Music - The Distance by THE QUEEN Mariah Carey

•••

Todd

Like our usual routine, I headed to the cafeteria and found Hollie and Phil at - one could say it was officially - our spot. However, there was another person joining us at our table and I was not at all excited about it. It was none other than Phil's girlfriend, Kristy Jacobs.

"Your boy's grounded," I told them as I placed my food on the table and Hollie shifted to the right to give me some space. Both my friends had been grounded more than twice in the past due to their carelessness and lousy excuses that led to their parents eventually finding out that they had only been out partying the entire night. I wasn't the type of teen to be grounded easily as I always stayed at home doing my homework and playing video games.

"Normally, I'd say it happens, but I'm actually concerned. You must have done something really awful, dude," Phil said and as I gazed beside him, Kristy was just observing our conversation. "What happened?"

"Dad found my cigarettes in my drawer," I said.

Kristy quirked her brow while my two best friends stared at me in total disbelief.

"When did you even start smoking?" Hollie asked, her mouth agape. "Quit that shit."

I rolled my eyes and shook my head as I dug on my food, ignoring her words. It wasn't as if I smoked more than two packs a day. I could barely finish a pack in two days. I was doing just fine. "Okay, mom."

"Dude, that ain't cool," Phil shook his head, his arm draped over Kristy's shoulders, rubbing her shoulder blades. "My grandpops died of COPD."

"I'm serious, Phil and I are gonna keep a close eye on you." Hollie squinted her eyes at me as she threatened me with her bread knife. I scoffed and turned to my side to look at her and smirked. I wasn't surprised when she knew what was behind my sly smile as her eyes almost bulged right out of their sockets. "You have some in your bag right now, don't you?"

"Just relax, okay. I'm not gonna die anytime soon," I told her which only resulted to my friend groaning like an upset parent. I shifted my bag on my chest and zipped it open, pulling the envelope that had our pictures from last week. I handed them the envelope and said, "By the way, the pictures from last week are here, look."

Phil was the first one to look at the set of pictures, laughing and smiling at some of the silly photos I took of them at the beach. "Check out my abs, babe." He showed his picture to Kristy who wasn't at all impressed based on her facial expression. I remember taking that photo of Phil where he had to suck up air to hide his belly fat and highlight his non-existent abs. He was stocky before, but he gained weight these past few months.

"How come I wasn't invited?" Kristy asked and looked at me as Hollie scoffed loudly in the background. "And Gray was here?"

I raised my brow and laid my cheek on my knuckles, amused by what she just asked. "Well, we're not close," I said. "We're barely acquaintances."

I added, "Gray is a close friend of mine, so you go process that."

"Speaking of Gray, I haven't seen him all day." Hollie wondered.

I decided not to tell them what happened last night and I'd rather let Gray tell them about it when he returns. Gray skipped classes today and told me he would try to ask if he could stay at his aunt's for awhile. I insisted mom and dad would be fine with him staying at our house for a couple of days but he refused to because he didn't want us involved in his problems. I could only hope his aunt would let him in.

"He's probably with his boyfriend again," Kristy said as she sent us a sly smile. I rolled my eyes but Hollie and Phil seemed interested in what she was about to say. "Cade told me he saw Gray with a college guy at the drive-in last week."

"And somehow he is automatically his boyfriend now?" I asked in annoyance. "It's almost ironic that Cade always catches Gray with a guy and accuses him of being gay while he's the one who seems pretty much obsessed with the captain of the basketball team."

I knew Gray was with Angelo, but since Gray didn't come out to the school yet, I wanted to kill the rumors off. As long as he was straight to these people's eyes, he'd be alright. Oh, the tragedy.

"You would say that because you're close to him," Kristy snickered as she chewed on her chocolate bar. "So close that it's almost suspicious."

Phil finally handed the pictures to Hollie while I decided to ignore Kristy for the rest of the day. "Babe, cut it out. Gray and Todd are my pals. They ain't fags."

'This asshole...'

After taking a quick scan at the photos, Hollie turned towards me, her lips curved into a side smile. She said, "These aren't all the photos, the only shot I took is missing."

I cleared my throat and stared at my meatloaf, slicing a part of it with my knife as I avoided her gaze. I said, "The guy at the shop must have dropped it somewhere."

Hollie sighed and shook her head as she began to tsk. "That guy from the shop must have kept it and did something weird with it." She said, her gaze not leaving me. "Poor picture."

Kristy and Phil then stood up from their seats. "Where you guys goin'?" I asked. "Sorry dude, I'll be at their table, okay?" Phil said as both he and Kristy left our spot.

I sighed. "Why does he have to date that girl?"

"You're gay," Hollie stated quietly yet so suddenly that I was taken aback from my seat.

With an awkward chuckle, I shook my head and said, "W-what the hell a-are you talking about?"

"You're gay and horny," She grinned and besides my flaring cheeks, I didn't know what I should feel by the sudden confrontation. "You're the 'guy from the shop!'"

"No I'm not, Hol, where are you getting this information from?" I denied, trying my hardest to act calmly about it but Hollie could see right through me.

"You're horny for Tony," She smirked and giggled as her imagination yet again made her space out a little. "Come on, Todd, admit it, you like Tony."

I heaved a sigh and rolled my eyes. "Alright, I do like Tony, but I'm not gay."

"You're bi then?"

"I guess."

She then gasped and shook my shoulders. "You should tell Tony."

"I did, but he kind of rejected me," I confessed and Hollie scoffed, her face in total disbelief.

"That melodramatic queen," She laughed as she massaged her temple. "He's so into you, he was checking you out every minute you're not looking last weekend."

I pursed my lips, trying hard not to grin at the newly found information. "He was?"

"We took that photo especially for you," she said. "He was so willing to be your secret Playboy model."

"You two set me up?" I asked in disbelief and to the fact that I fell for it.

'Damn you, Tony's hot body!'

"So what did you like about him?" She asked. "I couldn't blame you if it was his looks. He's so classic Hollywood."

I ran my hand through my hair and yet again sighed. "Well, I guess you could say that his looks did catch my interest," I told her. "He's hot."

"But it was his maturity that...you know, got me all tingly inside," I added. "I love that he acts older than his age. It seems like he knows what he wants. I don't even know what I want right now, but I do know who."

"I'm so not used to this cutesy, cheesy, and corny Todd, but I must say, I'm amused," Hollie confessed.

"Aren't you even a little weirded out by the fact that I like a guy?" I asked, still in awe by her nonchalance about me being bisexual. "Your best friend is into dudes, Hol."

"It really isn't that big of a deal, Todd." She said. "It shouldn't be a big deal to anyone really. You're still my best friend and your sexuality's not gonna change a single thing about it...unless you come and steal my man in the future, then fuck off."

"Thanks, Hol."

"Mmm..." She hummed and sent me a smile. "So, let's talk about Tony's butt..."

•••

Tony

I was awakened by continuous knocking on the door. It was just around ten o'clock in the evening but I decided to sleep early as I didn't have anything to do and Joanne was in her classmate's place, cramming their school project that was due tomorrow.

Slowly, with eyes that were disturbed and now suddenly awakened by gentle but still pretty loud knocks, I made my way to get to the door and take a peek through the peephole to see who the inconvenience was.

It was Todd.

As I opened the door, Todd decided upon himself to walk past through me, his hands filled with paper bags that were filled with junk foods. "I brought food and rented a movie. The Shawshank Redemption."

"I thought you're grounded?" I asked as he busied himself from taking out the items from the bags.

"Mom and dad went out on a date. It's their anniversary." Todd explained. He then grinned, as he would always do around me, and said, "I sneaked out and you won't be able to call them."

As he took his jacket off, he added, "I rode a taxi on my way here just so if mom and dad sees my car parked, they wouldn't suspect that I'm gone."

I scoffed and crossed my arms, slightly annoyed - but at the same time, amused - by his tactics. "But I can tell them tomorrow," I told him and smirked. "Todd, you've been acting like a child towards Sally and Keith lately, what's up with that?"

"Tony, come on now, I just wanna see you," He said, his eyes were pleading. In all honesty, I was in awe to see how smitten this guy was with me. "I promise I'd be home before twelve."

"I don't have a VCR," I said.

"I brought ours. It's pretty portable."

"Todd, I was sleeping." I sighed.

"Well, we can sleep together then I'll just go home in the morning."

It wasn't at all a bad idea, but I still didn't want to be involved in the possible drama between him and his parents. He was right, I did want to be in his parents' good side. After all, they were my mom's best friends.

"Let's just settle with the movie." I shrugged and helped him connect the VCR to my old TV. "You bought beer?"

"Aha," He nodded.

"Nice."

He then asked, "Where's Jo?"

"She's at her classmate's house for a school project," I replied. "That's why I thought I could sleep early tonight...obviously, everything's not going according to plan."

"Well, me being here is still a nice option, so, Shawshank Redemption...plays now," He announced, a mischievous smile drawn across his face as he pressed the play button on the VCR. "You said you loved The Shining so I thought you'd love this too. They're both Stephen King classics."

•••

After hours of cheering and feeling sorry for the film's hero, I got off the couch, my head leaving Todd's surprisingly comfortable lap, and tapped his shoulder. "You better go, Todd, it's almost one o'clock. You're way past your curfew and let me just remind you, you're grounded?"

"Can I sleep here?" He asked, again with that cheeky smile of his. "It's dangerous to go home now."

"Todd, come on now. If Sally and Keith finds out you were out and spent the night here, you're not gonna be the only one in trouble." I told him as I crossed my arms. "Please go home."

Todd sighed and slouched on the couch, completely ignoring my words.

"Gray came out to his parents," He said, changing the topic, and I was back to being a friend rather than his dad. "He was kicked out of his own home."

I was brought back to the only time Gray and I talked to each other, and it was last weekend at the cabin where he dropped his medication. Hearing the awful news, I couldn't help but worry about the guy. It could only make his condition worse. I asked, "How is he now?"

"He spent the entire evening at our house last night," He replied while staring at the ceiling. "I believe he's at his aunt's now...well, hopefully, he is."

"Todd, I need to tell you something," I said and pursed my lips, contemplating whether I should tell him about the antidepressants or just stay out of it. But Gray needed help and I could only be relieved if someone would be there for him. "It's about Gray."

He then turned to look at me, his eyes now filled with wonder. "What about him?"

It took me a couple of seconds to gather my thoughts but I eventually made up my mind. "Nothing...just please be there for him always," I told him. "Coming out is not easy, he needs support."

"I know." He said. "Tony?"

"Todd?"

He then asked, "Why don't you like 'like' me?" and I didn't know what to say.

"Todd, it's not that I don't like 'like' you, I just do-"

"So you do like me more than a friend?" He asked once again.

He was right though. I wouldn't consider him just a friend but I also didn't want to pursue what we could possibly have, especially now that my acting career was finally starting to take off. I didn't want to commit and end up not being able to give him some of my time. It wouldn't be fair for him. Todd was indeed more than just a friend to me. I nodded and said, "yeah."

"Then why can't we give it a try? Why won't you give me a chance?" He held my hand as he stared right through my eyes I almost believed he did want me. Maybe I did believe him because I knew it was true.

"Because it's not gonna be fair for you. I'll be leaving LA for eight months, Todd." I explained as I ran my hand through my hair. "I just don't want you to wait. If I'm gonna be in a relationship with you, I want to make sure you're my main priority. But my career's my priority right now."

"It's just eight months, how hard could that be?" He insisted but I was shaking my head, rejecting his words. "I'm very patient. In fact, I'm too patient, I could wait for you for many more years."

"But I don't want that. I don't want to torture you." I replied in exasperation.

"But I want you, Tony." He reached for my hands and planted butterfly kisses on them, making me shiver from the warmth of his lips. "So bad."

I had not realized how close our faces were at each other until he closed the space between us, catching my lips with his as we collapsed on the couch, his torso on top of me. An element of surprise washed over me, sending shiversall over my body as I found myself responding to his kiss with just the same amount of conviction that he had. I wanted to back off but my body was telling me otherwise.

I had longed for this moment but I was too scared to go for it as I didn't want to leave my responsibilities behind. I was about to be a star, I was about to provide Joanne a better life, and I was about to reach my dreams.

But I guess it wouldn't be too bad to have a taste, even just for a while.

In sync, his tongue stroked mine with such passion that it felt like he had been waiting for a long time for this to happen. Whenever my clients would shove their tongue down my throat, it felt gross that I wouldn't let them continue. I never thought kissing someone I actually wanted would feel so amazing.

It was when I felt way too excited that I pushed Todd away as both of us sat up from our positions on the couch. I pulled a cushion and placed it over my lap as I said, "You need to leave, Todd."

Todd fixed his crooked glasses and heaved a sigh of disappointment as he got up from the couch. "I'm... I'm sorry 'bout that. I'm sorry, I'm such a child." He said and I nodded as I led him towards the door. "See you at Thanksgiving."

"I will," I gave him a smile anyway and closed the door as I leaned on it, releasing a deep sigh of relief. I was thankful my hormones didn't get the best of me.

But there was knocking on the door again and I closed my eyes as I wiped the sweat off of my face. "Just relax, Tony," I whispered to myself and got the door.

Todd was just breathtaking to look at, and somehow I was unable to hear what he was talking about as his face was all I could see and his moans moments ago were all I could hear. "I... I left my jacke-"

I grabbed his shirt and pulled him towards me and inside the apartment as I pushed him against the door, gently but hard enough for it to close. Wanting more of him, I crashed my mouth to his, continuing what I had just tried to stop minutes before.

When I pulled away to breathe, I leaned my forehead against his as I told him, "I don't even know what I'm doing anymore but I don't care."

"Let's just not think about the things you said for a while and just live the moment." He said before devouring my lips once again as his hands played around with my hair, tugging it from time to time, which I loved.

Not wanting to break our kiss, I carefully led him to my bedroom and closed the door. When I pulled away, I swiftly peeled his shirt off, giving me a nice view of his sculpted torso. What a beautiful human being.

It was my turn to take mine off and when I did, I heard him groan under his breath as he looked me up from head to toe. "God, you're hot."

I let out a chuckle and placed my arms on his shoulders as I leaned towards him, our nose touching while we just quietly stare into each other's eyes. With such excitement in his voice, he said, "We really are gonna do this!"

"You brought a condom?" I asked.

"Uh...no," he replied and I nodded while I hands admire his toned body. Basketball and swimming really did wonders to him. "I didn't know we're gonna have sex."

"You brought a huge ass VCR but you don't carry around condoms with you?" I quirked my brow as his cheeks flushed crimson. It was refreshing to see him blush. I leaned forward and nibbled his ear gently before I whispered, "I have some in my drawer. Thank me later."

I pushed him on my bed - thank God it was a lot bigger and softer now - and crawled on top of him, but he soon got up and shifted our positions so that he was now straddling me. With a peck of a kiss on my lips, he then buried his head on my neck, sucking on a part that I didn't know would make me gasp in arousal. "Oh my God, you're good."

He then stopped and said, "but this is the easiest part, gorgeous. You have to guide me with the rest." 

As he continued romancing my neck, I tried my hardest to keep my composure to tell him something rather important. "Could you...ah...g-give... mhmm...fuck... give me a f-few-" I moaned loudly when he decided to full-on bite me. That would definitely leave a mark in the morning. "few...minutes?"

He pulled away and looked at me in confusion. "Why?"

"I have to do some preparations," I said.

"You don't have to." He was about to resume what he was doing but I stopped him.

"Oh, but I need to," I clarified as I got up from the bed. I continued, "I don't want this experience to be messy...especially with you."

He sighed in disappointment and lay on the headboard of my bed, his head resting over his arms that he was obviously flexing. I bit my lip and took a quick peek before heading to the bathroom.

Oh, the life of a gay bottom.

•••

As I finally got out of the bathroom, I stared at the clock and realized I had been there for almost half an hour trying to keep every part of my body clean. Todd did tell me he was patient so I hoped he didn't mind having blue balls for a couple of minutes.

When I reached the bedroom, Todd was already fast asleep. I let out a sigh as I stared at him sleeping, his soft snores echoing around the room. Of course, he'd fall asleep.

I got on my bed and crawled beside him. I got on my sides and draped my arm around him while I rested my head just a few inches away from his.

Cuddling was pretty romantic.

---End of Chapter 22 ---

Author's Note: I am so sorry for the long ass delay. I've been very busy and lazy lately but here's an update. In this chapter we see progress, but my question is, is it too sudden?

I originally wanted to update weekly just so the next chapter (ch23), which is gonna be a Thanksgiving celebration at the Hitchers, would be posted on Thanksgiving Day. Obviously that didn't happen. I'm still proud of myself for finally uploading tho. I hoped you enjoyed the chapter and thanks for reading!

Do tell me what's on your mind in the comments section below. Your comments are always very much appreciated.