Date: Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:13:34 -0700 (PDT)
From: Aaron Hull <wah.stories@yahoo.com>
Subject: One or the Other: Chapter Twenty

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	This is my first story that has chapters! My other stories are
Hayden's Story and Gavin's Got Game, they're here under the High School
section, I also have a story called The After Party, which is under the
college section. If you like this story then you should check them out
because there are some similarities except this one doesn't have sex. So if
that's what you were looking for I'm sorry. My shorter stories may have sex
but this story will contain no sex, there may be references to sex, but I
will not go into detail.
	If you like this story, contact me at wah.stories@yahoo.com. I
strongly encourage it. Also, If you want to be on my e-mail list to find
out when the next chapter comes out, please include that in the email!

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	"Come on Spencer! I need your help in here! The Glovers' will be
here soon!" My mom shouted as I sat on the couch and ate chips.

	"Mom! You're acting like they're gonna leave if the house isn't
spotless and the food isn't on the table!"

	"I don't care. I want to be a good host so your ass needs to get in
here and help."

	I sighed and slowly got off the couch. I went into the kitchen and
helped my mom get the lasagna out to the dining room table. I then had to
prepare the salad; Mom refuses to use store-bought salad, it's too
un-host-like; she wants it to be fresh and homemade. I tried to tell her
that she needed to get Megan down here. But like always, Megan was nowhere
to be found when there was work to do.

	I used the wooden salad tongs and tossed the mixture of lettuce,
tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, croutons, and whatever else Mom told me to
throw in there. I pretended to be working diligently so Mom would leave me
alone. Thankfully it worked. Mom went on to finish the bread sticks, get
drinks, and set up the table for our five guests plus us; we have a
huge-ass table because Mom likes to have people over, even though we
haven't had guests in a long time.

	Finally the bell rang and I ran to go answer it. Mom nearly started
to cry and hurried to finish everything. She then threw the apron and oven
mitts into the drawer and did last minute touch-ups to her hair and
dress. I opened the door and there stood Mason and the rest of the Glovers.

	"I hope we aren't too early." Mason's mom said.

	"You're just on time." My mom said as she came to the door. "We
just finished setting everything on the table. I hope you all like
lasagna."

	Mason's dad laughed. "This family eats anything. Lasagna happens to
be one of our favorites though."

	The whole family entered. Mason's mom had a dish in her hands. "I
know you said to not bring anything, but I just had to make my
out-of-this-world brownies for dessert."

	My mom facepalmed. "I'm actually very glad you made your
brownies. I forgot all about making dessert with rushing to get dinner
done. I was planning on making sundaes of some sort so if you don't mind,
we could have brownies AND ice cream for dessert."

	"That sounds perfect. Let me just go set this in the kitchen." The
moms then went into the kitchen.

	"Mason, you all can go ahead into the dining room; hopefully you
know where it's at." I said to Mason. "I have to go get Megan."

	"Okay, you better hurry up. I'm sure the moms will be dying if
you're not down in a minute or so." He laughed. I left them to go get
Megan. I overheard Mr. Glover complimenting the house and Garret saying
that the lasagna smelled yummy.

	"Megan, the food is done and the Glovers are here." I said as I
lightly tapped on her door.

	"Coming." I waited for her because she normally went back to
whatever she was doing before I interrupted her.

	It took her only about a minute to open the door and follow me
downstairs. Everyone was seated at the table. There were only two spots
open; one between Mason and Garret and the other between Mom and
Mrs. Glover. I went and sat beside Mason, obviously. He smiled at me when I
sat down.

	"Do you all normally say grace before you eat?" Mom asked the
Glovers.

	"Shamefully no. We do on Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas
though." Mason's dad said.

	"Same here. So, do you want to dig in now?"

	"If not now, I'm sure Mason over there will use his hands to get
his food." Everyone laughed at that, even Mason.

	Since the Glovers were the guests, Mom made sure each of them had
gotten food before the McAlisters got food. The first part of the dinner
conversation was Mason's mom and dad complimenting my mom on her
cooking. Alex and Garret smiled and giggled between each other, Alex then
spoke up and complimented mom's food for ? the both of them. Mason also
gave her compliments, to which mom acted like he had complimented her
looks; I swear if she were younger she'd make sure Mason was my dad.

	"So, how did you two meet?" My mom asked the Glovers.

	"We were friends for a very long time." Mrs. Glover started to say.

	"I never told her how I felt so I had to watch her go through all
her high school boyfriends." Mason's dad said.

	Mrs. Glover slapped him on the upper arm. "I only dated two guys in
high school." She then returned to the story. "Well, the second and last
boyfriend I had in high school ended up getting me...you know." Mom nodded;
I hope she actually got it and I wouldn't have to explain it to her
later. "When I told him, he accused me of cheating and broke up with me."

	"And that's where I swooped in, sorta. After she left her parents'
house to go to college, she needed a babysitter. At the time I was living
off my parents' money and told her I could take care of Mason while she
worked and went to college. He's the only reason why I wasn't in
college. Of course Linda didn't know this, she thought that I was milking
everything I could get from my parents. When she graduated, I proposed to
her and told her everything."

	"That's so sweet." Mom said.

	"How did you and your husband meet?" Mrs. Glover asked.

	"Danny and I met while I was at the mall with some friends; it was
my 21st birthday and I was getting some clothes to go party the night
away. Danny was one of the cashiers at one of the stores. He asked me what
the occasion was and I told him. I then invited him; I had a feeling he was
special. He came to the party and we got to know each other a little
better. We then started dating and got married after a year and a half. We
had Megan less than a year after we married. Spencer came soon after. Danny
was in the military and one day he was called to go overseas. That was the
last time I saw him."

	"I'm so sorry for your loss." Mrs. Glover said.

	"He didn't die. He fell in love with another woman at basic
training. He mailed me a letter telling me the news and said he hadn't done
anything with her to disrespect our marriage. Even though he left me for
another woman, I trusted him and we had a simple divorce. We agreed I'd
have the house, kids, and everything here, his new wife had everything
they'd need and he didn't want to hurt me. It was hard telling Megan that
Daddy wasn't coming back but she soon accepted it, I think that's when she
become stone cold as she is today. Spencer was okay with it since Danny
left when he wasn't even two yet."

	"That's so sad. Does he ever visit?"

	"He came two years ago. But neither Spencer nor Megan had anything
to do with him so he hasn't came back since. He finally realized the damage
he caused to Megan and me and that he was never there for Spencer so he
didn't need Danny."

	"Have you ever tried dating?" Mr. Glover asked.

	"Yes. It doesn't work though. I'm not going back out on the market
until Spencer and Megan are gone for college."

	"This may sound weird, but I have some friends who are single. If
you ever change your mind I could help set you up on a date. Trust me,
these men aren't strange, they're pretty normal." The adults laughed.



	The topic quickly changed after that, we talked about Mason's
football, Megan's scholarships to some in-state schools, and some other
things. Thankfully, my love life never came up, Mom was actually
very...normal that night and didn't try embarrassing me or Megan.

	"Mason, sweetie. I know this may sound too childish, but would you
like to stay over? I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind and I'm sure Spencer
would like to have someone over." Good ole mom; ruining my life piece by
piece.

	Mason turned towards his parents. "We don't mind at all. The only
thing is that you'll be stuck here 'til one of us comes to pick you up. You
can't run off." Mason's mom said.

	"That's okay. I don't think I want to run from Spencer anyway. I
do, however, need some clothes to put on for tomorrow and tonight." Mason
said. I was shocked that he actually wanted to stay.

	"I'll be back by tonight then." Mason's dad said. "I have to run to
the store later anyway. Garret forgot to tell me about a project he needs
to take in to school Monday morning." He ruffled Garret's hair and Garret
blushed.

	"Thank you for staying Mason." Mom said. She crouched down to Alex
and Garret's level. "It was nice meeting the two of you. I hope I made the
food yummy enough for you."

	"You did. Thanks." Alex said with a smile. Garret blushed and
turned away.

	Mom then stood back. "I hope we can do this again some time. I love
having guests over and you all seem to be some of the best guests I've had
over lately."

	"As long as you cook like that again, we'll be over here in a
heartbeat." Mason's dad said, causing everyone to laugh.

	"Maybe we can get together Christmas?" Mrs. Glover said. "I would
say Thanksgiving but we already have plans for then."

	"Christmas sounds good. You all are coming over early though so I
will have some extra hands to help me make all the food we'll need." Mom
said.

	"We'd have it no other way." Mrs. Glover said. After everyone said
goodbye and got their final words in to each other, the Glovers, excluding
Mason left.

	Megan sighed and returned to her fuck-the-world attitude and went
back upstairs. Mom had me and Mason help her clean up the dining room and
kitchen. Normally I would complain the whole time, but Mason was there to
help and he made it a little more fun.

	"Thank you for helping me, boys." My mom said when we finished
cleaning.

	"You're welcome Ms. McAlister. I should be the one thanking you for
having my family over and for letting me stay the night."

	"You know you're allowed to come over here whenever you want. I
want you to be more like a son than my son's friend."

	"Thanks Mom." I said sarcastically. Mason and I laughed.

	"You know what I meant, baby. I'd have both of you as sons."

	Mason and I told my mom good night and went up to my room. It felt
a little awkward because Mason has never been up to my room. Daniel, Kurt,
and even Trey have been up here, but because Mason seemed to be scared to
be seen with me in public, I never thought he'd like to be stuck with me.

	"So, what do you have to do?" Mason asked as he shut my door behind
him.

	"Umm...a couple video games and my laptop."

	"What games do you have?"

	For the next hour and a half, Mason and I played games on my
Wii. For the most part, Mason kicked my ass at video games. There were a
few, however, that I dominated him at. Mason also happens to be a sore
loser so every time I would be winning, he'd "accidentally" knock me over
or unplug my controller. I'd still kick his ass at those few games I was
better than him at though. My mom did come up once and handed Mason his bag
of clothes. Excluding that, Mason and I were undisturbed the whole night.

	"You cheated." Mason said as I turned my Wii off.

	"You're the one who cheated. I played by the rules."

	"Nooo. I told you from the very beginning, the new rule is that I
always win because I'm not a happy loser."

	"You seem pretty happy right now."

	Mason then frowned. "No I'm not."

	"Come on, Grumpy. We need to get ready for bed. We can do something
else after we're all changed and whatever."

	Mason grabbed his bag. "I'll knock on the door before I re-enter,
just in case your slow ass is still changing." Mason left the room and I
sighed. Mason really wasn't that different from anyone else I've had over;
the thing is that I know he likes me and I think he's really
attractive. Another thing is that I'm technically his cousin. I live in
California, not some southern redneck who thinks it's okay to sleep with
relatives. By the way I was just using a stereotype, I don't think every
southerner is a redneck who sleeps with relatives.

	I got up off my bed and stripped off my shirt and pants. I grabbed
my bed pants and slipped them on. Normally I would sleep like this, but
Mason is over and I'm really self conscious so I grabbed a t-shirt that was
loose fitting and I never wore.

	Mason knocked on the door right as I slipped the shirt over my
head. "Come in!" I shouted.

	He entered my room. "What happened to your stomach?" He asked as he
entered.

	"It's nothing."

	I then noticed that he was shirtless. He was wearing a pair of
shorts and that was it. Mason's chest and abs and every other part of his
body is the definition of sexy. I think he noticed I was staring because he
smiled. "Do you normally wear that to sleep?"  He asked.

	"No. I was just...I didn't think... I'm shy."

	"You know I won't make fun of you. I'm your friend, dude." He said
as he sat down on my bed. I was still standing up near my dresser.

	"Actually...Megan has told me that when you would hang around
Jordan and Isabella, you would insult me, calling me a faggot, saying you
didn't want to be around me, and other things like that." I don't know
where that came from, but it just came out.

	Mason sat up on the bed and sighed. I could see that he felt
hurt. "I'll admit that I did. I was just...I'm an idiot, okay? I was more
worried about being popular than having real friends. Honestly, I
apologize. I hope you can take me back." Throughout this beginning, Mason
looked like he was going to cry, so I knew that he was seriously sorry.

	"Hmm...I guess I'll take you back." I couldn't help but take his
apology. I mean, I've known about it for a long time now and I've been okay
with it.

	Mason opened his arms for me to come over to him. "Come here and
give Daddy a hug."

	"Sorry but if I hugged you I'd smell like you and I don't want to
smell like ass."

	Mason got off my bed and quickly came over and hugged me tight. My
reflexes are so slow that I never even tried getting out of the way. I did,
however, struggle to get out of his grasp, but my resisting was futile,
Mason is much stronger than me.

	He picked me up off the ground in the hugging position, my face was
jammed against his chest, I really didn't mind this position, and he
carried me over to the bed. He threw me onto it and climbed on top of me
and sat on my stomach. "So, what do you usually wear to bed?"

	"I normally sleep naked but..."

	"Then let me get you naked." Mason started to pull my shirt off.

	"I was kidding! Don't do it! Please!"

	Mason stopped and smiled. "Tell me what you normally wear to bed
then."

	"A winter coat?"

	"Spencer." Mason said with a puppy dog face.

	"Fine. Just bed pants. You happy?"

	"Yeah." Mason then continued pulling off my shirt. He threw it over
towards the dresser and examined my chest. I tried hiding it, but his feet
were on my hands so I wasn't able to move. "You lied to me."

	"Huh?"

	"The line on your stomach. You said I was just seeing things."
Across my stomach was a scar from where I was beat up.

	"I don't like talking about it. It's the only scar I have from it."
I was looking away from him because he sounded hurt. I then felt something
cold on my stomach. I looked up at Mason and he was crying. Like, legit
crying.

	Mason wiped the tears away. "Sorry. It's just...I wanted to be
there to help you. I've been there a couple of times to help you, but this
was something huge and I was busy being a dumbass and hanging around
Isabella. If only I could have manned up and hung around you, I could've
prevented you from being hurt."

	"It's okay, Mason. Don't blame yourself for what happened to
me. It's not like you're the one who hurt me."

	Mason crawled off of me and lay down. "I know. Can we go to bed
now? I don't think I can stay up much longer."

	"Yeah. Where do you want to sleep?"

	Mason lifted up the covers to my bed and pulled me under with
him. "Right here." He wrapped his arm around me, pulled my back towards his
chest, held me.

	"Okay." I turned my lamp off and placed my glasses on the side
table. I could still hear Mason crying a little and I felt bad. I soon
heard him breathing deeply and knew he was asleep. He pulled me into him a
little tighter. I soon fell asleep in this position. At that moment, I knew
I could see myself being with Mason in the long run.



	"So, I'm thinking about bringing Brennan into town today. I really
haven't got to hang out with my little cousin since I've moved here." Mason
said as we ate eggs, bacon, sausage, and biscuits for breakfast. Mom woke
up extra early to surprise us. Sadly, she came to wake us up and found the
two of us intertwined.

	"That's nice."

	"You wanna come with us? I'm sure your make-out buddy would love to
see you again."

	I nearly choked on my food. "What?"

	"My uncle told me what he saw when he went to see if you all wanted
something to drink. I didn't think you or him were that bold." Mason said
nonchalantly. Thankfully my mom and Megan were nowhere to be found when he
said this.

	"It didn't start out that way. He wanted to kiss because he thought
I was cute, even though I'm not, and the small kiss became that. We weren't
going to go any further."

	Mason laughed. "First off, you are cute. Secondly, it's okay. I
just want you to be careful. You're lucky my uncle was okay with finding
his son swapping spit with another dude. I don't think the people at the
mall are going to be as accepting so you'll have to hold back, cousin."

	"Shut up. I hate you."

	Mason couldn't help but laugh. "I'm sorry. But seriously, I'm okay
with you and him. He's sweet and normally not as slutty as you."

	I threw a piece of bacon at Mason. He, however, caught it and ate
it. "I hate you even more now."

	Mason and I finished eating and went upstairs to change. "Do you
have any body spray? I don't really feel like showering this morning."

	"You mean you shower? I wonder why you always smell like ass then."

	"Shut up."

	I tossed him my body spray. It was the Axe chocolate stuff. "Damn,
I'm gonna have to fight you and all the ladies off with this stuff. It also
explains the whole you and Brennan thing. He was trying to eat you, not
make out with you."

	"Go change."

	Mason laughed and dropped his shorts right there. I wasn't looking
when he dropped his shorts so when I turned around to ask him something, I
was greeted with the sight of one of the sexiest guys in the school in
nothing but a pair of boxer briefs . "I hope you don't mind, but I'm too
lazy to go to the bathroom." Mason said nonchalantly. "Could you please
turn around while I change out of these underpants?"

	I didn't say anything and turned around. Being a teenager, the
image of Mason taking off his boxer briefs entered my head. I then realized
I didn't have to imagine, there was a mirror right in front of me. In less
than half a second, my brain and heart battled over what I should do, my
heart won and I looked into the mirror. I saw exactly what I wanted to
see. I went to look back down and I noticed that Mason was smiling at me in
the mirror.

	I quickly looked at my feet and blushed. "Did you enjoy the sneak
peek?"

	"I'm gonna go to the bathroom and change." I grabbed the clothes I
set out before I went downstairs to eat, closed my eyes, and turned to
leave. You would think I would be able to navigate through my room with my
eyes closed, but somehow I went towards Mason. The hand I had out in front
of me to keep myself from running into anything placed itself on Mason's
chest. I sighed in relief that it didn't go any farther down.

	"Here," Mason said as he grabbed my hand. He started to move it
down and I quickly yanked away. He started to laugh. "I was lowering your
hand off my chest. I wasn't going to do anything perverted." He re-grabbed
my hand and led me toward the closed door.

	I opened my eyes and Mason wasn't in front of me so I let out a
sigh of relief. "I really hate you right now." I opened the door and went
out. I made sure I opened the door all the way and I didn't shut it. I was
hoping my mom would walk by before he noticed, but she didn't.

	"I hate you more!" He shouted through the shut door.

	I went to the bathroom and quickly changed. I didn't want to be
accused of pleasuring myself to thoughts of him. I came out and Mason was
standing at the top of the stairs on the phone. He was completely dressed
this time and had his bag of clothes next to him. I went into my room and
put my stuff up.

	"Dad said he and Mom will be here in about ten minutes with my
car. Go ask your mom if it's okay that you go out with me and Brennan."

	I asked my mom and she said it was okay for me to go out and hang
with Mason and Brennan. She basically kicked me out of the house and told
me to stay out as long as I could.

	When I went back to where Mason was, he was on the phone
again. "Hey...I don't know if I'll be able hang out that long. I already
had plans for the day and I forgot."

	"Oh. Ok." I said. "It's cool though."

	"Actually...give me just a second." Mason went into my room and
continued on his conversation. He came out about five minutes later. "Would
you be willing to come over to my house around five? I'm going to have some
people over and I want to invite you to make up for everything I've done."

	"Who all will be there?"

	"Umm...Brennan, Tyler, Lily, your sister, Daniel, Kasey, Emma, Max,
Macy, Kurt, Eric, Hailie, and you can bring Lizzie along as well. It was
going to be me, your sis, Tyler, and Lily, but I was able to get it to a
small get-together because I wanna announce to my new group of friends and
some acquaintances that I am going to stop being a pansy and openly be your
friend."

	I smiled. "Thanks, I guess."

	"Don't mention it."

	Mason and I went downstairs and waited for Mason's parents on my
front porch. They soon arrived, Mason's dad in his car and Mason's mom in
Mason's car. We greeted them and exchanged hugs, Garret and Alex were in
the car and didn't feel like coming out to say hey.

	Mason and I got in his car and headed out to go pick up Brennan. I
was actually kind of nervous because Brennan and I have only texted since
the day we met. I was hoping he wouldn't think it would be awkward around
me.

	We got to his house and I felt the butterflies in my stomach. "Get
in the back seat." Mason said.

	"Huh?"

	"Get in the back seat."

	I was confused, but I listened. I crawled back and got into the
back seat. We waited about ten minutes before Brennan finally appeared at
the front door. He has wearing a nice pair of jeans and an Aeropostale
shirt. Normally I don't notice such things, but Brennan really knows how to
make himself look nice in clothes.

	He came out to the car and got in the back seat with me. "Hey
Spencer." He said smiling.

	"Hi." I couldn't help but smile right back at him. His eyes really
stood out today. I wanted to lean in and kiss him, but I was scared as to
what he would do.

	"Okay love birds, don't start fucking in my car. Save that for the
party."

	I rolled my eyes at him. Brennan giggled at me. The three of us
started to talk about random things 'til we reached the mall. Mason was
right, Brennan actually is very sweet; I also noticed he's very shy. I
don't know what was going through his mind the day we met, but I was happy
that he wasn't himself long enough to get me to be his "boyfriend."

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	Every time I read a story of Nifty, I never read the top part, so
just in case you are like me and only read the bottom portion if you liked
the story, here is my email again: wah.stories@yahoo.com. Also, if you want
to be on my email list to find out when new chapters come out, include that
in your email. AND if you email me, please state what story you're
referring to. Thanks for reading the twentieth chapter of my story.
	I'd also like to give thanks Joh, my editor, and Trish, who now
helps me come up with ideas for the story. Without John, this story would
be LOADED with grammatical errors. He is sweet enough to look thorough it
thoroughly and find all those mistakes. Without Trish, my story would be
really bland right now. She has, and hopefully will later on, help me think
of great ideas for the story.
	For those of you who are unaware, I plan on ending this semester
with chapter 25. I plan to then pick up with the next semester and finish
Spencer's freshman year with chapter 50. That means the story is only 40%
done with this chapter and there is still a lot of stuff that could
happen. If you have an ideas please tell me. I appreciate both fan mail and
critism. Until recently everyone kept saying I Was doing a fantastic job,
there have been a few people who have now told me that I was causing harm
to the story with the way I was taking it. Although I was upset at first, I
highly appreciate those who went against the norm and helped me become a
better writer. And don't worry Josh, I won't tell them that you were one of
those who did it, but I'd like to thank you and the others for doing so.

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