Chapter 8: Gossip

thanks to Jim for editing!

I woke up, spooned against Aiden's back, my morning wood pressed up against his butt. I didn't stay long enough to savor it, quickly easing my hips away from his ass and away from danger.

I was actually surprised to find him there. I knew that we were in the same position we'd fallen asleep in the night before, but every other time Aiden and I'd shared the same sleeping space, he always disappeared before I woke up.

I couldn't blame him for sleeping in, though. He'd obviously had a rough night before he crashed out in my bed. I remembered what I'd overheard when he went on his rampage with Chris and Tony. He kept saying 'She did' or 'I hate her.' I knew something wasn't right in his house. And he always seemed to have to help his mother with something. He'd never mentioned a father, so I guessed that whatever the problem was, it had to do with his mom.

I might never know what had happened, or what was going on between Aiden and his mom, not unless he told me, but I could at least be there for him if he needed me.

But now I needed to piss away my morning wood, so I eased my arm away from him and carefully crawled out of bed, doing my best not to wake him. I was halfway to my bedroom door when I caught sight of the clock and stopped to stare for a second.

It wasn't even six o'clock in the morning yet. No wonder Aiden was still asleep. I hadn't set my alarm, so I was surprised that I wasn't still asleep. I made my way to the bathroom, relieved myself and then snuck back into my room.

Aiden had turned and pulled the blankets over his body, huddling against the warm spot I left on the bed. I watched him for a few minutes, smiling to myself. Something about Aiden in my bed just felt right to me. However, as tempted as I was to climb back in with him, I felt wide awake, and knew that I'd never get back to sleep. So, I did something I hadn't done in months. I decided to go running. I dressed in my jogging pants and a sweatshirt and started by jogging down my block, sticking to familiar streets. I set my pace, knowing that other than gym class my physical activities had been limited.

I could feel the difference in my body. I thought I was still in decent shape, but obviously nowhere near where I used to be. I broke a sweat a lot sooner than I normally would have, and if I hadn't paced myself I'm sure I would have been feeling all sorts of cramps. But in spite of all of that, I still felt great. I remembered how much I enjoyed a good run. I used to run with Nicky all the time before school. I really did miss him, but whether or not he was there, I decided that I needed to place a morning run in my routine again.

I went three blocks to the park, and then spent some time running laps. Not very many people were out, but the nearby streets were busy with students on their way to school. I didn't have to go back to school for two more days, and while I wasn't looking forward to facing Dennis Gordon or Principal Johnson again, I was looking forward to going back as the new me. The new me who had friends and who wanted to be a friend. I looked forward to seeing Adam and Shane at lunch, and I wondered if I would see Aiden then too, for sure I'd say hi when I passed him in the halls now. And in gym I'd see Ryan, who I was looking forward to getting to know better. If anything, all of these people would make the day fly by faster.

I was a block away from home, looking forward to a long shower and big breakfast when a blue sports car coming down the street caught my eye. I probably wouldn't have thought anything of it, if it hadn't picked up speed when it turned down the street.

I groaned inwardly as I saw the familiar face with sandy-brown hair and green eyes behind the wheel. Of all the people who could ruin a good morning, Dennis Gordon was at the top of the list. I guess I was just glad that he didn't have all his asshole buddies with him, just one. I recognized him from the fight, a blond-haired guy with a crew cut who wasn't any bigger than me. I didn't know his name, but I had noticed that whenever Dennis caused trouble, this guy wasn't far behind. I kept jogging. Guys like Dennis and his friends are self-absorbed people anyway. If I was lucky, they wouldn't even see me.

I wasn't that lucky.

The car screeched to a halt less than a foot away from me and I jumped back onto someone's lawn as the passenger door swung open. Crap. I really wasn't looking for a fight, and began to debate what to say to talk my way out of this as Dennis and his friend jumped out of the car.

I put on my stone face, looking uninterested as ever, as I placed my hands on my knees, hunched over, and slowly caught my breath.

"I've been looking for you, asshole," Dennis said as he came around the car towards me, reminding me a little of an animated, puffed-up bull with those nostrils of his flaring.

"Well, you found me," I stated the obvious as I stood up straight, keeping my eyes on both of the guys in front of me now. "So what do you want? Davis... isn't it?"

I admit it, I was playing dumb. Something about Dennis made me want to aggravate him. I guess that wasn't necessarily a good thing when I wanted to stay out of trouble.

"Dennis," Dennis shot back, clearly disgusted that a lowly boy like me didn't remember his name. "And I am so gonna kick your ass."

And he probably could too. I was tired from my run and I was alone, but still, I was considering my odds, me against these two idiots. I smiled, despite the knots in my stomach, only provoking them further.

"Oh yeah?" I said. "That's nice and all. But I make a point not to kick the same person's ass twice in one week." Like I said, the guy brings out the worst in me. Provoking him was turning into an addiction or something.

"Think you're funny, do you?" Dennis's friend sneered. "Let's see how funny you think you are when we fuck you up.".

The blond advanced on me and I took a step back, while Dennis stood just behind him, clenching his fists as if he were waiting for his friend to take the first hit before he got in on the action. The coward. Oh well, at least separately I was sure I could take them at the moment. But it never came to that.

I heard tires screeching again and without taking my eyes off Dennis's friend, I looked up to see a familiar red Camaro coming only inches from Dennis's car before both Ryan and Leo stepped out, and before I could blink twice Ryan was between me and the blond guy, in his face, poking his chest.

"There a problem here, Clayton?" Ryan asked.

"Stay out of this Sader," Dennis hissed, advancing on Ryan.

I moved up next to Ryan as Leo moved behind Dennis and the Clayton kid, the three of us blocking them in.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Dennis?" Leo asked. "Like, chasing some skirt instead of my boy, Owen, here? Or do you prefer his cute little ass?"

Dennis whirled around on Leo so fast I swear he ended up with whiplash.

"Well if it isn't the fag patrol!" Dennis shot back, but his voice suddenly sounded more panicked than angry. "What's up, Leo? You fucking this guy too?" Dennis waved in my general direction with that comment. "What happened to your little cock-sucking whore? Where is Benny anyway? What happened, you get sick of him begging to suck every dick that walked by?"

I didn't know Leo very well, but he seemed like a pretty cool guy. I would have never pictured him as intimidating. But then he got angry. His face turned red and veins were bulging out of his neck. Obviously when Dennis decided to talk about Ben it was the wrong thing to do.

All it took was Leo pulling his fist back before Ryan and I both got the same idea, pushed past Dennis, and held our friend back.

"Get the fuck out of here Dennis before I let him go!" Ryan warned.

"Go ahead, Sader," Dennis sneered. "Let the queer go."

Leo jolted in our arms but we held tight, which was probably a good thing, because I had a feeling that if he got his hands on Dennis right now it wouldn't be pretty. Luckily, Clayton seemed more wary than his idiot friend and put a hand on Dennis's shoulder.

"Come on Dennis, we'll settle up later," he insisted.

Dennis shook him off but began to circle around us, back towards his car. Dennis tore his eyes from Leo and set them on me, and I glared right back.

"I'll see you later," Dennis said to me, and there was nothing friendly about it.

"See me all you want. Just make sure you keep your eyes off my cute little ass," I shot back, using Leo's words from earlier. Dennis was obviously not amused, but Ryan smiled and Leo noticeably relaxed in our arms. Still, Ryan and I both held onto him until Dennis and his friend were in their car and disappearing around the corner. As soon as we released Leo, I turned to him and Ryan. "I'm really sorry about that, guys."

"Don't worry about it," Ryan insisted, giving me a friendly pat on the back.

"Yeah," Leo agreed. "Dennis is just an asshole, anyway."

"Still," I said, "you guys shouldn't have been dragged into it."

"Hey, we dragged ourselves in," Ryan said.

"Yeah, besides, Dennis and I go way back," Leo said grimly. "Believe me, you didn't drag us into anything."

"Well, thanks anyway," I replied. "I really wasn't looking for a fight today."

Leo smiled. "No problem. I was just driving Ryan to school--you need a ride, Owen?"

"No thanks," I said, "I'm still suspended."

"Oh, right." Ryan rolled his eyes. "Well, I guess we'll see you later then."

I shook both of their hands but Ryan gave me a hug. I was beginning to learn that Ryan liked to hug. We said our goodbyes and I continued on my way, hoping that the rest of my run would be uninterrupted.

By the time I made it home it was eight in the morning, and I was a little surprised to find both of my brothers in the living room, getting ready to go somewhere dressed in suits and ties. The only time I had seen either one of them dressed so formal was for my Uncle John's funeral when I was eleven years old.

"Damn," I whistled, "you guys look good."

Chris just beamed at me while Tony looked surprised to see me coming in the front door.

"I thought you were still in bed," Tony said.

"Did you go running?" Chris asked, before I could even answer Tony.

"Yep," I replied, deciding not to mention my run-in with Dennis. They had enough to worry about with Aiden; I didn't want to add to it.

"That's great," Chris said. I had told my brothers how I used to run, and they, especially Chris, had been trying to get me to do it again for a while.

"Is Aiden still in your room?" Tony asked.

I shrugged. "He was still asleep when I left."

"Oh," Tony said, nodding, and then almost cautiously asked, "So, did you guys talk last night?"

"Nope," I said. "We just passed out."

I saw concerned looks pass between my brothers and I smiled as I moved past them.

"And don't worry," I told them; "I don't expect you guys to tell me what's going on."

"Owen, it's not that we don't want to..." Chris started.

"I know," I said, shrugging. "And I figure if Aiden wanted me to know, he'd tell me. But it would be nice to know where you two are going looking like that."

"We have an errand to run," Tony said, smiling at me. "It's no big deal... but hey, Owen?"

"Yeah?"

"When Aiden wakes up, he'll probably want to head home; do us a favor and ask him to be here when we get back, it should only be a few hours."

"Sure," I agreed.

Chris smiled. "Thanks, kid. We'll be back in a while."

"Bye, guys." I waved.

I headed down the hall as they left, and when I reached my room I went in silently, pleased to see that Aiden was still asleep in my bed. I grabbed some clean clothes and slipped back out as quietly as possible, and then I spent the better part of the next hour in the shower.

When I was finished, I headed back to my room, for some reason feeling the need to check on Aiden, if only to make sure that he was still there. But, when I caught scent of food cooking, I switched directions and headed straight for the kitchen.

The first thing I saw was Aiden standing over the stove. His hair was tied back neatly, but he was still only wearing his sweats, and the exposed skin of his back had a healthy morning glow to it. He hardly even glanced back at me, but knowing I was there, he used the spatula to point backwards at the kitchen table.

"Sit," was all he said.

And I did. It sounded almost like a command, but honestly, I didn't care. I sat at the table and stared at his back.

"Chris and Tony aren't here," he said simply.

"I know," I replied. "They left a while ago, said they had something to take care of. But they told me to ask you to be here when they got back. It shouldn't be long now."

Aiden absently nodded before he finally looked back at me and smiled.

"Hey," he said, his voice a little lower than it had been a moment ago, "thanks for last night--for letting me crash, I mean."

"Anytime." And I meant that. "I've slept on that couch. It's hard to tell your head from your ass when you wake up on the damn thing."

He laughed. "Yeah, I know exactly what you mean."

Aiden shoveled the food he was cooking onto plates and then moved to the table, presenting me with the largest stuffed omelet I'd ever seen.

"Damn," I remarked, eyeing it.

"Hope you're hungry," he said, taking the seat closest to me.

"Starving," I informed him, and to prove it I took a big bite of my food while Aiden watched in approval. And it was wonderful. I mean, I can cook the basics. I don't burn water or anything, but this was the best-tasting omelet I'd ever had, and to be honest, I was never really partial to omelets. I always liked my food items separate, not all mashed together. I must have looked surprised that it tasted so good, because Aiden laughed.

"Surprised?" he asked.

"I didn't know you could cook."

"There's a lot you don't know about me."

That was the understatement of the year, but I didn't comment.

"Well this is damn good, Aiden. Shit, any time you want to cook me breakfast, you've got my permission."

He rolled his eyes. "Well, as long as I have your permission."

I smiled and knocked my elbow against his as he began to dig into his own plate. I'd just stuffed another big bite into my mouth when Aiden spoke up again.

"Tony and Chris didn't say when they'd be back, did they?"

"Nope, they only said it would be a few hours."

Aiden let out a breath and stared down at his plate.

"I hate to make you the messenger, Owen, but, when they get in do you mind telling them that I'll catch them later? I promised Janie I'd meet her for lunch today and she'll freak out if I stand her up."

I immediately found myself feeling jealous that he was meeting Janie, but I shook off the feeling and simply nodded.

"Sure, it's no big deal. Where are you meeting her?"

"Just this place not far from the school, that old hamburger joint."

"Cool, in that case we can leave Tony and Chris a note. I need to run a few errands today; I can give you a ride. I mean, if you want one."

I hoped I wasn't being too pushy, offering him a ride, but the truth was I really did have some things I needed to do and I thought I might as well use some of my free time away from school to do it.

"That would be great," Aiden said. "So what are you doing today?"

"Shopping," I said, practically groaning. "Chris and Tony turn twenty-two next week. I haven't spent their birthday with them in three years, and I wanted to get them something special, but I still haven't thought of anything yet."

Aiden slapped his own forehead.

"Shit, I forgot they had a birthday coming up." I watched, amused as he sat there. I could almost see his brain ticking away. "I'll have to call the guys, get something together..." Then he suddenly turned to me again. "Unless you'd rather I didn't. I mean, if you think they'd rather just do a family thing..."

"Actually, I think a party would be great," I replied, "but you probably know more of their friends than I do."

"Oh, I can get people together, all right," Aiden said, nodding, obviously liking this idea. "I think I know a few restaurants too--where we could throw it, I mean."

"Why not use the club?" I suggested.

Aiden raised an eyebrow at me.

"You think? I mean, I've only known them for three years, but don't they both tend to hate celebrations? Especially their birthday."

"Chris does," I admitted, "but Tony doesn't mind much, at least from what I remember. But hey, we can use the club and still make it a surprise."

"How so?"

"Remember when we were studying there? The private party room? I can book it under a false name, and I can also get in there without any trouble. I mean, the club is eighteen and older, but if we're careful about that with the guest list, it shouldn't be a problem."

"Okay." Aiden smiled. "A surprise party then?"

I nodded. I liked that idea.

"Their birthday is on Friday, right?" Aiden asked. I nodded. "Then I think we should have the party Saturday. Too many people are working Friday night, and Sunday there's that dance at school--I told Janie I'd go with her... Are you going?"

"To the dance?"

"Yeah."

I snorted. "Hell no. I never really liked those things anyway."

But I'd been to plenty of them. Every time there was a dance, I had a date, just to please my parents. But I never did find them much fun.

"You should go," Aiden said, interrupting my thoughts. "I told Janie I'd take her because she begged me, but to be honest, it's never really been my scene anyway. The only reason I ever end up at those things is because of the yearbook, but I get to drag all my friends with me so it isn't so bad. We usually head out early and go party somewhere else. Seriously, you should go."

"I don't think so." I shook my head.

Aiden smiled. "Oh come on, Ryan will be there, we can get Adam and Shane too, I'm sure. Besides, I know for a fact that Dennis is going to be there, and if you don't go, who's going to kick his ass if he decides to break my camera again?"

"Yeah, well, if you're trying to sell me here, bringing up Dennis isn't going to work," I said. "I actually saw him this morning." Aiden looked reasonably confused, so I explained. "I went out running this morning and was on my way back when he pulled up with this guy--Clayton, I think."