Chapter Eighteen

Travis took a swig of vodka, trying not to show how much it hurt going down, and passed the bottle to Giovanni as they reclined on his bed. "Never have I ever participated in a circle jerk."

Giovanni's face went red, and he reached for the bottle.

"Care to explain?"

"That wasn't part of the game."

Travis laughed. "Who's scared now?"

He faltered a moment before a resolute look came over his face. "Fine if I tell ya, then the rules of the game change."

"I'm listening," Travis said, not letting on how intrigued he was.

"We play Truth or Shots. We can ask each other any question, and you have to answer or take a shot. But for each question you skip, the number of shots you take increases until you answer a question."

Travis sized him up. "Where'd you come up with this game?"

"A couple of friends of mine invented it at summer camp a few years back."

"These wouldn't be the same friends you had a circle jerk with, perchance?"

He lowered his head, cheeks red, and muttered something under his breath.

"I didn't hear that."

"I said, yeah. My friend Sam snuck in some whiskey, and after a few shots, we decided to see who had the biggest dick. One thing led to another, and we jerked off together. No biggie. Lotsa guys do it."

"I wouldn't know, what with my perpetually being in the hospital and all."

They were quiet for a while until Giovanni said, "Why's your face like that?"

Travis reached for the bottle.

"Oh, come on. I told ya what me and my friends did."

Travis groaned. "One, that should be, `My friends and I.' Two, it's none of your business."

Hanging his head, Giovanni let out a deep sigh. "Come on. If you tell me, we'll both have something on each other and be bonded for life."

I'm dying anyway, so why should it matter if I tell him?

"There was a fire when I was like two or three. I don't remember much of it, except when my heart stopped in the ER."

Giovanni leaned into him, their legs touching. "What happened?"

"I felt safe, like coming home. Then they pulled me back here, and that's when the hell started." Giovanni rubbed Travis's knee, and he flinched. "I don't need your sympathy. And that counts as two questions."

Giovanni moved closer, so their legs touched again, and Travis scooted away, leaving a six-inch gap between them. "Why do you keep invading my space?"

Reaching for the bottle, Giovanni's eyes had a glint to them as if he were hiding something. 

"Question two: Why do you antagonize me so?" At Giovanni's bemused looked, Travis rephrased things. "Why do you bully me?" 

The silence stretched out before them, so thick it was suffocating.

"If I tell you, it counts as two answers."

"One-and-a-half, and I'll take a shot."

"Deal."

He took the requisite shot, passed the two-thirds-full bottle to Giovanni, and leaned in. 

"Can you take your sunglasses off? I want to look into your eyes when I say this."

Confused, Travis removed his Ray-Bans. "What's this about?"  

 

"I," he began, his hands trembling and voice quavering. "Whoa, what's up with your eyes? One's red and the other's green."

"It's called heterochromia and . . ." Travis paused, weighing how much detail to give Giovanni. "It's a side effect of my genetic disorder."

The other boy's mouth went wide. "What type of disorder."

Travis scowled. "Don't change the subject. Why do you pick on me?" 

Giovanni floundered before saying, "Because I like you and didn't know how to tell you, so I bullied you."  

Travis didn't understand. "What do you mean you like me?"

Giovanni looked away, his face flushing red. "I want to be your . . . friend."

"That doesn't make sense." 

Adam's apple bobbing as he gulped, lips quivering, Giovanni said. "At first, I was just following along with my friends."

"Perhaps you need some new friends."

He nodded. "I don't even like half of them, especially that epic-fail bag of douche Maxwell."

"Then why hang with them?"

"Because I don't want to be alone." He reached for the bottle and chugged it.

Travis took the bottle from him and downed a shot, so Giovanni wouldn't think him a lightweight. "People come and people go; we can only depend on ourselves."

"That easy for you to say. You have siblings and a grandmother that loves you to death. I have no one."

His comments sparked a war in Travis. On the one hand, he wanted to curse out Giovanni for presuming to know him and his home life. Alternatively, part of Travis wanted to comfort Giovanni. Maybe the alcohol was having more of an effect than he thought.

Instead of doing either, he said, "I still don't get why you picked on me if you wanted us to be friends. Not that I want to be your friend."

"It was the only way I could be around you without anyone getting suspicious."

"I don't understand. Why didn't you just walk up to me, apologize for being an absolute shithead, and then make amends for it?"

Hands shaking, Giovanni reached for the half-empty bottle. "Let's get back to the game. By my count, you owe me two answers."

"And you owe me three. Make it one answer and two shots, and I'll call it even and won't press you about why you want to be close to me."

"Fine. What did you mean when you said I look like a model?"

Travis grimaced. "Repeat this to anyone, and I'll rip off your balls and shove them up your ass."

Giovanni laughed. No need to be so cereal, bro. You have my word as a boy scout."

He took a shot. "I meant you're like totally handsome. Way more than I'll ever be."

"Oh." Giovanni's face fell, and there was a disappointed tone to his voice. "I mean . . . why don't you have plastic surgery?"

Through gritted teethed, Travis said, "This is after three skin grafts and four facial reconstructions."

"Don't bite my head off. For what it's worth, I don't think you're ugly."

Giovanni held his gaze, and Travis looked away. "My turn. Did you really sleep with all those girls like you've claimed?"

Giovanni looked everywhere but at Travis. "I-I've never had sex. Hell, outside of relatives, I've never kissed someone."

So, he's a virgin, too? 

He looked at Giovanni, taking him in. He was shorter by several inches, built like a gymnast with a delicate air about him. However, what Travis zeroed in on was Giovanni's face. Such fine features, like a porcelain doll.

"Dude, you okay? You've been staring at me pretty hardco--"

Time froze as Travis leaned in to kiss Giovanni.

 

Author's Note: I know, I'm a bastard for ending it here. Next chapter finds Travis dealing with more power shenanigans and going toe-to-toe with Pro RE: Travis's feelings for JJ.

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