Date: Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:29:53 -0700 From: Jeffrey Venzuela <jtvenz72@gmail.com> Subject: I Shall Believe - Chapter 11 ___________________________________________________________________________ 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. ___________________________________________________________________________ Chapter 11 As the newest members of the Gay-Straight Alliance, Ivan and Jesse walked out of the room along with everyone else. "Hey." Ivan and Jesse looked to their right to see the new boy. "Hey,dude." Jesse immediately responded, but in a nonchalant voice. Ivan settled for a friendly hi. "This is kind of embarrassing but our family just moved here and I don't really know anyone. I was wondering if I could have lunch with you guys." The boy asked. "Sure thing." Jesse replied with a smile. "I'm Max by the way." The boy said and offered his hand. Jesse shook it as he said, "I'm Jesse and this is my friend Ivan." He gestured towards Ivan. Ivan nodded and said, "Nice to meet you." The three boys got their lunch and Ivan and Jesse lead the way to their usual spot under the tree. The two found out more about Max as he shared his story while they walked. Max's family had moved to town due to his dad's work relocation. His mother was a stay at home mom and he had a little brother. "You do know there are tables inside the cafeteria and over there at the quad." Max commented as they arrived at Ivan's spot. "This is kind of my—our spot." Ivan changed the word when Jesse cleared his throat loudly. "Oh, that's cool. You guys must be pretty tight." Max said with a look of admiration towards the two boys. "Yeah. We are really tight." Jesse said with a grin. Ivan didn't fail to catch Jesse's usual sexual innuendo. Max however, missed it. "So, what made you decide to join the alliance?" Ivan asked. "My younger brother's gay." He paused to let it sink in. "And this is the way I show that I support him no matter what." The two boys nodded. "Wow. You're a great brother." Jesse commented. Max blushed which the two found cute. "I try to be. He's just in grade school, you know. I just can't imagine someone as young as him going through all of that alone." "But did he say he was sure? I mean, he just might be confused." Ivan inquired. "Oh, he's sure alright. He is like a little version of Randy actually." Max smiled and Jesse saw his gorgeous dimples. "Awww. That's cute." Jesse commented. "Really?" Max and Ivan asked. Max looked at Ivan, surprised by his response. "I just didn't think cute was the appropriate word." Ivan reasoned. "I mean, that's cool. He's not afraid to express himself." Jesse explained. "Yeah. That's exactly how he is." Max said. "How about you Max? Are you also, uh, gay?" Ivan inquired. He and Jesse looked at each other. "Oh, no." Max answered. "I'm straight." He said. "Oh. Dude, that's cool." Jesse tried to hide his disappointment while Ivan gave him a subtle sympathetic look. "I'm straight too." Ivan, surprised by Jesse's words, looked at him but hid the questioning look on his face from Max. "Yeah? That's awesome." Max remarked. "So why did you join the alliance?" He asked. Jesse and Ivan looked at each other. "He joined to support me." Ivan answered for Jesse. "Just like you did for you your brother." "So you're gay?" Max asked. "Yeah, I am." Ivan said, smiling. Max tapped on Ivan's shoulder. "That's cool, man. More power to you." Ivan thanked him. "And to you, Jesse. You're a really good friend. I'd be lucky to be one of yours." "Tell you what? You just became one." Jesse said. He and Max shared a smile. Ivan watched the two interact as they ate their lunch. It was obvious to him that Jesse was still flirting with Max and Max was, somewhat on some level, flirting back. Ivan wondered if Max was really straight or if this was just how straight guys interact with each other, even though Jesse was only supposedly straight. While the two were still preoccupied with talking to each other, Ivan noticed Randy approaching them. Randy waved at Ivan and he smiled at him. "To what do we owe the pleasure, mister president?" Ivan asked once Randy was in earshot. "I just came here to get Max. I see he and your friend have gotten acquainted now." Randy said with an arched eyebrow as he looked at the two boys bonding. Max was slapping Jesse's shoulder as they both laughed at a joke Jesse had made. The two stopped to look greet him. "Hey Max, lunch is almost over. We need to get to class." Ivan couldn't help but notice the difference in Randy's voice. "Already?" Max asked to which Randy nodded. "Alright man. I'll see you later." Max and Jesse bumped fists. "It's really cool there's a straight gay in the alliance I can hang with." "Yeah dude." Jesse glanced at Randy. "Straight, huh?" Randy asked. "As an arrow." Jesse said looking directly at Randy's eyes. Max stood up and went to Randy's side. "Don't forget we have a meeting later this afternoon at the same room." Randy said. "I'll see you guys there then?" Max asked the two but was looking at Jesse. "You know it, dude." Jesse replied. Max and Randy said their goodbyes and left. "You so owe me." Ivan teased Jesse. "To what do I owe you for?" Jesse asked. "Okay. First of all, I joined the Gay-Straight Alliance. Second, I apologized to freaking Randy the queen for calling him a queen. And third, you're straight? Please. Max couldn't have bought it if I didn't tell him you just joined the alliance to support me." Ivan said. Jesse rolled his eyes. "Fine! What do you want?" "Three favors anytime, anywhere and you can't say no." Ivan said with pride. Jesse narrowed his eyes at Ivan as he thought it over. "Deal." "And speaking of which, is it just me or Randy the rainbow queen just became the ice queen?" Ivan asked Jesse. Jesse chuckled. "Nah. I noticed that too." Ivan replayed the moments a few minutes ago and realized what he saw. "Oh!" Ivan laughed. "Looks like you have competition." Jesse scoffed. "Seriously, I could make that boy fall for me faster than Lindsay Lohan's next screw up." Ivan looked at Jesse. "Uh, I hate to break it to you but he's straight and you are supposedly straight. How can you do that?" "Just watch me." Jesse smirked. The next class was the one Ivan shared with Alex and he noticed that there was an empty seat next to her. He decided that since they were now in speaking terms, it wouldn't hurt to seat beside her. "Hey." Alex greeted as Ivan sat down. "Hey." Ivan smiled. "Do you want to ride with me and Michael to the game?" Alex asked him. "Just like old times." She added with a smile. Ivan smiled as he remembered their trips to towns every time the football team had a game. "That'd be nice." "Just meet us at the quad after school." She said. Ivan thought of the Gay-Straight Alliance meeting later. He really didn't want to go. He wouldn't have even joined in the first place if it hadn't been for Jesse. Ivan looked at Alex who was still expecting an answer. "Sure." He said. Later that afternoon, Ivan waited for Jesse outside by the room where the Gay and Straight Alliance was supposed to have their meeting. After a few minutes, Jesse walked around the corner along with Max who had his arm around Jesse's shoulder. After the three greeted each other, Ivan excused himself and led Jesse to the side of the hallway. "What's up?" Jesse asked. Ivan smiled meekly before starting. "Uhm, are you gonna be okay by yourself for just this one meeting?" "You're bailing on me." Jesse's response was more of a statement. "I can't believe you're letting me go in there alone in the same room with Randy." "Well, you have Max." Ivan reasoned. "Why?" Jesse asked. "Because you guys are friends now. Amigos." Ivan replied. Jesse raised an eyebrow. "You know for a supposedly smart person, sometimes you catch on pretty slow." That earned a glare from Ivan. "Okay. Sorry." Jesse apologized. "It's just you're ditching me. Tell me there's a good reason behind this." "Actually, there is. I'm going to the game with Michael and Alex." Ivan said. "With them? In the same car?" Jesse asked sarcastically. "Yes. C'mon Jesse, you're the one who told me to give them a chance." Ivan said but Jesse still looked like he wasn't convinced. "And you'll have more time alone with Max if ever you guys decide to watch the game later." Ivan added. Jesse pondered that. "Well, I could use some alone time with him..." "Plus you still owe me three favors. Consider this one out of the three." Ivan said. Jesse smirked. "Okay. That makes it two favors left." Ivan fished out his keys from his pocket. "And since I drove you here today, I was wondering if you could drive my car back home." He asked meekly. "That's another favor." Jesse stated. "No. That's actually an offer. You don't want to walk home alone, do you?" Ivan grinned. Jesse narrowed his eyes then said. "Fine." Ivan grinned. "Thanks. I love you, bye." Ivan left for the quad to meet Michael and Alex while Jesse went into the meeting with Max. Upon arriving at the quad, Ivan immediately saw Alex. She had her back to him and was talking to her squad about their plans for the game so he decided to sit down at a nearby table. When the cheerleaders started leaving, he stood up and approached Alex. "Hey." Alex smiled at him. "For a minute there, I was thinking you were not going to show." "Well, I'm here now." Ivan replied with a smile. "Where's Michael?" "Getting his jeep." She answered. "Come on. We'll meet him at the front." As the two of them were walking, Ivan couldn't help but notice Alex's sudden quietness. He tried to ignore it but soon decided to ask what was on her mind. Alex seemed embarrassed. "Nothing. Just stuff." "What kind of stuff?" Ivan prodded. "My mom. Michael." She replied. That didn't surprise Ivan. Alex had always been the type of person that wanted to look out for everyone close to her. When they were kids, it was always her who looked after Michael and Ivan. "And you." Alex added which surprised Ivan. "Me? Why?" He asked. "Because you're here now and everything's starting to be okay between us again." Alex said. "Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" Ivan said. Alex nodded. "It is... but I'm afraid that something bad will happen and I'd lose you again." Ivan gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't think that's going to happen. Not anymore." "You think so?" Alex asked. "Yeah." Ivan reassured her. "Unless I find out that you were the driver of the truck that killed my mom." He smiled. Alex was astonished with Ivan's reference to the accident. "You still think about that a lot?" She asked. "Everyday." Ivan replied. "I'm really sorry Ivan." Alex said sincerely. "I know." Ivan smiled. As they were nearing the entrance, Alex gently stopped Ivan. Ivan looked at her questioningly. Alex looked serious as she spoke. "I have something I want to tell you." "Okay." Ivan said cautiously, not sure if he wanted to hear it for it sounded like it was going to be bad news. "But first I need to ask, do you have feelings for Michael?" Alex asked. That question caught Ivan off guard. "No. Of course not." Ivan immediately answered. "You don't?" Alex inquired. "Yeah. He's a really great friend. I wouldn't do anything like that to mess it up. And besides, he's straight. It wouldn't matter anyway." Ivan explained. Alex nodded. "Okay." She took a deep breath and was about to continue but Michael arrived in his jeep and honked at the two of them. Ivan looked at Alex, waiting for her to say what she was going to say but Alex just shrugged and told him she'd tell him later after the game. Alex went ahead and sat in the back seat and gestured for Ivan to follow her. "What, no company for me?" Michael pouted after Ivan sat beside Alex. "Sorry, loser. You're all by yourself tonight." Alex said smiling. After returning Alex's smile, Michael asked Ivan how he was doing. Ivan replied, "Good but I'm the one who should be asking you that." "Ah. Don't worry. I'm fine." Michael said as he started driving. Meanwhile at the Gay-Straight Alliance, Jesse was ignoring Randy who was talking in front of them. He chatted with Max at first but then Max became too absorbed listening to Randy so Jesse tried to chat with the others around him. No one kept a conversation with him because all of them were listening so attentively to Randy. He tried to listen to Randy but all he talked about was programs and fundraisers. Jesse thought that this was officially the most boring group ever. He was thinking of leaving the meeting when he heard something interesting from Randy's mouth. "I'm sorry. Can you repeat that?" Jesse requested. Randy exhaled sharply. "Fine since you were clearly not listening. Next week will be the homecoming game but more importantly, it is also the National Coming Out Day." "Thanks." Jesse smirked. Randy smiled stiffly at Jesse then continued. "Now I'm going to cut this meeting short because we are going to support our football team. I have already talked to Principal Allen and she will allow us to use one of the school buses." Jesse leaned to Max who was sitting beside him. "Dude, Ivan left me in charge of his car since he already got a ride with his other friends. Do you want to go the game with me?" "Cool." Max replied with a smile. As they filled the bus, Randy noticed Max and Jesse walking off in another direction. "Where do you two think you're going?" He asked. "We'll ride together in Ivan's car." Max answered. "Yeah, he told me to drive it home for him. I just can't leave the car here." Jesse added. "C'mon." He said to Max. Max just shrugged at Randy and started walking away with Jesse. Upon getting inside the car alone with Max, Jesse took the opportunity to examine the boy's face. What appealed most to Jesse was Max's manly features—his jet black hair, thick eyebrows, deep black eyes, and his chiseled jaw. "Jesse?" Max asked as he noticed Jesse staring. Jesse blinked. "Sorry, I was thinking and I kind of drifted." Max just smiled at him. "So, you ready to go?" Jesse asked as he turned on the ignition. "Drive away." Max replied. Jesse smiled and said. "But first, road tunes." He didn't know what was inside Ivan's player but he pressed the play button anyway. Bad Romance by Lady Gaga soon filled the car. Jesse quickly looked to see what Max's reaction would be. He had a surprised look on his face. Jesse shrugged. "Dude, Ivan." Both boys chuckled. "It's cool. It's catchy." Max commented. "I actually like her." Jesse raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Max nodded. "Yeah." "Cool." Jesse said and started driving. Nearing their destination, Michael couldn't help but notice Ivan and Alex whispering behind him. "Okay, what are you two girls whispering about back there?" He asked, smiling. Ivan glared at him and smiled as he answered. "We were just talking about how you were growing your hair out." "Yeah?" Michael asked. "Totally. And we have a theory why you're doing it." Alex said. "And what is that?" Michael inquired. "Justin Bieber!" Both said in unison and started laughing. "What? I hate that guy." Michael complained. "And yet you love imitating his hair." Ivan joked. Alex decided to add. "Michael, it's okay with us. I mean we're your friends. If that's what you're into then..." She shrugged. Alex and Ivan shared a look and laughed. Michael shook his head smiling. He had a good feeling as he thought things were finally getting back to normal. The three separated when they arrived at the opposing school—Michael to the locker room, Alex to her squad and Ivan to the bleachers to look for a good seat. All three of them wore contented smiles as they fell so comfortably into their old routine. ______________________________________________________________________________ I'm sorry for the delay. Thanks again to Dennis S for proofreading my work. I'm encouraging you guys to join the I Shall Believe Readers Page on Facebook. Here's the link: http://www.facebook.com/groups/ISBreaders/ I'd really like to get to know you guys so I hope you join the group. Thanks! Keep on reading :)