Date: Tue, 30 Oct 2012 13:17:05 +0800
From: Jeffrey Venzuela <jtvenz72@gmail.com>
Subject: I Shall Believe - Chapter 22

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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.
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	Ivan watched as Alex and Michael talked to some of their friends.
He intentionally distanced himself from their crowd in part because he
still had some reserved anger towards them. After all these were the people
who he had thought he was friends with until all hell had broken loose
because of Andy the previous year.  But even more compellingly he just felt
like, somehow, he didn't belong anymore. And by the looks of how they all
seemed to be having fun with each others' company, his presence surely
wasn't needed now.

However, belonging in the A crowd really wasn't what Ivan was worried
about. It was his friend Jesse. Jesse had said he already had something
planned to take care of Andy and the video tape situation. Ivan knew Jesse
could take care of himself but he couldn't help but worry. It was Andy
Pearson. The guy was a monster.

Once again Ivan tried calling Jesse's phone. However, it still went
straight to voice mail. He was debating with himself whether he would start
looking for Jesse when he heard someone calling his name.

"Hey, Ivan!" He saw Max waving his hand, sitting with a few people not far
from where he was standing.

He nodded and smiled at Max as he tried to see who he was sitting with.
Before he could even recognize them, Max gestured for Ivan to come over. As
Ivan drew closer to Max and his circle, he finally realized that he was
sitting with Randy and the rest of the members of the Alliance.  The
familiar faces greeted him with smiles.

"Wow. Looks like everyone's here." Ivan said as he smiled back at them.

"Well, not really. We haven't seen Jesse all night." Max said.

"Yeah. Where is your best friend?" Randy asked.

Ivan didn't know if he should lie to them and cover up for
Jesse. "Actually, I think he's sick or something. He said he'd just stay in
bed for the night."  He said, making up a story. He wasn't even sure if
Jesse was in his house.

"That sucks." Max commented.

Ivan nodded at him. "Yeah but I'm sure it's nothing he can't handle."

"How about you? How are you handling things?" Randy suddenly asked Ivan.

"What are you talking about?" Ivan asked, surprised by Randy's question.

"Give us a little credit here, Ivan. The whole school knows about what
happened between you and Andy Pearson last year, and now he's back in
town." Randy explained.

"And we heard about your little scene in the hallway with Jake earlier this
week." A girl from the group added.

"I pretty much saw the whole thing. It was awful! Downright
discrimination!"  A boy commented.

Ivan didn't expect the words he was hearing. He didn't know the Alliance
could be this supportive. He looked at Max and it looked like the boy could
read what he was thinking. Max was smiling at him like he was happy that
Ivan could see this side of the Alliance.

They were still commenting about Jake and some were even making insults
about him when Ivan tried to stop them. "Guys, guys! You need to calm down.
Everything's okay. I'm okay." He said, trying to sound as sincere as
possible.

"But doesn't make what Andy or Jake did okay!" The boy who spoke before
shouted. That got some cheer from the group, even from Max.

"Whoa, guys!" Ivan raised his voice a little. That got the group's
attention.  "Everything's okay now with Jake. He apologized to me
already. And as for Andy, he'll be leaving again soon and going back to his
classes at college so there's no need to sweat it. Okay?" Ivan said. He
looked at everyone and saw that his words had tamed them down, at least for
a little bit.

"Oh, Ivan, before I forget again." Randy piped in. "Remember that special
assignment I told you I was going to give you?"

Ivan recalled Randy mentioning it to him back in the away game, before
Michael and Alex announced they had started dating. "Yeah. What about it?"

Ivan saw Randy look around the circle and some of them nodded at Randy and
urged him to go on.

"We want you to recruit Alex and Michael to join the Alliance." Randy said
with a smile.

 All Ivan could think about was why. "Why?" He asked.

Randy looked at him condescendingly before answering. "Because, one, they
are your friends and joining the Alliance will prove to you and the entire
school that they really are okay with you being gay.  I mean, c'mon, those
two ignored you for a year, so you'll never know.  If they really are
serious about getting back on your good side, they'll join us.

"And two, having them in our group would not just get us more respect and
credibility, it would also give us a more diverse image for the student
body and the faculty."

Ivan had a feeling that this was more about the Alliance's image than his
friendship with Alex and Michael. But after they had just shown their
support for him, he really was in no place to refuse. And besides, he
wanted to end the conversation as quickly as possible because he really
needed to go and look for Jesse. "Okay. I'll talk to them about it." He
said. The members around him smiled and voiced their approval while Randy
praised him for being a good team player.

"If you'll excuse me," Ivan said as he stood up. "I have some business to
attend to."  And he left to return to where Michael and Alex were still
talking to their friends.

Ivan stood awkwardly a few feet from them, trying to get a break in the
conversation since everyone was talking at the same time. After he realized
that there was going to be no break, he just went ahead and lightly tapped
Michael's shoulder.

"Hi." Ivan said.

"Hey, Ivan!" Michael greeted back. "What's up?"

"I can't stay here anymore. I'm worried about Jesse. I'm going to look for
him." He answered.

Michael nodded as he tried to think of how to look for Jesse. "Okay. I'll
come with you then."

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Alex said, lowering her voice a little.

"We're going to look for Jesse." Michael answered.

"No. I'm going to look for Jesse. Michael, just stay here with Alex."  Ivan
said.

"No, it's okay." Alex assured Ivan. "Michael's already done his part and
you never know, what if you find Jesse with Andy? Michael might come in
very handy."

Michael smiled at Alex and gave her a peck on the cheek. "Thanks, babe."

Ivan looked away just in time when he realized what Michael was about to
do.

"Take care, you guys." Alex waved them goodbye.


Jesse was lying on the leather couch in his basement, exhausted. As
tempting as it was to let himself fall into a deep slumber, he knew he had
a job to finish. He watched as Andy put his pants back on. It was a shame,
Jesse thought. He was so good in bed, or in this case, on the couch.

Andy was putting on his shirt when he said to Jesse, "Let's do this again
some other time."

"I'm sorry. I'm afraid this is our last, Mr. Bear." Jesse said with still a
little hint of flirtation.

"What, are you leaving town or something?" Andy asked, totally oblivious of
what was going on.

Jesse got up from the bed and went in front of Andy. Jesse grabbed his head
to move it closer to his so that he could give Andy one last passionate
kiss.  Jesse thought it was funny how Andy was so submissive when it came
to sex while acting so superior and tough in real life.

Jesse finally pulled away but he was still holding Andy's head. "No. But
you are."

"What's going on here, Jesse?" They heard someone say. Surprised, the two
boys looked up to see Max standing at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shit!" The two boys said as they separated.

"What the hell is this?!" Andy shouted at Jesse, instantly reverting to his
tough and superior side.

 "Max, what are you doing here?" Jesse asked in an unexpectedly angry tone.
He couldn't believe what was happening. Max could have ruined his plans.

Max also looked surprised but there was something else in his face that
Jesse realized. It was the same look he had gotten when his parents looked
at him after he tried to kill himself. He had just disappointed Max.

"I thought you were sick and I just thought that..." Max paused as he
gestured towards Andy. "I'm sorry. I should go." And with that, he ran back
up the stairs.

"Is he your boyfriend or something?" Andy asked.

"No." Jesse said.

"Then what the fuck is going on here? And what were you talking about
before he showed up?" Andy asked in a tone that really intimidated Jesse.

"Jesse!" Jesse heard Ivan calling from the door towards the basement.

Jesse knew he didn't have much time. Andy looked like he was already going
to bolt so he finally revealed what he had done. "I have three different
recording devices in here."

"What are you talking about? Did you videotape us?!" Andy grabbed Jesse by
the neck and slammed him against the wall. "Did you?" He said in a menacing
tone.

Jesse struggled as he felt his body in need of more air. He tried to remove
Andy's hands from his neck but to no avail.

"Let him go Pearson or I'm calling the cops!" Both looked to see Michael
and Ivan running down the stairs. "Let him go!" Michael shouted.

Andy stared at Michael and realizing he had no choice, he let go. "You."
He pointed angrily to Ivan. "You planned all of this, didn't you?"

 Michael quickly stepped in front of Ivan. "Leave Ivan out of this." He
said as he balled his fists, preparing to fight if ever Andy decided to.

"He's right." Jesse said, his voice a little hoarse. "If there's anyone you
should be mad at, it's me. I planned this. I'm the one who has you on
tape."

Jesse's words raised some questions inside Michael and Ivan's heads but
both decided not to ask for the moment.

Jesse watched as Andy put himself in a charging stance. "You son of a—"

"Go anywhere near me or Ivan, or even Michael, Alex and Jake for that
matter and the video comes out." Jesse said in a deeply serious tone.

Andy scoffed. "You're also in that video. You wouldn't dare."

The usual grin slowly formed on Jesse's face. "Oh yes I would. You have no
idea the lengths I would go to just to protect my friends."

The room was silent. Michael and Ivan exchanged glances while Andy was just
glaring at Jesse. Jesse knew he had already succeeded.

"And one more thing, if that video of Ivan and Jake ever see the light of
day, don't even imagine that I would think twice about releasing this video
to the public." He added. "Consider this your own personal restraining
order."

Andy looked between Michael, Ivan and Jesse. Michael still had his fist
ready for action. But instead of fighting them, Andy started walking.
"You're gonna regret this." He warned before leaving the room.

After the three boys heard the front door slam shut, they felt themselves
exhaling with relief and their bodies relax.

Ivan was the first to break the silence. "Oh god, Jesse." He quickly walked
to his friend and hugged him tight. "Are you okay?"

Jesse chuckled. "Yeah. I'm fine."

"Thank you." Ivan said sincerely.

Jesse shrugged. "Nah. It was nothing." He said, grinning.

Michael waited for the two to separate before he talked to Jesse. "So you
really videotaped the two of you doing it?"

"Yeah." Jesse said it like it shouldn't really be a surprise. "And besides,
who said that this is the first time I've done this."

Michael and Ivan's eyes grew big. They looked at each other in disbelief.

"That was a joke." Jesse snickered.

Ivan rolled his eyes and chuckled. Then, he remembered something.  "Hey, on
our way here, Michael and I saw Max. He seemed upset."

"Shit! I almost forgot about him. I think he saw me kissing Andy." Jesse
said, starting to panic. If that was true, then Max would realize that he
had been lying to him from the beginning.

"Oh. I'm sorry, buddy." Ivan said.

"I'm gonna go. I should talk to him." Jesse said before leaving.

Before Jesse reached the top of the stairs, he heard Michael calling him.

"Hey, Jesse!" Michael said. "You've got balls, man. I think you're gonna be
okay." He smiled sincerely at Jesse.

"Thanks, Michael." Jesse replied before racing out of the house.

Ivan and Michael looked at each other and smiled.

"Some night, huh?" Michael said.

"Are you kidding? It was crazy!" Ivan said with a chuckle. He didn't know
why but somehow his body started shivering. He discreetly tried to warm
himself up by rubbing his arms with his hands.

Michael, however, saw what was happening. "Ivan, are you okay?"

"Yeah." Ivan assured him with a smile although the shivering didn't stop.

"You're shaking." Michael pointed out. "Come here." He said as he opened
his arms for Ivan.

But Ivan just stared at him. In fact, he was looking at him
strangely. "What are you doing?"

Michael smiled knowingly at Ivan. He knew the other boy was just shy.  When
it seemed like Ivan wouldn't really cave, Michael took the initiative and
walked closer to Ivan and wrapped his arms around him. Michael felt Ivan's
body freeze at his initial contact.

"There, there, Benny. Mikey's here." He said softly.

 Ivan felt himself melt with Michael's words. His body started to relax and
before he even realized it, he was clinging on to Michael.

It was a weird routine, Ivan thought. They had been accustomed to it ever
since they were kids. It had first started when the two were playing at
Ivan's and they had accidentally broken a vase. Ivan's mother had not been
at home at that moment but his dad was. Upon seeing the pieces of the
broken vase on the floor, his dad had started shouting at the two boys.  It
had been a few serious minutes of tongue-lashing before he finally
commanded them to go to Ivan's room.

When the boys had gotten into the room, Michael couldn't help but notice
Ivan's little body shaking. Michael had asked if he was okay and the boy
reassured him that he was. However, Michael had decided to comfort him with
a hug anyway and somehow, it ended Ivan's shivering.  Ever since then,
Michael had done that for Ivan every time he started shaking, even in the
middle of the night during their sleepovers when Ivan sometimes quivered
during his slumber.

Though he couldn't understand why his body reacted that way to Michael's,
he admitted that it felt good. Michael had always made him feel good, with
the exception of the last year's events of course. Ivan had always loved
being with Michael and just there in that moment when Michael was holding
him gently against his chest, he felt safe. He felt loved back.

But Ivan's happy balloon deflated when he remembered that Michael only
loved him as his best friend, or even as a brother. They could never be
together. Michael was straight and he had a girlfriend, who just happened
to be their other best friend.

Michael's phone started ringing and it prompted the two boys to separate.
"It's Alex. I gotta take this and tell her the good news." Michael said.

Of course, Ivan thought.

"You're okay now though, right?" Michael asked.

"Yeah. Thanks." Ivan replied with a smile.

"Hey, babe." Michael greeted on the phone. Ivan watched as he told her the
events that had just happened.

If only he had a boyfriend to share the news with, Ivan thought. Then
suddenly, he remembered that he needed to tell Jake about this. He would be
so happy to hear the good news about Andy. He picked his phone from his
pocket and dialed Jake's number.


Meanwhile, Jesse was also making a phone call. He had been calling and
looking for Max; but with no luck. He was on his way to the lake just in
case Max would still be there.

"Max, this is Jesse. Can you please pick up? I need to talk to you. Give me
a chance to explain." He said on the phone. That was the fourth message he
had left on Max's voice mail.

When Jesse arrived at the lake, he saw Max about to leave, just getting
into a car. Jesse jumped out of his car and ran towards Max. He called him
as the door slammed shut.

"Max, please let me explain." Jesse said after he caught his breathe.

"Jesse, what are you doing here?" Jesse looked at the driver's seat and
sitting there was Randy. "I thought you were sick."

"No. He just made that up." Max said bitterly. "Apparently, that's his
habit."

Jesse was taken aback by the Max's harshness but he knew he deserved it.

"Max, please..." Jesse begged.

"Okay." Max nodded. "Explain."

"I..." Jesse began but he didn't know what to say. He couldn't just tell
Max that he liked him and that he pretended to be straight just to impress
him and get to know him first.

"What, are you trying to figure out the next lie to tell?" Max asked, still
with the same harshness in his voice.

Jesse felt his eyes water up. "No, I just... I..."

Max scowled at him. "Times up. Looks like you really can't tell the truth,
huh?"

Jesse looked at Max, surprised by the way he was acting. He knew he had it
coming but still, they were friends. And he knew Max wasn't like that at
all. Or was he?

Jesse saw Randy looking at him but instead of the smirk he thought he would
see, Randy looked like he pitied him. And that made Jesse feel even more
shitty about himself.

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And that concludes Chapter 22! What do you guys think? Will this really be
the end of all the tormenting from Andy? Is Max overreacting? And should
Ivan finally man up and tell his feelings to Michael?

Thanks again to Mr. Dennis S for patiently editing my work. For those who
aren't still members of the facebook readers' page, we have lots of room
for you guys. If you want to join, here's the link:
http://www.facebook.com/groups/ISBreaders/

Thanks! Keep on reading :)