The Bonding Chronicles Ch. 19

"Dude, seriously. Just dribble like this."

Seth was growing annoyed, still looking at Andrew with that same curious look he had given him after Physics. For at least the third time, Seth was helping Andrew as he tried to run with the ball. Andrew was making progress, sure, but he knew that the problem was his lack of practice. The ball kept finding its way into his legs as he tried to run while dribbling, bouncing off his shin or foot with stubborn regularity.

He was piecing everything together, but the coordination was proving more difficult for Andrew, who knew he could master it if only he could move with the grace his body was capable of. The unfortunate reality was that Andrew was spending much of his effort keeping from extending himself too hard, and as a result nothing he did felt natural.

It was ironic really, since that combined to make him move with the exact grace that everyone seemed to expect. Despite all of his failures, and the plentiful laughs he received as he chased after the ball, Andrew's mood remained chipper and upbeat.

"Man, I'm all feet today," Andrew joked as he picked the ball up off the ground.

"No worries. Just think how unstoppable you'll be when we play soccer," Seth volunteered, causing a ripple of laughter around him.

The basketball bounced off the side of his head as Seth looked around at the laughing faces that surrounded him, fake laughter leaving Andrew's mouth as he smiled at Seth's incredulous glare.

Sara and Bruce were partnered once more, playing one-on-one in the corner of the room while Zack and Steve played across from them. Everyone else worked on dribbling and ball control through the entire length of the class, and by the end, everyone was haggard. Mr. Spencer had worked them hard, though unlike his other classes, it didn't require much effort on his part as the mood of that group of students remained focused and determined at almost all times.

As had become his tradition, once class was over and everyone else had finished their showers, Andrew stood naked beneath a scalding hot jet of water, steam enveloping his aching muscles as he leaned against the wall. The large open shower space was empty, leaving Andrew to his thoughts, which seemed no closer to solving the problems he had been working on.

"Yo, Andrew. Ya' got a minute?"

Andrew knew Bruce's baritone voice well, and didn't bother to look back as he responded, "Man, seriously. You need to stop cornering me in the shower."

"Yeah, I know; Steve's gonna be jealous, and all that. Very funny. Ha ha ha..."

There was something in Bruce's voice that drew Andrew in, and it wasn't the crisp sardonic humor that Andrew enjoyed, but the feeling of desperation he could feel cutting through the heat of the water.

"It's just... Zack... Dr Blake's got him all twisted up, and I don't like what it's doing to him."

After rolling his shoulders, causing his small but defined muscles to reveal themselves, Andrew turned towards Bruce.

"Dude, you know how he feels about me. Fuck, look at us right now; meeting in a damn shower because he can't let go of some childhood crush. You have to tap dance around him, while his girlfriend kills herself trying to sooth his ego, and yet you expect me to help him with that bastard of a teacher?"

Unlike the last time they had met there, Bruce kept his eyes on Andrew's face, the small man's well defined body ignored in favor of the conversation they were having.

"Come on, Andrew. We both know better than that. Don't think you're fooling me with that aloof bullshit. Even if you hated Zack, you loath Dr Blake even more."

Bruce had been the only person to see through Andrew's guise, and guess at the powers he had stumbled upon.

"If you want me to help him, he needs to accept that help. I can't be his guardian angel, dude."

"You mean, like you couldn't help Will?"

Andrew twisted his gaze towards Bruce, unsure what the large man was getting at.

"Ever since you two fought, and he confronted his dad, things have gotten a lot better for him. The guys tell me even his temper seems to be more in control, which is a goddamn miracle if I ever heard one.

"And don't try and tell me you had nothing to do with that."

After rolling his eyes, Andrew responded, "I didn't, man. Sure, I knew why he was picking on me, and might have been pushing him towards making that connection himself, but I never expected what happened. Not yet, anyways."

"Well? Work that magic on Zack. I know you're special, Andrew, and if you can do that for Will, you sure as fuck can do it for Zack."

Andrew shook his head and glowered at Bruce, trying to decide exactly how much he could tell him.

"Listen, whatever talents I might possess won't help him. Will's problems were cliche and obvious, given shape by his father. Something he could challenge and overcome on his own. Zack... Shit, I have no idea where his insecurities come from.

"The truth is, I've spent my entire life being spoon fed shit by assholes and abusers just like Will and Zack. Egotistical bigots and wounded children who're afraid that the world will see just how powerless they are if they show any sign of weakness.

"My gift, if I have one, is that I survive.

"My parents tried to help, but they never knew what it was like. Sure, they tried to sympathize, but they couldn't see it, couldn't feel it. The constant moving from school to school. Never having a place to consider home. Knowing that every person I met was a visitor in my story, lasting but a few pages, until the next chapter introduced a new cast of characters. Always being compared to them and their impossible ability to achieve.

"I've learned the hard way, that you're the only person who can fix your life. For me, that was accepting who I am and no longer hiding from it, or letting people make me feel bad for it.

"Will, by some weird twist of fate, stumbled into his realization way faster than I ever thought possible."

Andrew took a long pause, breathing in the warm steam-laden air. "Do you want to know what I think of Zack?"

Bruce was stunned by Andrew's confession, never expecting the small man to so willingly admit his own insecurities, and yet finding no vulnerability exposed by Andrew's admission. All he could do was nod his response.

"If you want to help him, you need to get Zack to see that he can't survive what he's going through by himself. That if he keeps pushing people away, he's going to look around in a few years and find himself alone. For whatever reason, he thinks he needs to get through everything by himself, and resents and hates anything that defies what he thinks he's entitled to.

"I don't hate Zack. The truth is, if it wasn't for his history with Sara, or what is happening with Dr Blake, I wouldn't even think about Zack. He would be more than welcome to come to our study group with you and Steve, but that can't happen right now, and we all know it. He's not ready to see Sara and me together like that.

"It's one thing to see us here at school, being playful and affectionate, but in the context of our house... He just isn't ready for that, and things are already strained enough between him and Elizabeth as it is. Do you really think their relationship could withstand whatever fallout would come from that? That he could take Dr Blake's abuse without her?

"Fuck, his house is a teetering deck of cards, and the more we talk the more I worry for how close it is to falling. Even if I confronted Dr Blake, and found a way to get that asshole out of the picture, that would not solve Zack's problems. Unfortunately, only Zack can do that, and he needs help finding his way there."

WIth the close of his statement, Andrew raised his eyes towards the large black man who stood at the entrance to the shower. His meaning was not lost on Bruce, who studied Andrew for a long moment, the two men locked in their gaze while the football player considered what Andrew had said. The sense of worry and frustration that Andrew had felt since Bruce arrived began to change in tone. If anything, Andrew's words had made Bruce's fears worse.

Everything Andrew had said was true; Bruce knew there was no way Zack would accept Andrew's help. So, Bruce was forced to take Andrew at his word that there was no special gift he could use to help. As much as Bruce was hoping for a silver bullet to solve Zack's problem, Andrew's insight was too on the nose to ignore. All he could do was try and help Zack realize what he was doing, and hope it would be enough.

"Thanks, little-dude."

With that, Andrew once more found himself alone, the hot water enveloping him as he rinsed himself off.

A short time later, he sauntered into the cafeteria, his mood immediately brightening as he entered the wide open space. Their table was full, with Stew and his friends taking up residence at the table beside theirs. Allison had her head down and was drawing in a book, trying to tune out Sara, who Andrew could tell was attempting to dig out some secret from her friend.

The quantity of food on his plate had grown, not that Andrew noticed or cared as he piled the items up until he knew his appetite would be sated. A couple of cheese zombies, a pizza slice, two puddings and two milks made his tray a chaotic mess.

Mysteriously, there was a single free spot beside Sara, and as he sat down Andrew felt a slight tug at the side of his rucksack.

"Hey handsome," Sara whispered into his ear, her words sweetened with the scent of apple as she kissed him on the cheek.

While he shook his head, knowing she had just taken the pudding he had secreted away in his bag, he watched as she took another one off his tray. He barely managed to keep her from taking the last pudding, pulling the tray forward and snatching the sealed cup of chocolate deliciousness just as her hand lashed out at where it had been.

"Foul feline fiend!" Andrew exclaimed, the pudding cup clutched tightly in his grip.

Marcus looked up from his roleplaying book and rolled his eyes, while everyone else at the table continued having their own conversations, easily ignoring Andrew and Sara's antics. In a surprising way, their playful game became yet another note in the joyous music of their lunch, swept into the melody that surrounded them.

Andrew turned a cautious glance to Sara, seeing her watching him with a wide-eyed innocence he found almost impossibly endearing. Shaking his head, he laughed and stated, "Hey, gorgeous."

They shared a brief kiss, a spoon heaped high with pudding taking his place at her lips the moment they parted. Glancing down at the cup still held in his hand, he sighed with relief as he saw it was still sealed.

"Is it terrible that I'm surprised you didn't manage to steal that from inside my cup?"

Sara just grinned around her spoon and shrugged, as if to say, "I'll figure it out eventually."

After opening and taking a healthy drink from his first carton of milk, Andrew looked towards Alli, who was still grimacing towards her sketchbook.

"What's gotten into little miss rainbows and unicorns today?"

Allison shook her head at Andrew's words, while Sara stated, "I don't know, she's been keeping something from me. Just look at that squinty secretive face. I noticed it in Econ, but she refuses to spill the beans... It's gotta be good, like really, really, super juicy and delicious good."

Sara bit her lip as she squinted her eyes towards Alli, her spoon taking another scoop of pudding and bringing it to her mouth without deviating her attention from her friend.

"Ohh that, I figured that out like hours ago," Andrew declared, taking a giant bite from a cheese zombie and looking around at the eager faces that surrounded him.

The only person who seemed disinterested was Marcus, who continued to study his roleplaying manual between bites of his lunch, the playful antics of his friends lost behind a haze of rules and esoterica.

"Is it me, or are these getting better every day?"

Andrew held up his cheese zombie and continued to chew while he studied their frustrated faces. "No, it's just me, isn't it?"

There was something about Seth that drew Andrew's attention. It wasn't that he looked eager, if anything he seemed disinterested. That was it, Andrew realized, he was working too hard to seem aloof, as if whatever Andrew had to say meant nothing at all. The truth was, that besides Allison he was the most nervous person sitting there.

"Dammit, SD! Spill it," Sara pleaded as she tossed the empty cup of pudding into a garbage can a dozen feet away.

There was nervousness written across Alli's eyes as she glowered at Andrew, daring him to expose her secret. In the face of her threatening gaze, he just smiled and stated, "She's worried that mommy and daddy are gonna keep fighting. That pudding cups will finally tear her family apart."

The corners of Allison's lips curled into a smile, despite how hard she tried to stop it.

"Don't worry, little rainbow. We won't let a little chocolate dessert take us from you."

Sara bumped Andrew's shoulder and laughed while Allison held up her sketchpad, revealing an impressively realistic, yet somehow exaggerated version of a hand flipping them both off.

While everyone was laughing and looking at the drawing, Andrew and Allison shared a look, the sullen and withdrawn woman confirming that Andrew was aware of the kiss she had shared with his friend. Her venomous gaze turned towards Seth, whose attention was drawn by her movement. With a sheepish shrug, he acknowledged that he had told Andrew about their intimate moment.

She was upset, that much was clear, but very little of it showed on her pale face as she closed her sketchbook. Sara was still eager to know what secret Allison was hiding, and knew from her bond with Andrew that he was privy to more than he had let on. Either way, while Andrew began to eat in earnest, becoming engrossed in the discussions that everyone returned to, Sara chose to let it go.

Instead, she found herself looking out the window as she opened the second pudding, the forest swaying in the breeze and whispering to her of adventure. The first spoonful returned her to the conversation that surrounded her, the loud thrum of laughter and merriment having become a welcome surprise to her life. Looking back two weeks, when everything with Andrew came to the surface, she never would have expected her withdrawn life could have turned into the cacophony of joy and laughter that surrounded her.

Allison was studying Sara's face as she sipped from her coffee, her bag clutched against her chest as she tried not to draw attention to herself.

"How are you doing, Alli?" Sara leaned forward, continuing in a whisper, "I know things have been different since Andrew showed up... If you want, we can start eating lunch together in the hall somewhere, just the two of us like it used to be."

That offer was not something Allison ever expected Sara to make. While the tall and athletic woman had always been ferociously loyal, Allison accepted a long time ago that their friendship would always be driven by Sara's desires. Normally, it was not a problem, since they both enjoyed seclusion and found school boring and stupid. But, as she looked around at their packed table, and the large group of students that had taken up residence at the tables around them, conversations spreading between groups like a tittering plague, she knew just how much her friend had changed.

How much Andrew had changed her. A small smile crept across the corners of her mouth as she looked back at Sara, realizing how much Andrew had changed them all. She liked being in her own little bubble within the centre of the chaos that had become their lunch. Every day, as classes drew to a close, she found herself looking forward to their study group, and loved rifling through role-playing books, trying to maximize her character.

In a very real way, their lives had become full of energy and joy.

"No, I'm good," Allison responded, her eyes darting over towards Seth who was deep in a debate with a group of students. By the time her eyes returned to Sara, the lithe woman was scraping her spoon along the inside of the pudding cup while smiling at her friend. She may not know the details, but Sara now understood what the source of Allison's strange behavior was.

Allison braced herself for the teasing that would follow, expecting Sara to pull Seth out of his conversation, and barrage him with embarrassing questions. Nothing too overt, but enough to make Sara's young friends squirm as she skirted the topic they were trying to hide. After taking a long drink from her coffee, Allison realized that it was not coming. She could see the desire on Sara's face, her friend grinning with the knowledge she possessed, her eyes dancing between them and her expression changing ever so slightly as she considered what she could say, but the words never left her lips.

Eventually, they whispered back and forth about whether their 'Econ', or 'Health and Fitness' instructors were the most boring. Andrew jumped between conversations, a grin spread across his face as he maneuvered his way in and out of various discussions with ease.

In what felt like the blink of an eye, lunch was nearly over and all of them were cleaning up their trays and gathering their stuff. The atmosphere was electric with the lingering sense of happiness and excitement they had all just shared, the rest of their day seeming all the more bright for the wonderful respite their lunch had become.

Andrew shared a long and tender kiss with Sara in the hall where they were forced to part, their mouths walking just along the right side of good taste. Many students struggled not to watch the scene, Andrew seeming so miniscule and out of place wrapped in Sara's embraced, one of this hands firmly grasping the back of her neck while the other clung to her hip. Meanwhile, Allison made an unmistakable whinny noise, and followed it with the sound of vomiting.

"Ohhh my god, did you see that? I've never seen a unicorn do that before. Have you, Seth?"

Through his laughter, Seth responded, "I have! Every day, at about this time, actually."

A few students were transferring books from their nearby locker, and laughed at Allison and Seth's exchange, having witnessed the scene several times over the last week. Andrew and Sara parted with a sigh, ignoring their friends and savoring the warmth that spread out through their bond, sharing it with Karen who they both longed for in that moment.

"Seeya!" Sara stated as she abruptly turned and walked away, dragging Allison by the arm.

Andrew and Seth shook their heads as they watched the young women fade into the crowd, Allison's fake cries of pain and anguish quickly vanishing into the throng of people that scurried about the hall.

"Thanks!" Seth proclaimed as he and Andrew sauntered towards Calculus.

With a sideways glance, Andrew looked up at his friend and stated, "I'm not going to ruin this for you. But in the future, make sure Allison knows before you share what you two get up to. She's not exactly the forgiving type."

Seth laughed, "Ain't that the truth."

A few moments later they were in class, Dr Blake studying each student who entered the room from behind his scientific journal. It was very similar to their first period, the teacher zeroing in on a couple of students and pestering them with targeted questions. Andrew watched and studied the actions of their instructor, but his attention kept getting drawn to Seth who seemed to be studying Andrew with the same intensity that Andrew devoted to their teacher.

Thankfully, the students who found themselves as sacrificial lambs made it through the class with what seemed to be minimal damage. Andrew could almost feel their frustration and anger roiling off of them as they threw their books into their bags, but he could also sense a strong determination within them. Somehow, he knew that they would turn what had happened into motivation for improvement.