Date: Sat, 5 May 2012 17:22:00 -0700 From: Eric James Subject: I Wanna Know What Love Is Chapter 8 This fictional story contains sex and graphic violence between underage minors. All normal legal warnings apply. Story should not be used, duplicated or re-written without the consent of the author as the author holds the copy right to the story. Please feel free to send all comments and suggestions to my email eric.z.james@live.com I Wanna Know What Love Is Chapter 8 Despite the recent drama at school following Jules' return, the weekend was a blast! Stellan and Jules hosted a huge backyard bbq for their friends. Aiden, Amy and DeMarco attended, as did Connor, who fit right in with the group. Some of the guys who worked for Stellan and who Jules knew most of his life showed up as well. There was fun, sun, food, good music and swimming; all the things that good friends and family are made of. The only thing mission was Damian; Jules missed his best friend dearly. His friends hadn't heard about the incident with Christian, and laughed when Connor explained how he had to drive two hours to the beach to pick up his stranded best friend, and how he brought him back to Jules to retrieve his truck only to find out that it had been towed. They got a kick out the fact that Jules was now coming into his own and standing up for himself. Aiden was a little worried at the presence of Connor, wondering if he was there to try and get with Jules, but his fears were quickly put to rest when he saw the two interact, they were clearly friends and nothing more. The bbq ended on a happy note, with Connor making plans to hang out with them again real soon. The rest of the weekend was spent in peace and quiet, Stellan was working on something very private with his men, and Jules knew not to bother him. Jules decided to work out some to get his body back in shape for whatever his Sifu had prepared for him. He wondered about Mr. Kripke's nephew; he knew he was martial artist as well and really sexy and somewhat of a rebel according to Amy. The weekend came to a close with Jules getting ready for bed; he went through his nightly routine of cleansing his face and brushing his teeth, all naked of course. He loved his dad being home, but he missed having the house to himself so he could roam around free of clothing. As he lay in bed; he started to think about beautiful blue eyed Caden, who in a matter of seconds after meeting him, caused his heart to skip a beat. He was so soft spoken and innocent, and for some strange reason that appealed to Jules. And for a white boy, he had the supplest lips. The more Jules thought about Caden's lips, the more he wanted to kiss them. He absently-mindedly started to caress his chest and abs as he thought about Caden, his hands drifted under the covers and began to fondle his smooth testicles as his sizeable cock hardened. He grabbed his semi-hard dick and stroked it a few times, but sleep won out and he drifted off before finishing the job. School started the next day and was uneventful, as was the rest of the school week. Students still whispered and stared, but Jules was getting used to it. Word of the run-in with John Fairbanks spread, but no one made a big deal about it; most people said he got what he deserved. More students seemed to be speaking to Jules and he was having a hard time telling which kids were being sincere or fake, so he was still on his guard. He was just happy that he wasn't getting slammed into walls in the hall anymore. Jules still hadn't seen Caden, and tried very hard looking for him. He had hoped Caden would accept his invitation to sit with him at lunch, and decided to ask Corrine about it when he saw her. "Thanks for helping my brother by the way; it's all he can talk about." "Really? It was no big deal. I just did for him what I my friends did for me when I was getting picked on" Jules said. "Well it meant a lot to him. He wont stop talking about you," she said with a smile "Really?" "Yes. I think he might have a crush on you" "We barely even spoke," Jules said blushing. "Whatever you did made an impression on him, though he still hides out at school. When he's at home, he floats," she said as her eyes started to tear up at the thought of her brother being happy for once. "Well, I did invite him to sit with me at lunch, but I haven't been able to find him all week" "He's terribly shy and always has been. He's never really had any friends, and only talks to me or our parents. My mom had him tested for Aspergers, but it came back negative. He's just shy." "I would like to get to know him. I gave him my number, hoping he would call" "Do you like him, too?" she asked bluntly. "Um...I...uh...I think he's cute," Jules stammered as he blushed a bright shade of red. The change in his skin tone and noticeable unease caused Corrine to laugh. "I'll try and get him to call you," she said. She gave Jules a kiss on the cheek and thanked him again for being kind to her brother and walked off. Friday came quickly, and Jules was happy that another week of school had ended without any incident or violence. Halloween was this week and now the student body was busy at work to bring the school back into order, Aiden had to stay and practice. They won last week's game, which put them into the play-offs, which started the following weekend. DeMarco had to pick up his mother from work and take her to run some errands since her car was being worked on, so Amy went home with Jules to hang out. Jules made him and Amy a light lunch and they sat down in front of the big screen TV in the family room and began to watch some stupid teen drama on the Disney Channel. The show annoyed Jules, but he suffered through it for Amy's sake. He got up to get something to drink when the door bell rang. Jules ran to the security/surveillance monitors to see who was at the front door. He didn't recognize the person, but saw he was carrying a back pack, and decided to let him in. He opened the door and paused to take in the sight of the sexy boy in front of him. He was wearing tight jeans and a pair of purple vans. He also had on a very low cut v-neck t-shirt so you could see his pecs. He also had green eyes and brown hair that he wore short on the sides and long on the top, the tips had also been dyed blonde. He had tattoos on his neck and chest and stretched out ears that sent chills down Jules' spine. Jules was sucker for boys with tattoos and piercings. This boy took very good care of his appearance, and Jules liked what he was seeing. He had to close his mouth to keep from drooling. Seconds had gone by with the two boys just staring at each other. Jules was too in awe to speak and so was the other boy. He stood there shuffling his feet not knowing what to say. Finally, Amy yelled at Jules, asking who was at the door, which finally brought both boys to their senses. "You're Jules Barrett, right?" the young stranger asked nervously. "Yeah" "I'm Dustin Hansen, Don Kripke's nephew. He said that you agreed to tutor me." "Yeah...yeah I did," Jules said, still staring hard at Dustin, "come in, I'm just hanging out with my friend Amy," he said as he stepped aside and let Dustin enter. "Wow, nice place," Dustin said as he surveyed the foyer and the surrounding rooms. "Thanks, its home." He followed Jules into the family room, and was met by Amy, who was annoyed at having to watch TV by herself. Once she took a look at Dustin, she calmed her annoyance down, but became very nosy and started asking Dustin a lot of questions. That was her personality, if she wanted to know something she just asked. "You're Dustin, right? Kripke's nephew?" "Yeah, and you're the head cheerleader." "That would be me," she said, very pleased with herself. "How old are you?" she asked. "17, but I'll be 18 soon." "And you're a senior, right?" "Yes" he replied. "That's cool, what is Jules helping you study?" "Greek Mythology, English and French." "Well, he's a genius, so it should be no problem," she said, looking proudly at Jules. "That's what I heard. You are supposed to be a junior but they advanced you ahead," he said, looking at Jules. "He was supposed to graduate last year, actually," Amy answered before Jules could open his mouth, "but his mother didn't want him to start college that early" "That's amazing!" he said still looking at Jules, causing him to blush and lower his head. "So where are you from, originally?" Amy asked. "Montreal." "You are from Montreal, and you need help with your French work?" she asked. "Canadian French is different than regular French." "Oh I see," she replied with a grin, "and do you have a girlfriend, or maybe a boyfriend?" "Amy shut up!" Jules yelled. He was so embarrassed by her forwardness. "I'm single," Dustin said, vaguely. Jules liked the fact that he didn't give her the satisfaction of answering her question completely. To avoid any more of Amy's nosiness, Jules suggested they get started. They began to work on Greek mythology, which happened to be Jules's favorite subject. They discussed the purpose of the Greek gods and how people in Greece still worship them to this day. They also discussed how the six major gods were born of the Titans Rhea and Kronos, and how the Olympian Hestia, who was Zeus's sister, gave up her throne to Dionysus, so there wouldn't be a civil war amongst the gods. They worked on Greek mythology for about an hour before moving on to English, (which was Amy's favorite subject), so she decided to help with that particular subject. Dustin was to decipher, in his own words, the meanings of some of John Keats' famous poems. Just like most girls, Amy loved poetry. She was perfect to take over tutoring Dustin, as Jules made them a snack. As Jules returned to the family room with fruit, cookies and bottled water, Stellan came into the room from his study. "Hey guys, who's this?" he said, giving Dustin his famous glare. Jules noticed Dustin tense. "Dad, this is Dustin. I'm tutoring him in some of his classes." "Oh, you're Don's nephew," he said with a grin and shaking his hand. "Your uncle and I go way back, further then I'd like to tell. He saved my life a few times during the war, and anyone related to him is welcome in my home." "Pleasure to meet you Mr. Barrett." "Please call me Stellan." The four of them sat and talked about the assignments that Dustin needed help with. Stellan was a huge advocate of education, just like his late wife, and was happy to help in any way he could. After the study session was over, Dustin and Jules talked lightly about more work that he was going to need help with, while Stellan chatted with Amy. Since the two families were so close, and Amy was usually the only girl around, Stellan doted on her like she was his own daughter. Time was getting late and Stellan kept checking his watch and getting antsy. "I hate to do this son," Stellan said, suddenly grabbing Jules into a hug "but I have to leave for a while." "How long is a while?" Jules asked sadly. "I don't know, but I promise it won't be like last time. I'm not running from you, I just have an extremely important mission," he said still holding his son. Jules let out a sigh of relief, he knew full well the demands and importance of his father's job, and he could deal with that, but he couldn't deal with his dad running away again, like he did when Jules' mother died. "It's ok dad, if it's for work then I understand," Jules said hugging Stellan tight. "At the very most, I will be back after Thanksgiving. Can you handle things around here until then?" he asked, letting go of his son and looking him in the eye. "Of course dad, I've got this." "No wild parties, no freaky orgies and I'll call or email you every couple of days," he said with a wink and a smile. "I have rented out the pool house to a student at the university. He's young, and his dad is a friend of mine. I also hired him to tend the to landscaping. I know you love the backyard oasis, so he will keep it pristine. He should be here in a couple of days, so make him feel welcome." Just then, there was a honk of a car horn. Stellan hugged and kissed Jules one more time, and left. Jules ran to the monitors and watched as Stellan and his men drove off in a black SUV. Amy walked up behind him and grabbed him into a hug and wiped the single tear from his eye. He was sad to see his dad go, especially since rekindling their father/son relationship, but he was going to have to push through it. Jules drove Dustin home after dropping Amy off. He pulled up in front of Mr. Kripke's home, which was just a few blocks from the school. Jules turned the music down as Dustin got out and grabbed his back pack from the back seat and walked over to Jules' window. "It's gotta be scary staying in that big house by yourself." Dustin said. "Not really. I'm a bit of a loner anyway, so I don't mind. I like being able to do my own thing. I'm just going to miss my dad, but I can handle it." "Ok, but if you get bored or lonely, just call me and I'll come over and chill with you." "Um...thanks," Jules blushed "I'll keep that in mind." "My uncle told me that he is going to start preparing you for the tournament. He also said that you like private lessons, but if you want to train together sometime, I'll be up for it." "Yeah, sure," Jules said "that sounds good," They said their goodbyes, and Jules watched Dustin walk into the house. He drove off with a huge smile on his face. "Damn that boy is fine" he thought to himself. ******************************** Later that night, after football practice and weight training, Aiden got home to find Amy sitting in front of the computer. He was shocked she was home alone on a Friday night; his mother was out playing bingo with some co-workers and wouldn't be home until late. Exhausted, he took a shower and made himself a sandwich before sitting down next to his sister. "It's date night sis, why aren't you out on a date with your boyfriend?" "Why aren't you out on a date with your girlfriend?" she quipped. "Oh wait, because you're secretly gay and you are too scared to confess your love to the person you are madly in love with, even though he is our very best friend." "I just asked a simple question, Amy. You don't have to be such a bitch about it!" "Well, fine. DeMarco is hanging out with his mom tonight." "Now, was that hard?" he asked sarcastically. "What did you do after school?" "I hung out with Jules and helped him tutor that sexy kid Dustin," she said, looking at her brother from the corner of her eye. She wanted to gauge his reaction. "Principal Kripke's nephew?" "Yup, and I can tell he has a thing for Jules, too. He couldn't keep his eyes off of him the whole time, and I know for a fact Jules was just as into him too." "How can you tell?" he asked, suddenly interested. "Because I'm a girl, and it's obvious." "I'm not worried. Jules said he wanted to be single for a while." "Aiden I love you, but you are a complete idiot. Jules is lonely and all he wants is someone to love him and treat him right. No one could do a better job at that than you would, but if you don't speak up and tell him, then the next man will. And trust me, from what I have been hearing around school, now that the West brothers are gone, the closeted gays are coming out of the woodwork and will be dying to ask him out. What do you expect? He's freaking beautiful, and a great person." "I know he's beautiful, and a great person." "What's really stopping you?" she asked, staring daggers at her brother. That look meant that she wanted the truth, and he had better give it to her. "I'm scared he won't love me back." "Like I said before" she laughed "you are a complete idiot. If Jules knew you loved him, he would drop everything and everyone for you. He has been into you since our families first met, but he let it die because he figured you were totally straight, and he would have no chance." Aiden sat and pondered what Amy had just said. He knew Jules had a small crush on him way back before high school, but he figured that had passed since their friendship turned more brotherly. "Stellan left again." she continued. "He had a work thing and had to leave. He's going to be gone until after Thanksgiving." "So Jules is home alone?" "Yes," she said, turning her focus back to the computer. "Can you drive me over there?" "It's late Aiden. He's probably asleep, and how would you get in?" "We have spare keys and I know the alarm code." Amy sighed and turned off the computer. She grabbed the keys to her mother's car and drove her brother over to the Barrett home, hoping that this will be the moment her brother finally has the nerve to tell Jules about his love for him. Aiden texted Jules on the way over, but got no response. Amy pulled up and Aiden got out and waved his sister off. All the lights in the front of the house were off, so he walked around to the side door. He looked at his phone and saw that it was going nearly 11 p.m., so he used his key to enter the side door, and reset the alarm as he entered. The house was dark, but he could here the sound of a TV blaring. He followed the sound to the family room and noticed that Jules had fallen asleep while watching The Matrix, his favorite movie. He turned on a lamp and turned off the TV and woke Jules up. "What are you doing here?" Jules asked sleepily. "Practice ran really late and Amy said you were home alone, so I came by." "That's cool. I guess I fell asleep during the movie." "Let's get you to bed," Aiden said as he pulled Jules to his feet. Jules must have been really tired, because Aiden had to hold him steady as they walked side by side up the stairs. Once in the bedroom; Aiden sat Jules down on his side of the big queen sized bed and pulled his socks off. He then pulled off his t-shirt and threw it on the floor next to his socks. He hesitated a moment, not sure if he should remove the rest of Jules' clothing. Aiden knew Jules slept in the nude, and decided to make sure him comfortable, so he pulled his shorts and underwear off, while Jules sat there half asleep, not noticing what was taking place. Aiden pulled the covers back and laid Jules down. He took a moment and looked at the smooth naked body of his best friend, the boy he was madly in love with. Jules was beautiful, and Aiden could stare at him for the rest of his life. He stood there gazing, then Jules shifted in his sleep, so Aiden pulled the covers over him. He quickly got undressed, leaving on his boxer briefs, and climbed into the opposite side of the bed, under the covers. Jules fell deep into sleep and was lightly snoring almost instantly. Aiden lay on his back staring at the ceiling, debating if he should tell Jules about his feelings, and if he would ever be able to live if he didn't. Suddenly Jules turned to face Aiden and scooted next to him, draping his small arm over Aiden's large chest, snuggled close to him and started lightly snoring again. Aiden was shocked at what had just happened, but didn't want to move, so he took his arm and wrapped it around Jules, and with a smile on his face, drifted off to sleep with the boy of his dreams in his arms. At 2 a.m., like clockwork, Jules woke up sweaty and screaming his head off because of a nightmare. Aiden turned on the light on the other side of the bed and wrapped his arms around him. Jules tensed at his touch before realizing who it was. His nightmares were becoming worse and worse. He didn't know how much longer he could go on with having his sleep interrupted. Aiden held Jules to his chest and let him cry as long as he needed. Finally his breathing eased and he wiped the last bit of tears from his eyes. "When did you get here?" he asked Aiden. "Hours ago, don't you remember?" "No." "You were asleep downstairs, so I brought you up here and put you in the bed," he said. Jules was puzzled as to why he didn't remember any of that. He must have been really tired. "Are you ok now" Aiden asked, "or do you need anything?" "No I'm fine, I'm just tired," Jules said as he turned his back to Aiden and laid back down. Aiden turned off the light and settled back into the bed. Jules was quiet, and Aiden was sure he went back to sleep when Jules reached back and grabbed Aiden's arm. He pulled it across him so his back was pressed against Aiden's chest and drifted back to sleep. ********************************* Jules woke up late that morning. He got dressed and went downstairs to find Aiden making lunch and watching a movie. He went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of juice, stole half of Aiden's sandwich and went into the family room to see what was on TV. He flipped through the channels, but didn't find anything good, so he settled on Saturday afternoon cartoons on Nickelodeon. They watched two episodes of Kung Fu Panda in silence before either one of them spoke. "How long is Stellan going to be gone?" "I have no clue, hopefully not too long." Jules replied. "What do you wanna do this weekend?" "I have to start conditioning for this tournament coming up, and I wanted to call this kid Caden and see if he wanted to hang out or something, why?" "Just wondering is all," Aiden said. He knew this was the weekend he had to tell Jules the truth about his feelings, and if not this weekend, then this coming week, but he wasn't going to let it become Friday again, still not have said something. He had to do it, and it had to be soon. If Amy was right, other boys were going to start showing an interest in Jules; they have already. They watched more cartoons and joked around a bit before Jules decided he was going to go for a run. He put on his favorite pair of Nike running shoes, grabbed his cell phone and jogged out the door leaving both his shirt and Aiden behind. He ran his usual route around the country club and still got the weird but normal stares from his hateful neighbors. Instead of returning home after completing his route, he jogged over to McDonald's and got an ice cream cone. He sat down to enjoy his ice cream when he decided to make a phone call. "Hello." "Hi, is this Caden?" "Yes, who is this?" "This is Jules Barrett." "Um...oh...uh...hi, how did you get my cell phone number?" "Your lovely sister gave it to me." There was a silent pause. "Are you there?" Jules asked. "Yeah, sorry. Can I ask why you are calling?" "Well I wanted to know if you would like to hang out, maybe come over to my place and watch a movie or play some video games?" "I...um...I don't know," Caden stammered. "Look Caden, I know you are deathly shy. I'm usually just as shy, so I know it's hard to get to know a person. That's why I figured you declined to have lunch with me and my friends, so I'm taking the initiative in calling you and asking you to hang out." "I'm sorry," Caden said in a whisper. "Sorry for what?" "For not eating lunch with you, I wanted to but..." "It's ok, I get it. If hanging out is too much pressure, then don't worry about it." "Sure." "Sure?" Jules asked. "Sure, let's hang out." "Cool," Jules said with a smile, "I'm gonna change then I'll be on my way." (Author's Note) Hmmmm, is all I'm going to say. I'll let you guys try to guess where it's going to go from here. Again thanks for the lovely emails you have sent me, they are great. And a special thanks to my editors for making my story that much more enjoyable. (check below for the photo of the newest addition to the story) http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JulesBarrett.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DamianJohanson.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/AidenTalley.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DeMarcoGiordano.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JoshuaWest.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JacobWest.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/StellanBarrett.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/AmyTalley.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/ChristianAnderson.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/ConnorBrixton.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/JohnFairbanks.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/CadenStallworth.jpg http://i1078.photobucket.com/albums/w496/EricZJames/DustinHansen.png