TJ Ch. 12

Ethan's dad placed a hand on my shoulder and chuckled. "It's okay. We know how much he has Patrick wrapped around his finger."

Patrick and Ethan both looked shell-shocked. I wasn't sure if they were out to their parents or not, but the way they looked told me they weren't. Before anyone could say anything else, Mr. Marsh continued, "We've had our suspicions, both us and Patrick's parents, but Patrick's actions today confirmed it."

He turned to Patrick with a stern look on his face. "Patrick, I think you know how my wife and I feel about violence." Patrick sheepishly nodded. "You know we don't approve of violence as a means of conflict resolution." Again, Patrick nodded. "That being said, what you did today proved how you really feel about Ethan. I can't say I wouldn't have had the same reaction if someone were to physically assault either my wife or Ethan in front of me. Thank you for caring about our son. Your friendship, and uh, whatever else is between you two, have helped Ethan tremendously the past year."

Ethan looked from his dad, to his mom, then back to his dad. "Y-y-y'all knew a-about P-P-Patrick and me? How-how-how l-l-long have y-y-you known?"

His mom pulled him into a hug and said, "Oh, baby, of course we knew. You two haven't been exactly inconspicuous about it. And I guess y'all both forgot the fact your dad and I can see down into Patrick's back yard from our bedroom window. You sitting on his lap while hanging out by the pool was a big hint. After speaking with his parents, we all decided y'all would tell us when y'all were ready."

Patrick's voice squeaked a little when he asked, "My parents know and they're okay with it? Are you sure?"

Mr. Marsh placed a hand on his shoulder and said, "It took some convincing on our part, but, yeah, I would say they're okay with it. We've all suspected something for about a year now."

Before anything else could be said, Robert interrupted, "Sorry to budge in, but I need to speak with Patrick in my office. Thank you for expressing your concerns about Ethan, I'm glad he's staying with us. If he doesn't feel like staying the rest of the day, y'all can take him home now. Otherwise, he can hang out in here with Teej till lunch starts. Y'all have a nice day."

Robert motioned for Patrick to go into his office and followed him in. Once the door was closed, Ethan's mom asked if he wanted to go home with them. She reluctantly agreed to let him stay when he told her no. After his parents left, we sat outside Robert's office and waited for Patrick. Ethan was obviously upset by what Smith had done to him as well as Patrick's suspension.

When I asked him why Smith pushed him in the first place, he shrugged and said, "I-I-I'm not t-t-totally sure. H-he asked t-to sp-speak to P-P-Pauly, but I-I t-t-told him n-no. I-I said, 'P-Pauly d-doesn't w-w-want anything t-t-to do w-w-with you.' I t-t-told him t-to l-leave and that's w-w-when he p-p-pushed me a-a-and c-called me a r-r-retard. I'm g-g-glad he's g-g-gone. One less b-b-bully to d-deal w-with."

He told me how upset he was about Patrick's suspension. I drew him into a side-hug and said, "He'll be alright. He's still on the team and he'll be back in school by Friday, so he can play. We'll look out for you and take care of you." I said the last part raising my eyebrows suggestively. He laughed and hit my arm, telling me to behave. I let him know how much fun he wasn't.

Patrick exited Robert's office and went to hug Ethan. He let us know Monday was going to be considered his first day of suspension. He would be back in school on Wednesday. Patrick left for home while Ethan and I headed for the cafeteria. We met Sean, Josh, Kevin, and the rest at the table. Immediately, Ethan was bombarded with questions about what happened and what the outcome was. He got a panicked look on his face and shot his gaze towards me. I knew he wouldn't be able to answer any questions without stuttering, so I spoke up and answered the questions, letting them know about Patrick's suspension, Smith's withdraw, and Ethan's parent's decision to let him stay in school.

I noticed Pauly had a weird look on his face when I mentioned Smith withdrawing from school. I decided not to call him out in front of everyone and let it go for the moment. Once we were finished with lunch and started heading out, I told Sean to go ahead. He looked at me and I guess he saw me watching Pauly because he told me to go talk to him.

I walked over to Pauly and asked, "Hey, do you have a minute?"

He nodded but didn't say anything. We walked in silence for a bit till I finally said, "You know it's alright for you to be upset about Smith. You've been his best friend since y'all were how old?"

"Five years old," he quietly answered.

"That's almost thirteen years. It's a long time. It's hard to lose someone who's been in your life that long. But, did you hear what I asked first?"

"You asked how long we've been best friends," he responded with a speculative look my way.

"Wrong," I quickly replied, "I asked how long you were his best friend. I never said anything about him being your best friend."

"What do you mean? If I'm his best friend, wouldn't that make him my best friend?"

"Best friends don't treat each other the way he's treated you. You said it yourself. He's always manipulated you into doing what he wants."

"Yeah, I guess. It's just ..." His phone started vibrating and he pulled it out of his pocket to check the message. Then he continued, "I guess you're right. He was never really my friend." While he was talking, he was typing a response. After he hit send, he said, "Here read this."

I took his phone and read the messages.

Smith- hope ur enjoying spending time with the fags...can't believe you chose them over me...I'm moving to live with my grandparents to get away from perverts like them...and I guess you too now...have they fucked you up the ass yet? bet you enjoyed it...have a nice life fag...

Me- you know you have a lot to say about fags...just thought I'd remind you I remember the summer between seventh and eighth grade and everything that happened. You started it every time...goodbye

I reread the last message three or four times before looking at Pauly with a raised eyebrow. "Is there something you want to tell me Pauly?"

He chuckled and said, "Nothing to tell. We were teenagers and started jacking off together. That led to jacking each other off, which led to blowjobs. I stopped everything after he asked me to fuck him the first time. I told him I was straight, and I thought we were just having fun. He played it off like he was joking. We decided to not let what happened get in the way of our friendship. That's all there is to the story."

The look on my face must have been humorous, because Pauly started laughing. Finally, I found my voice. "That's all there is to the story?" I asked incredulously. "How can you drop a bomb like that on me and say, 'That's all there is to the story,'?"

He shook his head, still smiling. "What? We were young and I thought we were just playing around. I never thought it was anything more than just getting off. When he asked me to fuck him and I said no, we went back to being friends. When school started back, we were busy with football and schoolwork, so nothing happened again.

"I mean, there have been a couple of times in the past few years when he was drunk, he would start hinting at wanting to do it again. But they were spaced out so far from each other- I'm talking like once or twice a year- I thought nothing of it. He never came right out and asked for anything, he would just hint at things. The couple of times I reminded him I'm straight, he would laugh and say he was only fucking with me.

"Looking back now, I'm surprised it's taken me this long to see everything. I never cared if someone was straight or not. I said and did the things I did because it was what Smith wanted. I didn't want to lose his friendship. I didn't think of how I was hurting people at the time. I would feel bad later and when I told Smith about it, he would laugh and call me a pussy. So, to save face, I went along with him. It wasn't until after Sean was hurt and Granma called me out, I realized actions have consequences. I've been happier the past few days than I have for the past few years. I was Smith's only friend really. We didn't hang out with anyone else." He patted me on the back and continued. "Thanks for...well, just thanks for everything," he finished with a grin.

I handed him back his phone and I saw he was typing something. I asked, "What, are you going to send him another message?"

He shook his head. "Nope. I'm blocking his number. He's gone from my life and I'm moving on. Now, do you know any single girls I can ask to Homecoming? It's the week after next, you know, right?"

That brought me up short. I stopped in the middle of the hallway and looked at him. Why hadn't I realized Homecoming was going to be soon. I had noticed the posters in the hallway announcing the dance on some Saturday night. I just didn't bother to look at the date. I hadn't heard anyone in the group talking about anything to do with Homecoming; but I hadn't been hanging around everyone for the week prior during lunch. I was at Sean's house everyday during my free period and lunch. I guess with everything that happened with Sean, neither of us realized Homecoming was coming up so soon.

I started wondering if I should wait for Sean to ask me to be his date, or if I should ask him. Would he even want to go to the dance? That's when I realized he would probably have to go to the dance. He was Sean McNair. He was probably going to be nominated for Homecoming King or something.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Pauly placed a hand on my shoulder and asked if I was alright. I shook my head to clear the cobwebs and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I need to talk to Sean. I didn't realize Homecoming was so close. But I don't know if I know any girls for you to ask. I'll keep my eyes open and let you know if I see anyone. Isn't there anyone you know that you'd like to ask?"

He shook his head and said no, but from the way he blushed, I thought he was lying to me. I determined my new mission - to find out whom Pauly's crush was and somehow get them together. How hard could it possibly be?

Later that day, when Sean and Kevin came over after practice, I asked Sean about Homecoming. He immediately pulled his phone out and looked at his calendar and said, "Oh, shit! That's in two weeks." He looked at Kevin and asked, "Have you asked Josh to go with you yet?"

Kevin shrugged, looked at Josh, and said, "We talked about it this past weekend. He's going to be my date for the game and the dance. I was going to order his boutonniere next week. Haven't one of y'all asked the other yet?"

I groaned and shook my head. "No, I didn't even know it was coming up so soon. And Sean's had other things on his mind. Well, technically, if he was following the doctor's orders, he shouldn't have had anything on his mind since they told him not to think too much. I mean, come on! Seriously? Don't think too much? All that would do is make me think about the fact I'm not supposed to be thinking too much. Like all the time. That would be the only thing I could think about. Which would lead me to thinking too much."

Sean grabbed my chin with his left hand and kissed me to shut me up. When I quieted, he said, "Focus, please. You went off on a tangent before you could ask me to be your Homecoming date."

"What?" I asked with fake indignation. "Why do I have to ask you? Didn't you want to ask me? What if I wanted you to ask me? Did you think about that?" I paused and thought for a moment before asking, "Won't you probably be nominated for Homecoming King or something like that?"

He chuckled. "We won't know who's nominated until week after next. The nominations have to be made by Tuesday before school ends and then voting is done by an online poll which closes Thursday night. The results are instantaneous. I may or may not be nominated. Who knows? All I know is I would love to dance with my boyfriend to a slow song in the gym on a Saturday night. So, TJ Kennedy, I would like to know if you would be so inclined as to accompany me to the Homecoming game and dance. I would be greatly appreciative."

I was speechless for a moment, just looking at him with what had to be a punch-drunk grin on my face. Finally, he said, "I'm going to take your silence as a negative," with an exaggerated frown. "Guess I'll stay home that night."

I shook myself out of whatever trance I was in and pushed his shoulder. "Shut the fuck up, asshole. You know damn well I'll go with you to both the game and the dance. And," I added with another shove to his shoulder, "we both know you WILL be nominated for Homecoming King. Hell, I'll probably nominate you myself."

"Too bad you have to be a senior to be nominated for Homecoming King. I bet you would look hot as hell wearing a crown while all dressed up," Kevin said to Josh. "Who knows? You might be voted into the Homecoming Court."

I couldn't believe this. Homecoming Court? Did schools actually do Homecoming Courts? I know there's supposed to be a Homecoming King and Queen, but a whole court? "You can't be serious. A Homecoming Court? What the fuck?" I shot Kevin's way.

Sean answered for him. "He's completely serious, Teej. I was the Representative to the King's Court my sophomore and junior years. Kevin was the Representative our freshman year. Let's see, our freshman year, Rachel was the Representative to the Queen's Court. Jenny was our sophomore year. And, last year was Amber."

I stared at them like they had three heads each. What the fuck kind of school was I going to? Morbid curiosity got the better of me and I had to ask, "What exactly does the Homecoming Court do?"

Josh shrugged his shoulders and said, "Nothing really. The King and Queen get these big, elaborate, almost gaudy crowns and a sash. They each get robes draped around them and are shown to their thrones. The rest of the court, well, the girls get small tiaras and the guys get little crowns. They all get sashes and capes and take their seats next to the King and Queen."

I was stunned. "Okay, but why? What's the point?"

Sean answered, "Well, mainly because it's a tradition. It's the way the school's always done it and I doubt it will change any time soon. If you haven't noticed, the whole community takes school pride and tradition very seriously. Ten years ago, some of the school board wanted to do away with the dance. They said it was outdated and a waste of school funds. When some former students found out what was being proposed, they went nuts and started a petition. It generated over eight thousand signatures and the tradition stayed alive."

I shook my head and chuckled to myself. "I swear sometimes this place is more like a cult than anything."

The other three could do nothing but nod and agree with me. Then we all started laughing and went to do some homework for a while. Before Sean and Kevin left, Kevin's phone rang. It was Mr. Landrum letting him know he would bring Kevin to the DA's office on Wednesday morning. After he hung up, he was quieter and seemed to be stuck in his own head. The three of us tried our best to keep him distracted, but it was barely enough. He made sure to apologize to us before he and Sean headed home.

The next day was uneventful. We all went through the day with nothing exciting happening. Wednesday morning, Josh and I met Sean in the cafeteria. Josh looked at Sean and asked, "Did Mr. Landrum pick him up this morning?"

Sean shook his head and said, "No, my dad went with Kevin to meet him at the DA's office. He'll drop him off here at school when they're finished."

Josh nodded. "Okay. Your dad is doing a lot for Kevin. You know how much he appreciates everything y'all are doing for him, right?"

Sean grinned. "Yeah. He let's us know every night before we all get ready to go to sleep. He'll look at the two of us and say, 'Thank you both for everything y'all did today. And in case I forget, thank you for everything you'll do tomorrow. I can't tell y'all how much it all means to me.' We both tell him it's nothing, but he insists on saying it every night."

By the time lunch came around, Kevin was back. After we all sat down, Kevin told us what happened. He said he had to tell them how his dad treated him growing up, how much his dad drank, if he was ever scared of his dad, if his dad ever physically harmed him, and then what happened the night his dad showed up at the house.

When I asked what all his dad was being charged with, he said, "Child endangerment, interfering with the duties of a peace officer, resisting arrest, and possibly assault of a police officer- he tried to kick one of the arresting officers in the balls. I do have some bad news for y'all though. The DA wants you, Josh, and Sean to also give them a statement about what happened that night. Mr. Landrum asked me to let y'all know he'll set up appointments for y'all and he'll go with y'all."

We all let him know it wasn't a problem and we were happy to help the case against his dad in anyway we could. The rest of the week passed by with ease, with two exceptions. First was Stacey's continued distracted behavior. She seemed preoccupied most of the time. Secondly, Josh had to be assigned a different scene partner because John wasn't in school the rest of that week. Or the following week. Lori asked me if I thought I could handle two scenes. After she told me I would only be graded on the scene I did with Stacey, I told her yes.

Josh asked Stacey if John was sick and she told him no. He asked why he wasn't in school and Stacey stammered out, "I'm, umm, not really sure what's going on with him. I'm kinda worried about him. You saw who he started hanging out with after the fight he had with TJ and Sean, right?"

Josh nodded. I decided to tune them out since I didn't give a good-goddamn who he was hanging out with, as long as it wasn't anyone I cared about. For all I knew, he was hanging out with the druggies and addicts; honestly, I couldn't care less.

Friday night, Patrick led the football team to another win, with Sean on the sidelines calling plays. That night, Pauly let us know Doris wanted us, along with Robert and Jacob, to go to her place on Saturday afternoon for an early dinner/late lunch. When we asked him why, he grinned and said, "She has something up her sleeve, I'm not sure what it is though."

We went to the football party at one of the player's house. We didn't stay long though, it was too loud and too many people getting drunk or smoking pot. Kevin and Sean spent the night and we met Jacob at Doris Rogers' house, well mansion to be honest, at three on Saturday afternoon. From the way Jacob and Robert were smiling and talking to each other, I had a feeling they knew what was happening.

It ended up being Robert, Jacob, Josh, Kevin, Sean, Pauly, Hunter, Coach Wilson, Mr. Landrum and me enjoying a delicious lasagna for the main meal, followed by cheesecake for dessert. Once we were finished eating, Doris asked for everyone's attention. Pauly and Hunter both wore grins that matched Robert and Jacob's, as well as Coach's and Mr. Landrum's, letting me know they were all up to something.

"First," Doris began, "I want to thank you all for coming and keeping an old woman company." When I went to say something, she stopped me by saying, "Keep the smartass comments till I'm finished, please," causing everyone to laugh.

"Now, for the reason you're all here. First, Sean, TJ, and Josh, I want to thank y'all for everything you've done for my Pauly. I know it's not easy to forgive and forget. As a thank you, and because I'm rich and can do this and y'all aren't allowed to say no, you're each getting one-thousand dollars for every semester you're enrolled in college. The first deposit for TJ and Sean will be in August, as long as you're enrolled in classes. Josh, you'll have to wait till the following year.