Chapter Twenty-Seven

When Josh showed up at St. Michael's the next day, he had a sickly pallor and bloodshot eyes.

"You look horrible," Travis said as Josh slipped on an apron and hairnet.

"Thanks," he said, his words dripping with sarcasm. "I feel a million times worse."

Josh rubbed his forehead and got to work scrubbing pans while Travis mopped the floors. Travis tried engaging Josh throughout the day, but he waved him off, saying they'd talk about it later. The day passed without event, and as they were getting their timesheets signed, Josh asked him if he still wanted to hang.

"Can't," he said. "My parents are going out of town for a romantic weekend, so I'm stuck watching the twins."

"That sucks a bag of dicks."

 "Yeah," Travis said, then smiled. "But they did say you could sleep over."

"Finally." Josh pumped his fists in the air, whooping. "I thought they'd never agree to it."

Travis laughed at Josh's enthusiasm. "I know, right? But they only agreed because Jenny said she'd check in on us periodically."

"Meh. I can live with that. So, I'll swing by my place, get my stuff, and head to your house at like three-ish?"

Travis nodded, and they bumped fists.

***

 Travis straightened his comforter and pillows for the millionth time, double-checked they were stocked on junk food and pop, and went over his itinerary for the night. He'd planned their activities down to the nanosecond and didn't want anything to ruin his first sleepover. He was a ball of nervous energy but tried to act cool so no one, especially Josh, didn't catch on to how much this meant to him.

At a quarter to three, Bobby stuck his head into Travis's room. "Getting ready for your boyfriend?"

"Shut up!" he said, hurling a pillow at Bobby, who went whining to their mother. She stormed into the room, all done up, and told him to leave Bobby alone or he could forget about his sleepover with Josh. Suppressing the urge to curse her out, he nodded and told her it wouldn't happen again.

"Did you add our cell numbers and the hotel number to your phone?" she said as she and his father prepared to leave.

He nodded.

"And what do you do if there's an emergency?"

"Call Jenny, and if severe enough, call 9-1-1."

"Good. We'll be back Sunday night, and I expect this house to be in one piece when we return. Understand?"

He rolled his eyes and sighed. "Yes, Mother."

"Behave yourselves, or you're grounded," his dad said.

After their parents left, the twins asked if they could have some friends over. He agreed with the caveats that their friends had to leave before dinner at six, and they had to clean up any messes they made. They agreed, and with that settled, he finished preparing for Josh's arrival.

Josh showed up a little after 3:30 PM with bags in tow. He'd brought several of his Xbox One games and controllers along with DVDs and enough clothes to last a week. 

"Let's get this party started," he said, dropping his bags in the corner of Travis's room. Travis whipped out his itinerary and was going over it when Josh interrupted him.

"Hold up, dude. All that sounds nice, but let's just do whatever."

Not wanting to disappoint Josh, he nodded. "What do you wanna do?"

"We could talk?"

And they did. Travis and Josh reclined on his bed, bitching about parents--how unfair, hypocritical, illogical, and outright crazy they and their rules could be. Afterward, Travis felt refreshed and said as much to Josh, who said he did too. 

"Maybe we should do this on the regular? We could call it our bitch fests?" Josh said, causing Travis to laugh. They bumped fists, agreeing they would.

Travis fixed Josh with a pensive look. "You going to tell me what your call last night was about?" 

"Nothing much to tell. It'd been a while since I'd drank that much, and I guess I overdid it."

"And what was that stuff about no one caring about you?"

Josh faltered a bit before saying, "It's just . . . I wish my parents loved me half as much as yours love you."

"You can have them."

"Hey," Josh said, shoving Travis, "that's no way to talk about them."

"You live with them for almost thirteen years, then tell me what ya think. Anyway, I meant what I said. I would miss you."

Josh smiled. "And I you."

As they lay there in silence, staring at each other, Travis felt like he'd found a kindred spirit in Josh. Sure, they weren't in the same group at school or socioeconomic sphere. But when they were together, it was nothing short of magic.

"What ya thinking about?" Josh said.

Travis licked his bottom lip. "You."

"Only good things, I hope?"

"But of course."  

Josh's cheeks reddened. "You're not like other people, ya know? When I'm with you, I'm free, like I can fly."

After hearing that, it was Travis's turn to blush. "Thanks. That's the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Josh's fingers brushed Travis's. "And I mean it one hundo."

Travis pulled away. "What say we game a bit? Halo?"

"Sure."

They were starting their third round when Bobby stuck his head in to say he was hungry. But when he saw what they were playing, he asked if he and his friends could join.  

"Get lost," Travis shouted at him.

"No, it's okay," Josh said, smiling wide. Travis grumbled at Bobby hogging his time with Josh but went along with it. Travis reset the game and paired his Xbox One with Josh's controllers, and the five of them played. They wrecked Travis, but he slowly got the hang of the game and started winning a round here and there. 

Around the time his hands got sore, everyone complained they were starving, so he used some of the money (his money) his parents left him to order pizza. After everyone had eaten, he told the twins' friends it was time for them to leave.

"Why can't our friends sleep over, too?" Amber whined, her face done up like a clown.

Bobby puffed out his chest. "Yeah?"

"Because I cleared my sleepover with Mom and Dad beforehand. Besides, you've spent the whole day with them."

"That's not fair," they wailed. Travis made the necessary calls, and within the hour, parents arrived. Then he made the twins take a bath and put them to bed. When they were finally asleep, he plopped on the couch. 

Josh sat next to him. "Are they always like that?"

"Yeah. But now that the terrible twins are asleep, what do you wanna do?"

Josh suggested they pop on the SYFY Channel. They did and proceeded to watch a movie about a giant alligator fighting a giant python. They laughed at the cheesy dialogue and ripped on the awful acting and special effects.

"Dude," Josh said in between laughs, "worst movie ever. And they made two sequels? Come on."

Travis laughed, his cheeks hurting from all the smiling he'd been doing. "Exactly. And don't get me started on all those Sharknado movies. Who thinks up this crap?"

"A room full of white dudes."

"Truth." Travis laughed, then looked at the time. Since he'd be watching the twins all weekend, he'd taken Saturday and Sunday off from community service. But it was after Midnight, and he still had to train once Josh fell asleep.

"You getting tired?" 

"Kind of," Josh replied.

"We could listen to music with headphones if you want?"

Josh shook his head. "I can do you one better. I brought my MacBook Pro and AirPods. We can share them."    

"Cool."

After setting up an air mattress for Josh, they brushed their teeth and dressed for bed in tees and undies. 

"What's your Wi-Fi password?" Josh asked as he booted up his laptop. Travis told him, and Josh logged into his Spotify premium account. Josh put one AirPod in his left ear, and Travis had the other in his right ear. 

As soon as the song started, Travis recognized it as Stand by Me by Ben. E. King.

"I freaking love this song," he said, drumming his fingers on his leg to the beat.

 Josh nodded. "Me, too. Sometimes I listen to it and imagine who inspired this song, ya know?"

Travis didn't, but he agreed anyway.

"Like I just want someone to love and who loves me as much as the inspiration for this song. It's stupid, right?"

"Not at all. Everybody wants to be loved." But could Josh ever want me to be that person? Could I ever let him?

"That reminds me of a song . . ." Josh put on You Are Loved by Josh Groban. It was a bit saccharine for Travis's taste, but he found himself humming along to it. 

When the song ended, he commandeered Josh's laptop. "My turn." He put on My plague by Slipknot and sang along, not missing a word even when Josh paused it.

"Wasn't this in the first Resident Evil movie?"

"I know why--yeah, it was."

"You know this song by heart, huh?"

"Yeah. I have phonographic memory, so I hear something once and can remember it in perfect detail."

"Show me."

Travis agreed, and Josh hit the randomizer on his dashboard, and after each song would play, Travis sang it back to him in his bass tone while Josh pulled up the lyrics. 

"That's amazeballs." Josh smiled wide, showing off his teeth. "I'd kill for that ability."

If he thinks that cool, he'd go into conniptions if he ever found out about my powers. Should I tell him about them? No. Agent Anderson said the fewer people who knew about them, the better.

"You okay?" Josh said, shaking Travis's leg. 

"I'm good."

"You sure? You went away for a second."

Travis waved him off and faked a yawn. "I'm just tired, I guess."

"No wonder," Josh said, "it's after 1:00 AM. Let's call it a night, yeah?"

"Yeah."

Travis gave him his AirPod and rolled over. He was about to drift off when Josh asked him if he was still awake.

"What do you want?"

"Can I sleep up there with you?"

Travis paused in thought. The air mattress isn't the comfiest, but why didn't he ask to sleep on the couch? Could Josh feel the way I feel about him? 

"Well, can I?"

"Yeah. But if I wake up with my pants around my ankles, you're dead."

Josh flipped him off. "You won't be molested. Or will you?"

Groaning, Travis tossed a pillow at him, and a pillow fight ensued until they were both out of breath. They looked at each other and broke out in giggles. When they'd settled down, Josh took the right side of the bed, and Travis turned away from him.

***

After he was sure Josh was asleep, Travis sneaked away to train. But the whole time, his mind was on Josh.

"Told ya you liked him."

Screw you. He caged Pro and resumed training. He levitated several tennis balls a few meters off the ground and started the stopwatch app on his phone. He held them afloat as long as he could, then checked the timer: three minutes.

Next, he trained his elemental powers, seeing how far his wall of flames could reach before he lost control of it. He did the same with earth, liquifying the ground and sending waves of it outward. Using his phone's tape measure app, he found that the lengths for each were 250m and 100m. 

For air and water, he focused on creating tornadoes of each. He stepped 50m away, then hit record. Using the angle of the shadow each cast, he worked out the height of the waternado as 33m and the tornado as 40m.

That done, he switched to the mental side of his abilities. After lowering his mental barriers, Travis again focused on one mind: Josh. A magenta ribbon appeared, and he traced it back to his house through his mind's eye.

 Once there, he slipped into Josh's mind and discovered he was dreaming. He and Travis were at the Michigan State Fair, riding a Ferris wheel, cotton candy in hand as they laughed. There was something so wholesome about it that brought a smile to Travis's face. He exited Josh's dream and returned to his body; he Popped home, drained, and slipped into bed next to Josh, nodding off almost instantly.

When Travis awoke the next morning, Josh was cuddled up on his back, snoozing away. While he was of the mind to shove him off, he would be a liar if he didn't admit it felt nice. But his bladder needed emptying.

When he came back, Josh was up and sporting morning wood. Face flushed, he rushed to the bathroom. "Nothing like the first piss of the day, huh?"

 "Yeah," he said and told Josh how'd he'd discovered him that morning.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." 

"Chill. It was no biggie. Just don't make a habit of it," he said, smiling.

"Right."

After they exchanged a few awkward words, Tavis told Josh he better shower before the twins used up all the hot water. While Josh was doing that, he started breakfast. And when Josh and the twins arrived in the kitchen, he served them bacon, scrambled eggs, sausages, pancakes, and French toast.

Josh patted his belly, then burped. "That was awesome sauce." 

"Good, because you're doing the dishes."

He stuck out his tongue. "Meanie."

When Travis hopped in the shower, the water was cold, so he had to heat it up with his fire abilities. He was scared he'd burn down the house when he accidentally lit the shower curtain on fire. But once he extinguished the fire with the showerhead, he relaxed, and everything went smoothly. 

Afterward, he checked in with his parents, who told him since he'd stayed out of trouble thus far, they might go away more often.

More unpaid babysitting? Nope!

He kept those thoughts to himself and asked if Josh could stay over again and emphasized his being older. His mother refused it but said she might consider letting him stay another time. Hopes dashed, he told them to enjoy the rest of their weekend and ended the call.

He broke the news to Josh, who was equally dejected.

 "If you need back up, I'm only a text or FaceTime away."

"Right."

They spent the rest of the day gaming and listening to music, each complaining how the other's taste sucked. Josh favored Pop and EDM, while Travis preferred Death Metal and Alternative.

"Can't we listen to something where the people aren't screaming or talking about death and destruction?" Josh all but whined.

"How `bout Motown?"

"Never heard of it."

Travis did a double-take. "You've lived in Michigan practically your whole life and have never heard of Motown?"

"I mean, I know a few songs like My Girl or Dancing in the Street. But that's it."

Travis shook his head and commenced Josh's musical education, starting with the queen herself, Aretha. Then Martha Reeves and The Vandellas, Dianna Ross and the Supremes, and the other girl groups. Then they moved on to The Temptations, The Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Stevie Wonder, and countless others.

"Where'd you learn all this?" Josh asked hours later as they ate leftover pizza for lunch.

"Some of it's from old movies I've watched, but a lot of the songs I learned from an online college class I took last summer on the historical and cultural development of rock."

Josh asked him for the information, so his parents would get off his back about extracurriculars for a while. All too soon, six o'clock arrived, and Josh had to leave. He promised to text him later.

To pass the time, Travis worked on Cha and a few side projects in his lab, checking on the twins every half hour before putting them to bed at eight. Once he was sure they were down for the night, he Popped to the park and trained. He tried to anyway, but his thoughts kept returning to Josh. He'd had fun on their sleepover and wanted to do more. But there was always a ticking clock at the back of his mind, reminding him his time was running out.

He shook his head, removed a pack of tennis balls from his messenger bag, and centered himself. He set a few tennis balls a meter away and focused on moving them, pushing aside all his thoughts and emotions. His world narrowed to him and the balls. He visualized them moving. One wabbled, then shot toward him, colliding with his Timbs. The others followed a few seconds later.

"Yes!" he cheered. Then he levitated them, succeeding in raising them a few centimeters before a coughing fit hit him. After five minutes of hacking up what felt like a lung, he decided to move on. He placed tennis balls at intervals of a meter and Popped to them and back. He kept training until exhaustion blurred his vision. 

Popping home, he checked on the twins, then went to bed.   

He woke up to two texts and a missed call from Josh. He texted him and apologized, saying he'd lost track of time in his lab. Apology accepted, Josh asked if he, Rachel, Brianna, David, and Jason could hang at his house. Travis begrudgingly agreed and told him to bring his Xbox One X and extra controllers.

When Josh and his friends arrived at noon, Amber followed Brianna and Rachel around, asking them tips about makeup and hair, while Bobby declared he was hanging with the men.

They congregated in Travis's room and fired up Halo. At first, it was every man for himself, then they split into teams, with one of them sitting out the round and joining in the next. This worked well until Bobby whined how it wasn't fair that he had to sit out because he was "way better" than Travis.

"Everyone has sat out at least one match, so shut up," Travis said, taking the controller from him so he could start his round.

"Imma tell Mom and get you in trouble."

"Go right ahead. Now out."

"But that's not fair."

"Spoiler Alert: life isn't fair."

Travis locked the door after Bobby left, and they played on.

"Don't you think that was a bit harsh?" Josh said.

Travis turned a corner, getting a lucky headshot on Jason's avatar. "Nope. The entitled brat is always pulling crap like this."

"Still."

David caught Travis with a plasma grenade. "The David's with Turner on this one, JJ. My brother Asher is the fucking worst, always going into my room and taking my shit. Put a lock on my door, and he picked it. So, the David popped him one, and he stopped."

Jason ducked behind a wall, tossing a plasma grenade. "Naw. I say Turner went too far. Is he an annoying shit? Yeah. But he's your bro, ya know?"

Travis rolled his eyes. "Whatever."

They switched teams, he and David against Josh and Jason. Things were going well until Brianna knocked on the door with Bobby in tow, crying crocodile tears. He'd fabricated a story about how the older boys were bullying him and wouldn't let him play. Travis explained the situation.

"Well, let him play."

The nerve of her. She doesn't know me, yet here she is, acting like my mom.

The fire inside him begged for release. The air in the room got heavy. People fanned themselves as they broke into a sweat. Center, he told himself, putting his anger in a box and locking it away in his mind. 

"He can stay, but if he acts up, I'm sending him to his room."

Crisis averted, Travis tossed his controller to Bobby, and they played until four o'clock when Travis kicked out Josh and his friends, stating he didn't think his parents would appreciate coming home to a house full of strangers. He did tell them to swing by another time, though.

 Shortly after, he started dinner, a frozen lasagna, which finished cooking just as his parents returned.

"Travis had a buncha people over, and they were mean to me," Bobby said, starting with the fake tears again.

Travis cut him off, explaining exactly what happened.

His mother tutted. "You won't play with your brother but will with strangers? That's not right."        

"They're not strangers. I know Josh, Jason, and David from school. And I've hung out with Brianna and Rachel before at Josh's."

"I like them," Amber, said showing off her toothy smile. "They taught me lots about hair and makeup."

His mother made a sour face. "For future reference, you aren't allowed more than two friends over at a time when your father and I aren't here, understood?"

"Yes."

"And be nicer to your brother."

"You got yourself some friends, huh?" his father said, eyeing him.

"Yeah."

"They the ones you've been running off with all summer?"

"It's mainly been Josh, but yeah."

"Without you around, we've been pressed to find babysitters. I wanna see your face around here more, ya hear?"

"Yes, sir," he said and went to set the table.

Despite the facade he put up, Travis didn't know everything. But he did know one thing. His parents were crazy if they thought they could keep him from hanging with Josh.

 

Author's Note: Next chapter summer rolls along and finds Josh getting into a fight with the Squad over how he's changed since befriending Travis.

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