Homecoming Hearts Series Collection

by HJ Welch

  Just when Blake thought the nightmare might be over, the shot changed from the far away one that had captured him and Elion at their table. Now it showed Elion back behind the counter, making a couple of coffees.

  “We went to high school together,” said Elion, looking to the left of the camera.

  This looked like it was shot in portrait mode on a phone. Again, Elion’s sound was being caught by another mic. Presumably whoever was on the left of the shot.

  “Yeah, he’s my boyfriend. He’s just getting settled back in town, you know? He’s a really great guy, totally genuine. I’m so glad we had a chance to reconnect.”

  Between each sentence, the camera cut away to wide shots of the coffee house, or back to Karyn and her girlfriends still ‘watching.’ Maybe they weren’t being shown in the right order. But all those words were unmistakably coming out of Elion’s mouth.

  Anger rose up inside Blake. Had Elion been in on this too? Why would he set him up like this? Fuck. He was probably just looking for his own fifteen minutes of fame like every other asshole out there.

  Karyn’s talking head in the studio popped back up again. “I just think it’s incredible, you know?” She sighed and swept back her shoulder length, dark blonde hair. “They may not be together anymore, but Below Zero are such inspiration for the LGBT community. First Joey came out as gay, now Blake is being open about his bisexuality. Is it cheesy to say I’m proud of them?” She laughed. “I’m going to say it anyway.”

  The image froze on her beaming face.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Blake’s mom rasped.

  For once, Blake wasn’t unsure of what to say. He was more than incensed himself. “That is completely and totally fake!” He turned to Seth. “I don’t know how you stitched that together, but Elion and I are just friends. That’s all!” A thought occurred to him. “Did you get permission from him to air this?”

  Seth shrugged. “The laws are different for online content. None of you are getting paid, all the money comes from advertising. He could sue us, but,” he smirked, “is a poor kid like that going to hire a lawyer?”

  Blake was utterly appalled. “So you admit that you made that all up?”

  “Of course,” Seth replied. Like it was no big deal. The women sat around the sofa were flicking their wide eyes between them, sipping on their pink wine.

  Blake’s mom made a high-pitched noise. Watson, who had been napping on the fluffy rug on the floor, whined as well then scampered out of the room. Blake wished he could follow her.

  “This wasn’t in the version you showed me!” Blake’s mom yelled at Seth.

  Kala and Marcus had moved about the room, still filming. Blake wasn’t sure if it was too meta to show them arguing about the contents of the previous episode. Maybe they were just stockpiling reaction shots. They obviously liked to film things then edit them where they didn’t belong.

  “You wouldn’t have approved,” Seth replied smoothly.

  “Because it’s a lie,” Blake stuttered.

  “Because Blake isn’t bisexual,” his mom screeched. “How dare you slander him in that way?”

  Was that really what she was so mad about? Not the entirely fictional story, or that they hadn’t asked Elion’s permission. She was losing her mind at the suggestion that Blake could be in any way queer?

  He wanted to say something, but there probably wasn’t much point. Blake wasn’t bi. Still, the idea that he could be really wasn’t as horrific as she was making it out to be.

  “The Elion kid is gay though,” said Seth, cocking an eyebrow. “The tension there was delicious. I saw an opportunity and I took it.” He shrugged. “Elion was more than happy to play along.”

  Was he now.

  Blake ignored as Seth as his mom continued to have at it. The sickening realization that he’d been betrayed washed through him like acid. The only thing he felt had been truly real since he’d come back home, and that turned out to be all fake too.

  He didn’t pause as he fired off a simple message.

  ‘I thought I could trust you.’

  Blake hit send.

  8

  Elion

  Elion stared at his phone screen as if hoping the message would start making sense. Or that the growing sense of dread would dissipate. Neither happened.

  ‘What the hell are you talking about?’ he wrote back.

  He bit his thumb and paced around his small bedroom. He made the bed as something to distract him. Then he stacked up some dirty dishes and took them down the hall to the kitchen where his mom was making something spicy with chicken.

  “Dinner’s in ten,” she said. She stirred the pan with one hand and typed rapidly on her phone with the other.

  Elion was normally always hungry. Now he just felt sick. The phone pinged with a message and he practically threw the dishes into the sink. Ignoring his mom’s protests, he scurried back towards his room, opening the text.

  ‘I saw your interview. I hope you enjoy your flicker of fame. Trust me, it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.’

  “Well, that makes absolutely no sense,” said Elion aloud to himself.

  He sat heavily on the bed and tapped out a hasty reply. He had been elated to see Blake’s name on the text I.D. Now he was panicking that he’d done something to piss him off. He couldn’t see how that was possible.

  The only people he had talked to about him were his friends and co-workers, who he trusted, and that guy in the coffee house after Blake had left. He’d made sure not to say too much to any of them though. And anything he had mentioned had definitely been positive.

  ‘I didn’t do any interview. I honestly have no idea why you’re mad at me.’

  The response came in the form of a YouTube link.

  He clicked on it, and after the ads played a TV show started. Blake’s face was the first to come up on the opening credits. Oh, that was right, he wasn’t just teaching dance. Someone said they were making a reality show out of it too. This must be it.

  He was still none the wiser. He couldn’t bring himself to sit and watch kids trying to dance or the pushy parents encouraging them. So he skipped ahead through the episode, moving his finger a fraction at a time, trying to see what Blake was talking about.

  It became pretty obvious once Elion’s face popped up on the small phone screen.

  “Oh my God,” he whispered.

  He went a few minutes back on the footage, then watched in horror as the scene of him and Blake unfolded in all its grotesque glory.

  There was no sense in texting back. He smacked the call button and jammed the phone against his ear. “This is bullshit,” he cried before Blake could even greet him. “I never said I was your boyfriend. I had no idea there was a camera crew there. And I sure as hell didn’t give them permission to fucking film me at the counter!”

  There was a pause. “Yeah?” said Blake from down the line. He sounded hopeful.

  Elion rubbed his hand through his hair and began to pace his room again. “I swear to you. I didn’t even know you were making a show until Devon mentioned it yesterday. They twisted what I said just like they twisted all the rest of it.”

  He heard Blake sigh. “Jesus, man, I’m sorry. I jumped to the wrong conclusions.”

  Elion laughed bitterly. “I bet. Can you take it down?”

  “There’s a contract with the production company that means we have to keep it up,” Blake mumbled miserably. “We could still take it down and fight them on it. But then that looks suspicious. There’s already a lot of views on it. So, the advertisers will want to keep it up too.”

  Elion stopped walking. “How many views?”

  Blake didn’t answer for a beat. “Over twenty-five-thousand.”

  “Fuck!” Elion yelped. “It only went up an hour ago!”

  “I know,” said Blake dejectedly. “Look, we’re having a crisis production meeting here. Do you maybe want to come over? This involves you too now.”

  Elion’s horror was mo
mentarily put aside at the realization that Blake had just invited him to his home. But then he remembered why, and he couldn’t hold onto even a glimmer of excitement.

  Sure, everyone around here knew he was gay. But this was a small town and people just generally kept to their own business. What if some homophobic asshole saw this and decided to make the drive for a little faggot-bashing? Or what if the people on his doorstep who normally left him alone read the comments under the video and realized that actually, it would be kind of cool to mess with him.

  Because the comments were starting to come in.

  ‘Whos this prick tryna make Blake gay??????’ read the top one. ‘He better WACTH OUT!’

  There was no putting the cat back in the bag now. The best he could do was make sure he had a say in what these people were going to do with his life.

  “Are you telling me you didn’t have anything to do with putting me on the show?”

  “I would never have let them film us,” said Blake. “I’m fucking furious and I’m going to do everything I can to fix this.” Elion believed him. They were both victims here.

  “Okay. What’s your address?”

  The Jacksons’ house was exactly the kind of mansion Elion would have expected. Its dark colors looked menacing in the dusk and it was so tall in loomed above the telephone poles and power lines running along the street.

  He parked his rusty old car in the drive out front and rang the bell in trepidation. This whole situation had gone sideways so fast. There he’d been, just hoping he might get to see Blake one more time before he disappeared into the big wide world again. Now he stood on his doorstep, his heart in his throat.

  He hoped he wasn’t mad at him anymore. He said he wasn’t. In fact, he’d apologized a couple of times over the phone. But Elion would feel better once he knew for sure. After all, he was the gay one in this situation. If he hadn’t flirted so damn much, they wouldn’t have had anything to make that ridiculous story up with.

  Before Elion could worry himself into any more of a frenzy, the door opened. Blake’s sister, Jodi, was on the other side. A tan, black and white beagle was circling around her feet.

  She was no longer in sports gear. But even in denim shorts and a floral t-shirt she still had an athlete’s look about her. It didn’t appear that she was wearing any makeup and her hair was once again high up in a ponytail. It suited her though.

  As she fully opened the door, her scowl transformed into a smile, then a look of pity.

  “Uh oh,” said Elion.

  Jodi glanced behind her. “I can say you were a Jehovah’s Witness if you still want to make a run for it?”

  Elion laughed ruefully and rubbed the back of his neck. “Nah. I’m here now. Best to probably try and sort it out as best I can.”

  Jodi stood back to let him in. “Look, for what’s it’s worth, I told them this was completely outrageous.”

  The dog was head-butting his leg, so he stooped to stroke its back.

  “Watson,” Jodi admonished, but Elion shook his head.

  “It’s fine. Thanks,” Elion said, stepping over the threshold. “This whole thing. It’s, um, kind of insane. My biggest concern when I left work earlier was what I was going to have for dinner. Lucky my mom is awesome and agreed to save me a plate for later.”

  Jodi looked at him with sympathy again. “Come on,” she said. “They’re in the den.” She closed the door and led the way.

  The dog almost tripped him up sniffing at his sneakers. “Hello again,” he chuckled, leaning down to scratch between its long, floppy ears.

  “She likes you,” commented Jodi with half a smile.

  Elion sighed and stood up straight. “I’m glad somebody around here does.”

  The den looked like it was up ahead. Elion could hear raised voices and he winced. But Jodi turned to face him before they could walk any further. “This isn’t your fault,” she said, holding up her hand. “Or Blake’s. Our mom brought this on herself by making this stupid show. You do whatever you have to to protect yourself.”

  Elion blinked. She may have looked younger than him, but she didn’t sound it. “Um, okay,” he said. She nodded and they carried on into the adjacent room.

  Blake may have been the popstar. But it was time for Elion to face the music.

  9

  Elion

  There were several people grouped around the square sofa set inside the den. They all turned to look at Elion as he came in, falling silent. He gulped.

  Blake was easy to spot straight away. He looked gorgeous as ever even though all he had on was an old pair of sweatpants and a plain blue t-shirt. It really brought out the color of his eyes. And clung to all those lovely muscles, of course.

  Elion didn’t want to risk getting caught ogling though when that was what had got them into this trouble in the first place. So he turned to inspect the rest of the gathering.

  There was a middle-aged white couple who he guessed had to be Blake’s parents. Mrs. Jackson was slim and fit, dressed a little young for her age with her hair in a ponytail, just like her daughter. Mr. Jackson had his hands in his suit pants pockets and his angular jaw was set at a displeased angle. He wasn’t wearing a jacket, but he still sported a shirt and tie.

  Elion fidgeted in his beat-up sneakers, ripped jeans and cartoon cat t-shirt. Christ, why hadn’t he thought to change before racing over here?

  Three people were dressed more casually at least. The girl with the ear gauges he didn’t know. But the short guy and the chubby one he did.

  “Oh, hey asshole,” he said cheerfully with a wave. “Here to film me illegally again?”

  The petite guy didn’t flinch, but Mr. Jackson held his hands up. “Okay,” he said. His voice was like gravel. “Nobody has done anything against the law here. But tempers are running high and we need to discuss how to proceed. So why don’t we all just take a seat and talk this through, rationally.”

  Mr. Jackson had a commanding tone about him that made Elion wonder if he was a lawyer or something?

  As the group shuffled Elion thought it would probably be best if he just stood. But Blake caught his eye and subtly jerked his head. He was inviting him to come join him.

  Well, if he got nothing else out of this shitty situation at least he could rub shoulders with Blake. He jogged down the couple of steps into the well where the couch was nestled and dropped onto the cushion by him.

  “Thanks for coming,” Blake muttered into his ear. “I’m so sorry about all this.”

  It was hard to be mad looking into his baby blue eyes. “It’s cool,” Elion assured him. Even though it really wasn’t.

  Watson, the dog, came and threw herself over Elion’s feet. She shuffled a bit, closed her eyes, and looked like she fell asleep immediately. Looks like he wasn’t going anywhere soon.

  “What I don’t get,” said Mrs. Jackson, like she was carrying on a conversation, “is why you made it look like Blake’s gay.”

  “Bi,” the shorter guy corrected. He wasn’t half as charming as he’d been in the coffee house. Elion felt so stupid for being duped like that. “He’s had girlfriends in the past, yes?”

  “Whatever, Seth,” Mrs. Jackson snapped. “What possible benefit could you have for making him look gay? Are you trying to sabotage the show?”

  The guy, Seth, blinked slowly. “You wanted this to stand out from other shows on the market in the same genre. Did you know the main demographic we’re targeting for our audience is between eleven and sixteen-years-old? Do you know how many people in that age group as well as those up to those in their mid-twenties, now identify as being LGBT plus?”

  Mrs. Jackson looked like she was going to answer, but Seth obviously didn’t need that.

  “Fifty. Fifty percent. That’s half of your potential viewers, Mrs. Jackson. Not to mention Hollywood is the queerest industry there is. They’re finally being given a chance to represent different sexualities in a positive light and self-made content like ours is the best place to explore
these new opportunities without studio interference.”

  “But you did it without asking us first,” Mr. Jackson snapped.

  “Blake isn’t even gay!” shrieked Mrs. Jackson.

  “Yeah,” mumbled Elion. “Because that’s such an awful thing.”

  He could feel his skin prickling but he refused to look away from Blake’s mom. Surprisingly, he felt Blake himself shift a little closer to his side.

  “Yeah, Mom,” he said. “I know I’m not technically gay or bi or whatever. But Joey is. Elion is. It might not be the truth, but Nessa isn’t that much of a bitch. You seem okay with the show lying about her.”

  Mrs. Jackson’s mouth pursed in a hard line. “People love a bitch. They don’t love the gays. Sorry, honey,” she added towards Elion without really looking at him. “Not that there’s anything wrong with it. But Blake, you’re not like them.”

  “Well, now people think I am,” Blake said. He was doing well at keeping it together. But as they were so close Elion could feel him trembling ever so slightly through the sofa cushion. “What do you want me to do? Come out and say it say it was all a joke? I may not be a part of the LGBT community, but I support it. I support my friends.”

  Mrs. Jackson laughed shrilly. Jodi rolled her eyes at her and began fiddling with her phone.

  “Then what do you suggest?” Blake’s mom asked. “We let people think you’re gay? The ratings will never get off the ground.”

  “Actually,” said Seth. He turned his laptop around and showed he some sort of graph. “Ratings are twice what I’d predict for a debut episode with this limited time and budget for advertising.”

  Mrs. Jackson immediately calmed down. “Twice?” she repeated.

  “You’re trending on Twitter, too,” said Jodi. She waved her phone at the group. “The hashtag is #BisexualBlake and people have a lot to say.”

  “Good or bad?” Blake asked. His voice was strained.

  His sister grimaced apologetically. “Both.”