Date: Sat, 1 Dec 2012 19:52:19 -0800 From: Jeffrey Venzuela Subject: I Shall Believe - Chapter 23 ___________________________________________________________________________ Warning: If you don't tolerate or approve of the gay lifestyle please leave now. This is pure fiction. No one in this story is a real person, living or deceased. Any similarities is just a coincidence. ___________________________________________________________________________ Ivan woke up that morning feeling rejuvenated. This is going to be a good day, he thought. Andy was gone and now he could concentrate on more important things like appreciating his life and the people around him. Before all the events of the prior night, he realized he had allowed his problems and troubles to overwhelm his thinking. He had become so focused on the bad things that were happening that it had made his life into Grade B television drama. And unlike a television drama, his life had not been that entertaining. It had been frustrating and tiring. So before he had let himself succumb to a deep sleep, he had decided that from that moment on, he would try to avoid all the unnecessary drama in his life and focus on the positive things. Ivan's phone started ringing on the bed stand which caused the sleeping boy in the bed next to him to stir. "Oh God, please turn it off!" The boy's muffled voice shouted from underneath the sheets. Ivan, however, decided to torture him and didn't budge. Although he did look at his phone and saw that it was Jake who was calling him. He wondered why he was calling him this early. "Turn that damn phone off!" The boy yelled again. So much for no drama, Ivan thought. After the phone rang twice more, the boy finally had enough. His aching head emerged from under the covers and he lunged over Ivan to the other side of the bed where the phone was lying on the bed stand. "Jesse!" Ivan said as he saw Jesse grabbing his phone. "Give me my phone." Jesse held up a finger and said, "Shut up. I already have a bad day ahead of me and the fact that your phone is disturbing my sleep is just making it worse." Jesse pressed the answer button without even looking to see who the caller was and said, "Hi, Ivan can't come to the phone right now. So please stop calling and let me have my sleep." With a mortified look on his face, Ivan watched as Jesse ended the call. "What is wrong with you today?" Jesse didn't answer his question. He just flopped back to his side of the bed and pulled the covers over his head. "Is this about Max?" Ivan asked sounding worried. Jesse pulled the blanket down just enough to let Ivan see his face. "Oh God, really? What makes you think that?" He asked sarcastically. Ivan raised a challenging eyebrow and said, "I don't know. Probably because you came here last night, drunk I might add, and threw stones at my window just to wake me up." "Well, I didn't feel like sleeping alone." Jesse said. Before Ivan could comment on Jesse's words, the two boys heard Jane calling from the kitchen and shouting, "Boys, breakfast!" Ivan walked into the kitchen followed by a sheepish Jesse. "Ah. Good morning, Jesse. It's so nice for you to join us for breakfast." Jane said. Ivan was grinning at as he sat down while Jesse avoided looking at Jane. Jane was passing the food and after she handed the plate of eggs to Jesse, she said, "Oh and next time Jesse, if you want to enter the house in the middle of the night, try knocking on the front door or ringing the door bell." Jesse looked up from his food to meet her eyes. "I didn't want to wake anybody up." He said meekly. Jane nodded with a smile and said, "Well, you woke me up anyway." Ivan let out a little giggle which earned a glare from Jesse. Ivan and Jesse had just arrived at the school in Ivan's car when he noticed the somber look on Jesse's face. "Don't worry. Max will come around, eventually." Ivan reassured him. But Jesse just shrugged. Ivan knew there was only one thing left to do and that was to tell Max the truth. "Okay. I'll try talking to talk to him later and explain things." He saw how his words immediately gave Jesse hope. "Really? You'd do that?" Jesse asked. Ivan smiled as he said, "Of course. You've done way more for me." Then he realized that it was his mess with Andy that had gotten Jesse into the situation begin with so he started apologizing. "And besides, it's kinda my fault. I'm really sorry Jesse." Jesse rolled his eyes. He appreciated Ivan's apology but it wasn't really his fault. No one was to blame. "Don't be. It's not your fault. Life is just a bitch like that." And as if on cue, they saw Randy walking towards the car. "Speaking of bitches." Jesse mumbled. He put on his dark glasses as Randy approached them. Randy smiled brightly at Ivan and then turned to Jesse to give him a pitiful look. "I'm sorry about what happened with Max." "Thanks." Jesse's words were accompanied with a sarcastic smile. Randy's eyes narrowed at Jesse. "Well, it's not like you didn't have it coming. I mean, you did lie to him about your sexuality." He said. "What do you want Randy?" Ivan asked, irritated by how Randy was rubbing it in to his friend. "I just wanted to let you guys know that we'll be having a meeting later this afternoon. Oh and Ivan? I expect your new recruits to join us." He spoke with a smile but his eyes were dead serious. "There is seriously something wrong with that guy." Ivan commented. Jesse scoffed. "Who cares? And new recruits? What's he talking about?" "He asked me to recruit Alex and Michael." Ivan explained. "Huh? Is he what, trying to make the Alliance mainstream?" Jesse asked. "That's what I thought too. He did say that it would be good for the group's reputation or image or something." Ivan said. "Anyway, I haven't asked them yet." The two stepped out of the car as Jesse spoke. "That's not gonna be hard. Those two will do anything you ask for in a heartbeat. I think they're still in desperate mode to get your friendship the way it was before the whole Andy issue." Ivan looked at Jesse, surprised by his theory. "You think so?" Jesse nodded and said, "Yeah. Ask them to break up so that you could be with Michael. They'll probably do it." Ivan gave him a dirty look. He laughed and said, "What? It wouldn't hurt to try!" Ivan exhaled sharply. "How many times do I have to convince you? I am not in love with Michael!" Jesse gave him a sympathetic smile. "You're not trying to convince me Ivan. You're trying to convince yourself." And with that, he walked away. As he walked by himself towards homeroom, Ivan found himself wondering. Was he really trying to tell himself that he had no feelings for Michael? How did he really feel about him? For all he knew, it could be love. But how could he be so sure that it wasn't just an innocent brotherly love? "Ivan." He heard someone calling from behind him. He turned around to see Jake walking towards him. "Hey." The boy greeted him with a huge smile. "Hey Jake." Ivan greeted back. Once Jake was in front of him, he said, "So I guess I should thank you, huh?" "I really didn't do anything. If there's anyone you should be thanking, it's Jesse." Ivan corrected him with a smile. Jake looked like he had something more to say so Ivan waited for him to speak. However, Jake just stood there. "Okay. I should really be getting to my home room." Ivan said. Jake blinked a few times and then let out a weird chuckle. "Yeah, yeah... Of course." Ivan was about to leave but it seemed like Jake wasn't planning on moving from where he was standing. "You should be going to yours too." Ivan pointed out nicely. Jake began stuttering, "I... uh, I know. G-good point!" He let out a laugh. It wasn't lost on Ivan how strangely Jake was acting. "Are you okay, Jake?" He asked. Jake appeared as if he didn't understand the question so Ivan raised an eyebrow. Then the question suddenly seemed to sink into him, "Oh, yes! I am so okay. With Andy now out of the picture... Uh, I mean, now that the whole issue with Andy is resolved, I've never been better." Jake was acting so awkwardly that Ivan couldn't help but feel the same way about the whole conversation. "Good for you." He said and then left. After a few steps from Jake he looked back to see Jake walking to his own class. Ivan asked himself what had just happened. Realizing he couldn't answer his own question, he just shrugged to himself. Ivan heard running footsteps from behind him and then felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and saw it was Jake again. "Can I walk you to your homeroom?" Jake blurted out. Ivan stifled a laugh. He wasn't laughing at Jake though. He just found it funny how Jake blurted the words out. Was Jake nervous? "You want to walk me to my homeroom?" Ivan reflected the question. "Yes. Um, as long as you don't mind, of course." Jake said. An amused smile crept on Ivan's face. "I don't mind." He replied. As Jake walked beside him to his home room, Ivan couldn't help but think. Was he the reason behind Jake's unusual nervousness? "Dude! He likes you!" Jesse exclaimed after Ivan told him how Jake had acted that morning and the fact that he walked him to his homeroom. Ivan looked at the blur of students passing by, surrounding them in the cafeteria. "Jesse, keep it down! Someone might hear you." Ivan said, just a few octaves above a whisper. "What? It's not like they know who we're talking about." Jesse retorted. "That's not the point. And besides, how can you know for sure that he likes me? He just walked me to homeroom. That's it. For all I know, he could have just been eyeing someone from my homeroom." Ivan reasoned. "Ivan's right. We can't know for sure. Who are we talking about anyway?" Randy appeared right behind them. "No one." Jesse said curtly. "Hey, Randy!" A voice called him. The three looked in the direction of the voice and saw it was Max. Jesse felt his heart beat faster. He looked at Randy and the boy waved happily to Max. Then Jesse turned his gaze towards Max and for a moment their eyes met. But the smile that Max had just offered Randy immediately turned to a scowl when he saw Jesse. Jesse felt his stomach drop. "Looks like Max has already gotten us a table." Randy said to Jesse with pride. "You guys are welcome to join us if you like." The invitation was addressed to both of them but they knew that Randy was still just trying to stick it to Jesse about what happened between him and Max. "No thanks. We already have our usual spot. Let's go, Ivan." Jesse glared at Randy and pulled Ivan to walk away. "I can't believe that little queen thinks he could just treat me like that." Jesse ranted as they went outside the cafeteria to their spot. "What are you gonna do about it?" Ivan asked. Jesse exhaled sharply. "Well, I can't do anything right now. If I do something I might end up looking like the bad guy and Max will surely hate me more for it." "Max doesn't hate you." Ivan pointed out. "He does. Didn't you see the way he looked at me? It was like Anna Wintour looking at an employee who wore flats to work." Jesse said. "Okay. Then next time make sure you wear your heels." Ivan joked. The two boys looked at each other and chuckled. It hadn't been long since they had sat down when they heard someone say, "Hey guys, mind if I join you?" and Ivan and Jesse looked up to see Jake. Jesse and Ivan shared a look before Ivan responded, "Not at all. Sit down." "Hey, dude." Jesse nodded at him. "What's up?" He asked, grinning. Ivan didn't like how Jesse was grinning so he gave him a dirty look. "Eating my lunch out here. Just trying something new." Jake answered. He looked at Ivan as he said the last part. "Jake!" A voice called him. The three boys under the tree looked up and saw Michael and Alex walking towards them. Ivan couldn't help but focus his eyes on their intertwined hands. "Looks like we're not the only ones who thought of joining Ivan and Jesse here today." Alex said looking at Jake. "Ah. With Andy gone, I just feel like making a change, you know. It's like I'm free to do whatever I want. Right, Ivan?" Jake said to Ivan. However, Ivan still had his eyes fixated on Alex and Michael's hands glued together. Jesse noticed him and nudged him on the shoulder. "Yeah. Totally." Ivan said as he gave his full effort to pry his eyes off of his best friends. Jesse leaned in discreetly to Ivan and whispered, "Stop staring." "So, Jake, are you gonna bring it tonight or what?" Michael asked, talking about the game that would be held that evening. "When haven't I?" Jake replied with a smirk. "That's what I'm talking about." Michael said and the two boys did a fist bump. Ivan finally removed his eyes from the couple's hands and switched his gaze to meet Alex's who had been looking at him. Alex smiled kindly at Ivan and then mockingly rolled her eyes as Jake and Michael went on about their game plan for the coming game. "So are you two set for the dance?" Alex asked Ivan and Jesse. "Yeah." Ivan answered. "Jean found me something to wear." "Nah. I don't think I'm going." Jesse said. "Are you serious?" Ivan asked, surprised. "You can't skip the dance. You're nominated." Alex stated. "Who cares?" Jesse said as he lay down on the grass and closed his eyes, signaling that he wanted the two to drop the subject. Alex gave Ivan a questioning look but he just shrugged. Jake and Michael were still busy discussing football when Ivan said, "So I have a favor..." The two boys stopped mid-conversation and asked Ivan what he needed. "What can we do for you?" Alex asked. "Randy asked me to recruit you and Michael to the Gay and Straight Alliance." Ivan said to Alex. Michael immediately answered. "Okay. Why not?" He said with a shrug. "Where do we sign up?" Alex replied willingly. Randy Karch beamed as Ivan and Jesse entered their usual meeting room with Michael and Alex behind them. "Ladies and gents, I'd like to introduce you to our newest members Alex Erb and Michael Gilner." Randy announced, clapping his hands. Ivan searched the room for Max and when he found him, he approached the boy and whispered, "We need to talk about Jesse." Max looked at him intently and asked, "Did you know he was gay?" Ivan paused, deciding whether he should tell the truth. He did go along With Jesse's story when they first met Max, telling him that Jesse was his supposed straight best friend who was so supportive that he had joined the Alliance. But since Max was mad at Jesse for lying to him, Ivan thought it would be best to just tell him the truth. "I did." He said carefully. Max scoffed, shaking his head, and then uttered, "Unbelievable." "Look. I'm sorry that Jesse and I lied to you. But for what it's worth I'm sure he was going to tell you the truth." Max looked at him challengingly. "Eventually." Ivan added. "Whatever, man." Max said, looking in front of the room where Michael and Alex were being welcomed by the rest of the group. Alex seemed to be enjoying the attention while Michael just looked awkward. Even though he wasn't sure Max was still listening to him, Ivan continued, "Okay. Being lied to, it sucks. I know that. But I'm telling you, Jesse is really one of the good guys. In fact, whatever you saw in their basement, he was doing it for me." He waited for Max to respond but it seemed like he was either ignoring Ivan or pretending to be ignoring him but actually listening. Ivan hoped it was the latter. Before he left Max, he said, "Jesse really feels terrible about the whole thing." When Ivan was finally sitting beside Jesse, Jesse asked, "How did it go?" Ivan gave him an apologetic look. "He wouldn't hear me out. Sorry." Jesse just nodded at him sadly. "Hey." He reached for Jesse's shoulder and squeezed it. "He's gonna come around eventually." Jesse shrugged. "Maybe," He said with a weak smile. "So are we ready to support out football team tonight?!" Randy asked from the front of the room, with Alex and Michael beside him. "Yeah! Go get `em Michael!" The others shouted and began cheering. Ivan and Jesse caught Alex and Michael's eyes. The two in front just shrugged. "Great. They're worshipping them. And I thought groups like these march to their own beat." Jesse commented. But Ivan didn't hear Jesse. He was too preoccupied with staring at Michael. ______________________________________________________________________________ What do you guys think about chapter 23? Does Ivan really have feelings for Michael or is he really just feeling brotherly love? And what about Jake? Do you think he's a good match for Ivan? Thanks again to Mr. Dennis S for patiently editing my work. For those who aren't still members of the facebook readers' page, we have lots of room for you guys. If you want to join, here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ISBreaders/ Thanks! Keep on reading :)