had it with all the interrupting."Maybe we don't have to get along. Maybe I want to fucking hang out with Jon and not get to know every fucking person in Wilson High. You ever think of that you piece of shit" "Damn Johnny wasn't kidding you are a hot headed one" He sat on my steps and took a hit from his vape. "No I've had it with all the fucking nonsense I've had to deal with today. Holy fuck, all you fucking asshole jocks think everything revolves around you. You think everyone and anyone should be fucking lucky to even have a chance to talk to you. I don't give a flying fuck about any of that. You aren't fucking special and once you idiots all go off to college you'll all quickly realize how big the fucking world is and how insignificant this stupid fucking school is" I was so mad I wanted to fucking drink myself into a coma."Now fucking leave me alone. I don't want to get to know anyone else, I want to see where it goes without the whole fucking school getting involved" He looked like a deer in headlights after my enraged tirade. I felt bad telling off Jon's best friend but I didn't ask for any of this. I just wanted to get a drink and watch Netflix until Jon got out class. "You're right man" His shock turned into a grin and turned around his cap."I'm not used to people telling me no and it was stupid to expect you to just go along with whatever I say" He sounded sincere but I was too angry to even think straight."I don't want to be enemies man. I want to like you and see you how Johnny sees you" "I'm not sucking your dick idiot" "No man not like that" He chuckled and walked up to me taking another hit from his vape."You've changed Johnny. He's calmed down a lot and isn't the same guy I knew six months ago. You have to be a pretty awesome person to do that to my brother" "I don't have time for this nonsense" I pushed him out of the way and walked up to my door."Fuck off and leave me alone" "Not all of us are like Mark you know" Wilker knew how to get my attention that's for sure. I stayed silent as I fumbled with my keys. "I get it man, he treated you like shit when you came out to him and told the entire school because he was afraid of being seen as gay. Everyone viewed you as some pathetic loser in love with their best friend. For the record, I think what you did was brave as shit and at least you're true to yourself. He's a fucking spineless coward for doing what he did to you. Then he has the nerve to try to throw a birthday party for you to get on Jenna's good side after what he abandoned you for seven years? He's a real piece of shit and frankly I don't see why everyone likes him" "That's a lot of words that don't mean much" I put my key in the door but didn't turn it. "I am but a man of my word Jason. We don't have to be best buddies but it would be cool to hang out with both you and Jon. I get it though. Sorry for being like the rest of those assholes" I could hear the defeat in his voice as he turned around."I'll find Johnny and tell him that I didn't want to pressure you ok? Don't worry about explaining why I'm not here" I stood there looking at my door and felt guilty. Wilker honestly did nothing wrong, I was just being a defensive baby."Did you order the food" I mumbled. "What was that" "I said `Did you order the Indian food?" I turned around to see him at the edge of my driveway. With his mouth around his vape taking a huge hit. "Nah man, I didn't order it yet but I can" He cracked a smile as he pointed to his phone. "Get some Garlic Naan and I'll accept your apology" I opened the door and motioned him in."I'm sure I wouldn't hear the end of it from Jon if I scared you away" "You got it man. Adding that Naan right now" I threw my bag on the couch and went straight for the cabinet. We went through the Gin and the Whiskey so all I had left was some beers and a bottle of vodka. I made sure that my orange juice wasn't expired and fixed up a screwdriver. Wilker was looking at my house while I made my drink. "Holy shit. How many bedrooms do you have? Can I move in" "Five upstairs and the basement which is all mine" "This kitchen looks brand new. Is that ten stoves" "I tell people my mom ripped it out of a Food Network catalogue. She's never used the damn thing since we moved here at the end of Eighth Grade" He whistled as he took a seat on my couch. "You want a drink" "No sir. We're in crunch time, no more booze until the seasons over" "But you vape" "We all need a contradiction in our life man. This is mine" He played with his vape weaving it through his fingers."I really should stop but hey, while we're young right" "That's my mott" I raised my glass a took a big sip."Whens the food getting here" "Bout fifty minutes" He said looking at the app."Tell me about the weekend. You had a great time from what I heard from Johnny" "Garrix is nuts man. The time went by so fast I couldn't believe it" "Yeah I saw the video. I was more talking about the shit with Jon" "Look Wilker I don't know where this is going ok" I had to look away as I gave him this speech."You need to understand it's hard for me to trust anyone. This is a huge step for me and I'm going to try and not hurt anyone but it may very well happen. I get it, he's your best friend. This might be over tommorow, I don't know just don't create any expectations" "Hold on man" He said with humor in his voice."I wasn't concerned about any of that. Johnny can take care of himself. Do you do this a lot" "Do what" "Assume peoples intentions before you hear them out" "The fuck are you on about" "You just assume people are looking out for themselves. It makes sense" "Oh boy getting psychoanalyzed already" I got out of my chair."Fucking everyone trying to fix me" "Before you rant again can I tell you a story" He took off his hat and scratched his head nervously. "Make It quick" "When I was in elementary school, I was relentlessly teased for being a super smart. As you can also imagine I've never really been a looker. I've had this acne problem since I was Ten. My dad decided he wasn't having any of this so he enrolled me in a Basketball program and let me tell you, I was terrible" He scratched his head again and he hunched forward."But then I met Johnny. We ended up on the same team and he was super cool and helped me figure out how to play defensively for him. Honestly I would have been the same as you if I hadn't met Johnny at summer camp" "Whats the point of this tearjerker? Come on hurry up" I groaned as I looked for soda in my fridge. "I'm saying that I get why you're scared. I'm also showing you that Johnny, while he is a bit of a hot head, is a guy worth trusting because he saw value in ugly annoying me and helped me grow. Ah I hate talking like this" He was blushing and gripping his hat at this point."He said when he saw how happy you were on Saturday that was one of the best moments of his life" "You're full of shit. You guys won semifinals last year and he wouldn't shut up about that" "He actually said that he was happier seeing you all over him than winning that game. I swear on my life" "Why are you even telling me this" "I think I need to show you that I have nothing to hide and neither does Johnny. You can just be yourself with us" "And what if being myself is being a defensive piece of shit" I took another hard gulp from my drink."You think you have me figured out. What if you're wrong" "I think we would of caught on by now if you were actually a psychopath" He got up and approached me. "What the fuck are you doing" "You need a hug man" He grabbed me and squeezed me tight."Friends are supposed to help you destress and you could use a few of those right now" "GET OFF OF ME" I squirmed as he easily kept me still."YOU ARE SUCH AN ASSHOLE" "Come on now. You're not getting away from me I'm like twice your size" He chuckled."I'll let go if you relax" "HOW CAN I RELAX WHEN YOU'RE SQUEEZING ME" "This is fun. You're like the little brother I never had" "I'M OLDER THAN YOU" I had just about run out of energy."LET ME GO" "Relax" He said slowly and at this point I had no choice but to give in and breathe. Being vulnerable is always so difficult. I was probably being more dramatic than necessary but I just didn't like the contact I was receiving. I had gotten along in my life just fine without people like this so I didn't see why I needed them now. After about a minute of silence he finally let me go."See? That wasn't so bad. You can drop the act around me. Sweet, the foods here" "Shut up" I couldn't stop blushing. Wilker knew who I was already, it had taken Jon well close to a year to get me to drop my guard and Wilker figured it out in less than three hours. "Yeah yeah" He messed up my hair as he walked to the front door."You're just as embarrassed as Johnny when I have him figured out" He cracked the door said thanks and came back with the food. I underestimated how much Wilker was going to eat. He had through 4 pieces of chicken and all of his rice before I had even gotten through a quarter of my meal. It was easy to see why he was so big. We talked about the upcoming season and excited he was for it. I explained that I had no real worries about my future and it was completely on me what I wanted to do much to his shock. He said he knew my family was well off but he didn't know to what degree until today. I brought up how weird it was that he wanted my best friend. He played it off saying if he was dating her that would mean Houston was out of the picture and I had to admit that was quite the tempting offer. After I finally decided I had eaten enough I told him to follow me downstairs. He marveled at my top of the line computer and screwed around with it while I continued some asinine animated movie on Netflix eventually dozing off. Eventually I heard the clatter of two feet and knew only one person would be bold enough to let themselves in. "Neither of you are dead" Jon said strolling down with his gym bag on his back."That's good news" "Johnny boy. Your mans a squirmer" "He gave you a hug didn't he? I told you he was a softie" Jon came over and planted a quick kiss on my lips as I came to my senses."But you're mine" "I'm not into dudes Johnny relax. Besides your sister" "I fucking hate you so muc" He charged into Wilker on my chair and knocked it over. Wilker took Jon into a headlock and kept telling him how he's gonna bang Karen Han and Jon kept getting angrier. I see what Wilker said about Karen being a soft spot in Jon's armor. After about 10 minutes they finally got up and Jon was even more flustered than I had been. "He got you good" I smirked as he walked over to lay next to me in my bed. "Yeah, yeah. He's lucky he's my brother or I'd give him a black eye" "Like you'd even stand a chance if we were actually fighting" Wilker waved his hand as he walked towards the stairs."Ima leave you two lovebirds alone. Was great getting to know you Jason. I'll see you at school" As soon as he heard Wilker slam my front door closed Jon pounced on me and assaulted my neck. "You horny piece of shit" I struggled to get him to stop leaving marks on my neck."Stop doing that" "I've wanted to hold you all day. I would have done this in front of everyone if you let me" He took a deep breath and pressed his lips into mine looking for permission for his tongue to come in. I opened my mouth slightly and he quickly invaded, taking up any space he could find while moving any clothes below my waist down. He was relentless in his assault, barely giving my any time to adjust or breathe as he displayed his unbridled lust."I need these off of you" He mumbled as he took a quick respite to completely remove my sweats and boxers. "The fuck has gotten into you" I was overwhelmed with this sudden display of aggression barely able to catch my breath. "Just tell me to stop" He removed his shirt then came back down on me, pushing my shirt up and biting on my nipples causing me to scream and writhe. My erection leaked onto his abs and he cut a quick grin before coming back up to make out once more. Being able to orient myself a little bit I was able to return his kiss and grab onto his head. After five minutes of going back and forth between our mouths he pulled off and whispered in my ear."You're so fucking sexy I can't wait until you give me all of you" Those words sent a shiver down my spine and had me claw his back making him arch his back and growl. He grabbed my dick like a vice and I nearly blew right then and there. I looked up to see that wicked grin as he slowly worked my dick edging me close. "You fucking love it too" "Shut up" I writhed and he gripped my dick harder. "Tell me you don't want me to make you cum" "Come on" I couldn't help but think Jon loved the power aspect as much as the sex. "That's what I thought" He dove right onto my dick, swallowing me whole in one shot. With one hum he sent me over the edge shooting down his throat while I thrashed and cried out. Once my climax was over, he slid up to me and tucked me under his arm and kissed my cheek. We laid there for a few minutes with your usual giggles and signs of affection until I was full recovered. "You're something else" I managed to pant out. "I mean it babe. It hurt not being able to touch you today. If I can't have you out there, I'm making the most of it in here" He moved into for a brief deep kiss and I felt the remnants of my seed on his tongue. "How much longer do you have" I looked at him and ran my fingers down his shoulders. He looked at my alarm clock to see it was half past two."Probably like forty minutes before I have to walk back. Come shower with me" I nodded and we made our way into my bathroom. He slipped off the rest of his clothes as I checked the water. He held me under the shower head and we stayed that way under the warmth until I felt his boldness come back. "Your ass is so fucking perfect" He grinded the base of his dick on my hole and the feeling made my toes curl."I want it so badly" "Jon no" I just wasn't ready to give him all of me yet. I felt as though if I let him fuck me, that would mean that I trust him completely and I knew that wasn't the case yet. He kissed the back of my neck."I waited this long to be like this and it's everything I ever wanted. It'll only get better from here. I want you to trust me" He nibbled on my ear and repeated the motion on my ass once more and I joined him in sync. He cursed and stammered through my moans as he vigorously humped me. We both knew what we were trying to get at, if he couldn't have my ass I wanted him to be able to blow his load. "Fuck this" He threw me against the shower wall and crouched down and spread my cheeks wide to get a good look at my hole. Within moments I felt the warm press of his tongue lapping over my ass and I cried out in ecstasy. He was utterly relentless and my knees gave way being completely unprepared for his assault."You're so fucking sweet, I could eat you for days" He rimmed me out as I slid down my bathroom wall unable to hold my own weight. His mouth left my hole as I hit the ground with my knees and I looked up with Jon's eyes closed as he pumped his dick furiously. He growled and cursed and then he eyes shot open as he gave a sigh of relief as his dick exploded all over my back. Watching it in real time it felt like he was shooting streams of white stuff for an entire minute before he gave one more shudder and let the rest of it fall on my back. I got up, turned around and gave him the most innocent look I could muster. I felt terrible that despite everything we had gone through in the past six months I wasn't ready for him to be inside me."I'm sorry" I mumbled as the water continued to pour down on us. "Stop. That was amazing" He brought my chin up one more time and pecked me on the lips."What we did was so much better than anything I had done with anyone else before you" "How" I looked away unable to understand how he was enjoying this. "Because I know you care. I love seeing you emotional, You're so reserved and bitter with everyone else. When it's just you and me you let your guard down as much as you can and that's the sexiest thing I've ever seen" "Thanks for understanding" I grabbed the body wash from behind him and worked the lather over his body. He stood there proudly as I washed him over, worshiping the work he had put into his body over the summer. I turned him around and gave his ass a nice squeeze as I went over it with a cloth. His cheeks were surprisingly firm but gave just enough bounce as I gripped him. Once he was clean he took his sweet time cleaning me and my cum stained back. We got out of the shower and I dried my hair as I walked back into my closet. I threw on a charcoal tank top and some matching sweats as Jon rustled through his gym bag looking for his practice uniform. "You don't mind if I leave my bag here right" "Why" "If I'm coming over every day I might as well leave a change of clothes here no" "Everyday" I came out rubbing my hair against my towel to get any excess water out. "We don't have to do sexy things every day. I just think I'll spend enough time here that it warrants a change of clothes sometimes" He said as he laced up his sneakers. I had to admit, seeing Jon in his Basketball Uniform was pretty hot. The school colors of light blue and white were a stark contrast to his bronzed skin and his ass was sticking out as he finished tying his shoes. "Yeah sure whatever" I fell back onto my bed wondering where I left off with the tv series I was watching. "What are you gonna do while I'm gone? He came over to me poked my stomach "I should do my homework. You had me beat after that though so i'll go to bed early" "Sounds good, I'll call you after I leave the restaurant" He leaned down to kiss me on the lips one last time before he had to go."See you tommorow morning" "Don't open the door with that damn key" I yelled as he walked up the stairs. "You wished" He shouted before closing my basement door. The night was about uneventful and that was a welcome change from the storm of chaos that I had been stuck in over the past couple of days. Jenna had work right after school as well so I didn't see or talk to her. I managed to get my homework done within two hours and spent the rest of the time finishing up this awful series. Before I knew it, it was a quarter to ten and Jon was giving me a call. "So, Kenny told me how he fucked up" He sounded like he was driving. "The Jenna thing" "There's a thing with Jenna too" He said with a generous amount of surprise."I was talking about how you told him to fuck off in front of your place" "It was this morning, don't worry about it" Jon didn't need to know about how his best friend was in love with my best friend. Not yet anyways. "Well anyways it's good to hear you gave him a shot because of me. I knew you cared" "He's welcomed to hang out with us when we aren't screwing around" I threw the phone on my shoulder as I opened a ramen packet for dinner."You going to bed as soon as you get home" "Yeah I'm pretty beat. I just wanted to call to talk to you" "You're a sap and an idiot" "But I'm your idiot. Your big stupid lion" "You're driving this lion analogy home huh" "What can I say? You bring out the beast in me" I wanted to smack him over the phone."I'm just got home. I'ma hop in the shower and text you when I'm going to bed" "God don't be one of those people who needs a good morning and a good night text" I rolled my eyes, there are just some things I won't tolerate and that's one of them. "You don't have to tell me but I want to tell you just in case you need some help you know falling asleep" He said with heavy innuendo. "Your libido knows no bounds Jon Han" I stirred my ramen and cut the heat. "Only for you babe. I'll text you soon" I made quick work of my dinner then went back downstairs to knock out for the night. As I hit my bed I got the text from Jon saying he was hitting the hay as well and it made it easier to sleep. I was too exhausted from todays events to do my usual mind wandering and just closed my eyes and drifted off peacefully.