Date: Mon, 5 May 2014 15:38:36 -0700
From: andy dearth <andyistiredoftimeandspace@gmail.com>
Subject: Rings and Promises #17 by Kane

Chapter Seventeen: Enough with the waterworks...

Aiden P.O.V

I had a nightmare last night and woke up with a hangover from hell.
"What time is it?" I groaned. "It's 6:30, you still have time to sober
up before school." I turned and found Vulcan sitting next to me with
the most dreamy look in his eyes. "You feeling okay?" He asked. I
shook my head but that proved to be a big mistake. It hurt like mofo
hell! "No more peanut butter mommy..." I turned to see Seth sleeping
with the dumbest grin on his face. "You okay to stand?" Vulcan asked.
"Huh? Oh yeah..." I replied. I tried standing up, but you know when
you stand too quickly and you feel all dizzy? Yeah, I felt like that
only ten times worse. I fell forward, waiting for my face to get
better acquainted with the floor. But before I could make contact,
Vulcan caught me and lifted me bridal style. "W-Wha--" "It's cool, I
got you." He smiled at me and carried me up the stairs and to the
bathroom. He set me down outside the door. "You need help?" I felt my
face heat up. "No!" Raising my voice made the headache worse. Vulcan
laughed. "Not a strong drinker are you?" I shook my head. He smiled
and ruffled my hair. "It's fine...I'll make you a hangover cure."
"Thank you." I said as I looked up at him. There was something
different in his eyes. "Something wrong?" He asked. I shook my head.
"No...I...it's nothing." He leaned forward and engulfed me in a hug.
"Vulcan?" "I just thought you could use a hug." He said as he released
me. "Well get to your shower. I'll be in the kitchen." He caressed my
cheek then leaned forward and kissed my forehead. He grinned before
leaving me alone outside the bathroom to wonder what brought about his
change. "What the hell was that?" I muttered as I touched the spot on
my forehead he kissed.

I took a quick shower and got dressed quickly. As I brushed my teeth I
looked at myself in the mirror and remembered my nightmare. I dreamt
that Vulcan was leaving me. He was getting further and further away
and no matter how much I begged he wouldn't stop. His back was turned
to me and I could never get close to him. He just kept moving. I
reached out but then that's when my nightmare turned strange. Vulcan
faded from view but the next thing I knew he was standing next to me
and holding my hand. He muttered something I couldn't hear before
kissing me. "Aw man..." I felt my face heat up at the memory. I rinsed
out my mouth and went downstairs. I found Seth in the kitchen cradling
a cup of coffee for dear life. "Whoa..." He glanced at me. "Good
morning..." He said in a miserable voice. Vulcan was next to him
throwing random stuff into a blender. "You might wanna cover your ears
Seth." He said. Seth looked at the blender and its contents and his
face turned green. "Aw shit..." He got up and ran the sink, throwing
up the contents of his stomach. "No one told you to drink on a school
night dude." Vulcan smirked as he turned on the blender. The sound
only made my hangover worse. "Fuck...me..." I groaned as I sat down.
Vulcan looked at me and his eyes turned suggestive. He licked his lips
and gazed at me with intent I couldn't quite comprehend. "Someone kill
me please." Seth groaned as he sat back down.

Vulcan turned back to the blender and poured its icky blend into a
glass and pushed it towards Seth. "Drink up numb nuts." He said. Seth
didn't even hesitate. He drank half the glass and sighed. "Are you
kidding me? That stuff looks gross!" I said as he passed the glass
towards me. Seth burped. "Don't think about it, just drink it. It's
not as bad as it looks." I stared at the glass and finally took it
from him. I sighed. "If I die, stay away from my funeral." I said
before downing the rest of that thick spicy tasting fluid. It was by
far the grosses thing I have ever had the displeasure of consuming.
"If this is the cure to hangovers I'm never drinking again." I said as
I put the glass in the sink. Vulcan chuckled as he disassembled the
blender. "Again, no one told you to drink on a school night." He said.
"Yeah whatever...we needed to." Seth said as he drank huge gulps of
coffee, probably trying to get rid of the taste of that nasty drink.
"And why is that?" Vulcan asked as he cleaned everything up. "Because
I was mad enough to go find every single one of them and destroy any
chance of them ever having a future." Vulcan sighed and washed his
hands. After drying them he walked over to Seth and gave him a hug. "I
know how you feel bro. Just breath and try to get through the day.
We'll go to school and if something happens then we'll take care of
it." He let go of Seth. "Okay?" Seth nodded. "Fine, but I get first
swing." Vulcan chuckled and nodded. "Okay now go shower. You reek of
alcohol." Seth grinned and did as he was told. "Oh, and wake Maia!"
Vulcan called after him.

"Are you okay Vulcan?" I asked, suddenly wanting to know what brought
on the subtle change in his personality. He looked at me and smiled
gently. "I'm fine, why?" "Because you've been...giving me this weird
feeling." His face fell immediately. "Oh...I didn't know I was making
you feel awkward." "No, I mean yeah but...it's not awkward bad...it's
awkward...confusing?" Even I wasn't sure. "It's just...there's this
look in your eye." His smile returned but this time it was one of
confidence. "Because I decided on something." "What did you decide?" I
asked. He just smirked. "You'll know soon." With that he opened the
fridge and began taking ingredients out to make breakfast. Maia came
in a few moments later, yawning but looking well rested. "I slept
well..." She said. She gave me a hug and then sat down. "What's for
breakfast?" She asked. "Bacon cool with you?" Vulcan asked back,
pointing at a package of bacon he had taken out. Her sleepy face
brightened. "Perfect." She said. "Um Maia...weird question but
uh...has your period stopped?" Vulcan asked suddenly. It was an
embarrassing question and probably one you shouldn't ask a girl. But
not Maia, she looked like the question was one she was asked  every
day. "It's getting there." Vulcan nodded and proceeded to fry up the
bacon.

Seth came back looking fresh and awake. He dried his hair and then
tossed the towel aside, pulling on his long sleeve shirt and
straightening out his pants. "Good morning Maia." He greeted. Maia
grinned. "Morning!" Vulcan set the bacon down on the table and began
mixing some batter. He took out a waffle iron and began making
waffles. "If you want eggs, do them yourselves." He said. Vulcan
handed me a plate of waffles and I got my share of bacon. I decided
eggs sounded good so I made me some scrambled eggs. "Maia, you want
some?" I asked, grinning at her. She nodded. "Scrambled!" I laughed
and made her some. I've grown to really love Maia. I sometimes wonder
if this is what it feels like to be a parent. To look at a child and
feel nothing but unconditional love. "Hey Aiden?" I looked at Maia.
"Yeah?" She grinned. "I love you." She had the most adorable blush on
her face. I almost cried. "I love you too." I said back. We ate
breakfast and got our butts to school. I was hoping Brett would be
there but with his injuries it would be unlikely.

When we got to school, nothing happened so we went through the day
like any other. Everything was normal, time went by and we got through
most of our classes. I was really dreading my Biology class and
actually debated on whether or not to skip and maybe go see Brett. I
went to my locker and stared at my books, thinking it over. I really
didn't want to see my mother. "Aiden..." Well speak of the devil. I
turned to find my nervous looking mother standing behind me. "I was
hoping to catch you before class." "What for?" That sounded colder
than I intended but I still wasn't used to her being here. "Um...I
went to see your father." I waited for her to continue. "He said you
ran away from home." "We've gone over this." I reminded her. She
nodded. "Yes well...he says he wants you to come home." I scoffed.
"Not in this lifetime." "Aiden, no matter what you think he's still
your father." She said, clutching her hands to her chest. I slammed my
locker door shut and gave her a dull stare. "I'm actually happy now
mom, more so than I've ever been. If you think for a second that I'm
going to give all that up to go back to a father who doesn't even want
me then you're more twisted than I thought." Her eyes watered and I
began to wonder if I was being too harsh. "He does want you it's
just..." "Just what? There's no explanation for what he did. He missed
you so much he took it out on me. He doesn't want me, he wants you."
With that I left. I wasn't about to let her keep talking. I wasn't in
the mood for it.

I really did skip class. I didn't want to deal with her and her BS.
Seeing her makes me feel angry all over again. But I do miss her, she
is my mother after all. I sighed. "I'll just go and see Brett." I left
school grounds, not caring who saw me. I wasn't in the mood. I decided
to head to the nearest bus stop. I could use the ride to clear my
head. I didn't want to see Brett or Eli with an angry face. It would
probably just depress them. I hopped on the bus and hoped that it
would take me anywhere near the hospital. When I finally got there, I
walked around hoping to find a nurse that could help me. Instead, I
found Eli sitting in the waiting room and drinking coffee. "Eli?" He
turned and looked at me. "Dude!" He said as he stood up and hugged me.
"What's up man?" I asked. He just shrugged. "Not much, Brett's with
his mom." I nodded. "So does she..." He grinned. "Yup, and she's
totally cool with it." "Then what are you doing out here?" I asked.
"His dad is in there." I flinched. "Oh, that's gotta be tough." He
nodded. "I didn't want to leave but Brett insisted he wanted to do it
alone." "And you let him?" I asked incredulously. Eli just looked at
me. "We gotta go see!" I said as I pulled him along. "But Brett
said--" "Nevermind what Brett said! Coming out is a big step for him,
he shouldn't have to face it alone." I said. "His mom is in there." He
said as if that would make everything okay. "That's different. He
needs his lover's support!" Eli took over and led the way to Brett's
room. When we got there it was chaos.

"Honey calm down--" I suspected the woman's voice to be Brett's mom.
"Calm down? Our son's a faggot and you want me to calm down!?" That
must be Brett's dad. "Dad this doesn't have to change--" Before Brett
could finish his sentence he was backhanded across the face. "Oh my
god!" Brett's mom shouted, horrified. "Dad..." Brett pleaded. "Listen
to me you little butt pirate, from now on you are no son of mine. I
will not have a little faggot in my house do you hear me? If you come
back home I will have your ass thrown back out. Do you understand me
fag?" Brett looked down. "Dad..." He was backhanded again. "Don't call
me that you little homo shit!" At that point Brett's mom finally had
enough. She grabbed the tray beside Brett containing his food and
whacked his father over the head with it. "What the fuck Karen!?" He
shouted. "Don't you dare take that tone with me Glen I mean it! How
dare you hit our son and make him feel small!? I. Will. Not. Have.
It." She glared death at her husband. "Hell hath no fury like a woman
scorned." Eli whispered beside me. He seemed to be enjoying the show.

"What are you getting angry at me for?" Brett's dad asked. Brett's mom
only grew angrier. She hit him again, this time across the face. "I'm
angry at you because you're being an immature asshole to our son! The
son we raised!" She hit him again, this time he fell to the floor.
"The son you taught to play football." She hit him again, the impact
making a loud ringing noise. "The son who thought he could trust his
parents enough to share his biggest secret!" She then dropped the tray
and kicked him, making him turn on his back. Then, with her high
heeled shoes, crushed the hell out of the guy's nuts. I squirmed and
so did Eli. "Aw man that's gotta hurt." I whispered, my face
scrunching up as I watched his turn red. Eli flinched and cupped
himself. "I almost felt that." With her heel still buried in his
crotch, she twisted her foot. Brett's dad hit the highest note I've
ever heard. "He's gonna be a permanent soprano." Eli muttered, still
cupping himself. "Now he's MY son and I'm going to raise him MY way.
You? You are going to get the hell out of MY house!" Then she stepped
away from him. "Better get packing sweetheart. I'll have my lawyer
call yours." She crossed her arms over her chest as she waited for
Brett's dad to get lost. As he stood up he glared at Brett. "I'll
remember this fag." He groaned. Brett's mom backhanded him. "Don't you
dare threaten my baby! Get lost asshole!"

When he opened the door, we stumbled into the room. "Guess we
should've thought to hide." Eli said, glancing at me. I shrugged.
"Yeah well the show was pretty good." Brett's dad eyed us. "Which one
of you is fucking that little fag over there? Or is it the both of
you?" Eli scoffed. "At least we can still fuck." I smirked. "This was
so worth ditching school. Though I'm surprise no one came when you hit
that high note sir." He just glared at me. "Would you like me to call
someone? I'm sure you'd wanna have what's left of your balls checked
out." He pushed passed us and didn't say another word as he slammed
the door shut. "Sorry, guess we shouldn't have eavesdropped." Eli said
as he hugged Brett's mom. "You are an amazing woman Karen." "Nobody
threatens my baby." She said as she returned his hug. "Oh before I
forget, Karen this is Aiden." Eli said as he let go of her and
gestured to me. I waved. "My name is Aiden Thrace, it's a pleasure to
meet you ma'am." I held out my hand for hers. As she grabbed my hand,
I held it to my lips and placed a light kiss on her fingers. "Oh my,
what manners!" She blushed. I let go of her hand and smiled. "Show
off..." I heard Brett mutter. I grinned at him. "We better get someone
in here to clean this food up off the floor." Eli said. "I'll go get
someone, you boys sit tight." Karen said as she headed for the door.
She smiled at Brett before leaving.

"Your mom is amazing." I said. Brett grinned. "So what's up Aiden?" "I
ditched school. I just couldn't deal with Biology." I replied.
"Biology? Are you having a hard time?" Eli asked. "No, it's not
that...it's who's teaching the class that's bothering me." They just
looked at me, obviously thinking all the wrong thoughts. "Nothing like
that you perverts." They relaxed. "Then what's the problem?" Brett
asked. "It's my mom." They just looked at me. "Your mom is teaching
the class?" Eli asked. I nodded. "She left me when I was five and now
she's returned from the dead twelve years later. Seeing her face makes
me feel like I've returned to hell." I must've looked extraordinarily
angry because they were giving me a weird look. "You hate your mom?"
Brett asked. That question threw me for a loop. "Hate her? No...angry
at her...definitely yes." I replied. "Maybe she's here for a good
reason." Eli said, trying to make me feel better. I scoffed. "Maybe
but for whatever reason, leaving me with an abusive father isn't
okay." Brett just looked at me. "That's why you were the way you
were." I nodded. "I thought the entire world was against me. But
Vulcan made it better. I don't want to go back to that." He nodded in
understanding. "Okay, don't talk to her...not until you're ready to
listen to what she has to say."

"Okay enough about me, how are you?" I asked. Brett sighed. "Well
considering I've had a couple more bruises added to my face and my dad
just walked out I guess I'm pretty okay." Karen returned then with a
janitor and a nurse. "Oh hey mom." Brett greeted. She smiled at him.
The nurse walked over and examined his face. "You should be fine." She
said as she smiled gently at him. The janitor got to cleaning, and
soon the room was back to being spotless. Karen thanked the nurse and
the janitor and closed the door behind them. She sat down on Brett's
bed and looked him over. "Are you okay sweetheart?" She asked. Brett
nodded. "Yeah, I'll be fine." He said. I smiled. Then Karen turned her
gaze to me. "Are you the Aiden my son was so mean to?" I did not know
how to answer that. "Yeah that's him." Eli replied for me. "I'm sorry
dear." I held up my hand to stop her. "Please don't ma'am. I
understand why Brett did the things he did. All is forgiven." Brett
sighed. Eli smirked and sat down on the stool beside Brett's bed.
Karen patted the space beside her and motioned for me to sit. I did I
was told. I wasn't about to cross Brett's bad ass mother. "Now tell me
about yourself sweetheart." She said. So I did. I told her everything
about myself. Mainly because I wanted Brett and Eli to know too, and
then maybe they'll know how much I trust them.

"And that's basically it." I concluded. I saw tears in her eyes. "No,
no don't you cry. I mean it, it's not a story that needs anymore
tears." I said as I put my arms around her. Eli looked at Brett. "And
you bullied this poor guy?" Brett held up his hands. "I know, I'm
sorry." "Okay guys chill, I'm fine!" I said as I let Karen go. "I'm
happy." I smiled. "I felt love and friendship and it's something I
thought I'd never get to have. I mean look at me." I put my hand on my
chest. "I thought that because I was trapped in a hell I didn't know I
could escape from I didn't deserve anything. Then Vulcan came and then
Seth and soon I didn't have to go back to that empty space. I'm happy
all right? So Brett I don't want to hear anymore apologies out of
you." Brett smiled but I could tell he was holding back tears.
"Dude...all right I get it." He held out his arms. "C'mon man, let's
have a first official bro hug." I smirked and hugged him. He held me
so tightly I thought my ribs would crack. Karen smiled and Eli looked
down, wiping the small amount of tears from his eyes. "So what are you
gonna do?" He asked. I let Brett go and looked at Eli. "About my mom?
I don't know. But I can't keep missing classes that's for sure." "Hey
man, we got you." Brett said. I nodded in appreciation. "I know...and
speaking of classes, Eli can you do me a favor?" "Okay shoot." He
replied. "Could you like, tell Vulcan where I am?" He laughed and took
out his phone. "All right I'll send him a quick text." I was grateful
that Brett and Eli were my friends...even if it did start with me
walking on them doing the deed.