Freak

by Alicia Masterson

  "What? That's not fair, if I knew that Brian could get us free food, I would've waited for you guys!" Brian complained.

  "Chill out, I'll pay you back if you're so upset over it. It's not like we deserve the free food for being his entourage anyway, it's not like we did anything attention-worthy," Christine joked.

  The group decided to leave it at that, wanting to just forget about Brian's popularity for as long as they could. They ate quickly, mostly because Lee demanded it. Brian chose to pacify him for a little while longer by buying him an extra bag of chips. His curiosity was gnawing at him though. He wanted to know why Christine exploded like she did, especially after getting so much positive, albeit drunken, attention moments before.

  "Christine, so… what happened last night? I think that bouncer was about to wet himself." He laughed, trying to avoid the inevitable awkwardness that would arise from that question. But he was friends with both of them too, he felt that he deserved to know what was going on, or at least a summary.

  Christine blushed, glancing over at Brian, who looked inquisitively before connecting the dots in his head. In an instant, a shameful and embarrassed look graced his face, waiting apprehensively for Christine's answer. He didn't want her to have to lie on his behalf, especially to another friend.

  "Go ahead Christine, it's fine."

  "Oh… well, what happened was-"

  Brian's phone rang loudly. Both he and Christine exhaled loudly, thankful for the momentary distraction. Brian took his phone out, but didn't recognize the number.

  "Hello?"

  "Hey. Brian, this is Corey."

  "Oh! Hey-"

  "Shh, hold up. This is important. Don't tell anyone who's on the phone. Can you take the call somewhere else?"

  "Oh… okay…" Brian said, curious and apprehensive at the same time. "Christine, you can go ahead and tell them. It's just my, uh, parents, I'll take this outside."

  Christine gave him an inquisitive stare, assuming that he didn't want to be a part of the imminent awkward conversation.

  "Where was I? Never mind, I remember. What happened was…"

  --

  "Okay Corey, no one can hear me, what's so important?" Brian asked, irritation overtaking his curiosity.

  "Like I said before, this is important. But I can't tell you over the phone. You'll have to come to my house. It's about your new captainship. Don't tell anyone you're going though." Corey hung up, abruptly, leaving Brian no room to protest.

  "Damn it… I was hoping that I could have just this one day to ignore what's going on everywhere else," Brian said to himself, checking his watch while struggling to decide his next action. "I definitely owe Corey the respect to at least see what he has to say, I mean, he was my captain, and I'm indebted to him for passing it to me, I guess… Well, I don't see any harm in it. Whatever he has to say can't possibly take that long. I'll be home way before dinner."

  Brian pretended he was on his phone for a little while longer, to give himself time to think. He was disheartened by what he was about to do, but he felt like he at least needed to start paying Corey back for his random kindness. He walked back in, covering up his apprehension with a smile. He was greeted with Brian and Lee giving him a bemused look, full of feigned hatred.

  "Brian, didn't know you were such a pimp!" Brian said, thoroughly entertained by Christine's story, much to her embarrassment.

  "Uh… ya. Sorry about this guys, but my parents asked if I could help them with something before dinner. I guess I'll just meet you there?" Brian asked, internally pleading that Christine couldn't see his through his lie.

  "Cool, we'll see you there then," she said, her head flat on the table, trying her best to not be disgusted with the way Brian and Lee took her story. Her back was to the door, and she barely saw him before he took his chance to leave. She turned back to the other two, only to find that Brian was staring out of the door.

  Turning to the door again, she saw what he was staring at. Brian took the liberty to articulate the question.

  "I wonder where he's going? That's not the way to his house." As soon as he said it, realization flashed on his face. Christine raised her eyebrow, but decided to shrug it off. Today wasn't the day to be suspicious.

  'It couldn't be… no way… but he took a left out of the parking lot, that's the way to Corey's… why did that idiot choose today of all days… I'm going to have some explaining to do, this won't turn out well,' Brian said to himself, using the last few bites of his sandwich as an excuse to finish his thoughts.

  "Well, since he took his car, I guess that means I have to give you a ride home. Unless you wouldn't mind watching Lee for me during my shift?"

  "Oh, that's fine. Better than spending the day alone I suppose. It's only fair that Brian's parents spend some time with their son too, if that is where he's going…"

  Brian avoided eye contact, opening the door for them, fishing keys out of his pocket. He mentally cursed Corey's ridiculous goal and Christine for being able to guilt-trip him without even trying.

  --

  Brian's thoughts cleared when he earned the solitude of his car. It was simple. He would humor Corey by talking with him, and then he'd insist to go home if it for some reason took too long. But what could take long? Corey didn't seem like the type to mince words for hours.

  For all of his masculinity, Brian jumped when he turned his key. Christine left her iPod on after they left his car, her music catching him by surprise. He turned the volume down slightly, listening to the song that was currently playing. Finding that he didn't hate it, he opted to leave it on. The music served as a reminder of the lie that he now was responsible for maintaining.

  As he pulled out of the parking lot, he silently hoped that they wouldn't notice that he had to go the complete opposite way from his house. He also hoped that he could beat them back to his house too. But that shouldn't be a problem. How long could Corey take?

  The now familiar gates of the Towers residence were open, inviting him in with their expensive glory. There were no valets this time, so Brian took the liberty of parking on the most downtrodden plot of grass he could immediately find. No need to ruin good grass, after all.

  The picturesque winter sky didn't escape his attention as he walked deliberately up the long entranceway into the house. It was a perfect day, not too chilly, with a slight breeze barely strong enough to cause the leaves on the trees surrounding the property to sway. He barely got the chance to ring the doorbell before Corey personally opened the door to greet him inside.

  "You came! I mean, hey, what's up?" Corey said, internalizing his glee. Brian took a chance to observe how different the house looked during the day before responding.

  "Other than being thrust straight into ultimate popularity? Not much," he said flatly, trying not to sound grateful or bitter. "What did you have to say that was so important?"

  "Let's talk somewhere else. I don't like the echoes here. Care for something to drink or eat?"

  "No thanks, I'm fine. But I really have to be going somewhere; can you tell me what's so important already?"

  "Okay, let's go up to my room then, it's a little bit more comfortable than a gigantic foyer."

  "A little bit more comfortable" was an understatement. Brian was initially surprised that they didn't enter the room he saw Corey go into the night before, but whatever surprise he had was engulfed by the distilled perfection that was Corey's bedroom. How Brian could be surprised by anything in this house after last night was beyond him.

  "Bedroom" barely did it justice. It was closer to a mini-house. The huge bedroom was furnished with a king-sized four poster bed with white curtains, and matching white sheets and pillows. Beyond that, the room had its own couches surrounding a wall-mounted flat screen, and both a connected master bathroom and a miniature kitchen. All of the walls were tastefully decorated, miscellaneous art pieces interspersed throughout the room, with sconce lighting. All in all, the room looked extremely expensive, yet barely used.

&n
bsp; "I don't like having to go all through this house just to get some food or go to the bathroom, so I had my bedroom… upgraded," Corey said, amused by Brian's bewildered stare. "I like to keep it clean, too, that's probably why it looks like no one's even stepped a foot in here before."

  "This is amazing, Corey," Brian said, following Corey's gesture to sit on one of the couches. "But seriously, what is it that you wanted to say?"

  Corey nonchalantly closed the door behind him before joining him on the couch.

  "I think it's pretty simple. I did a huge favor for you; all I ask is a little one back. I'm not saying that you didn't already deserve the position I gave you, but let's face it, at this point, no one's going to even begin to dispute it. I made it a guarantee," Corey said, choosing to remain cryptic. "Consider this as formally passing the torch."

  Leaving him no time to think, Corey nimbly closed to space between them, short-circuiting Brian's brain with a prolonged kiss.

  --

  Brian's immediate reaction was to shove Corey away, totally confused and flustered.

  "What the fuck was that about!? Since when were you… why did you…" he faltered, feeling his cheeks rage red with shock and something else. Corey was equally flustered, but his face now exuded pure lust and arrogance.

  "Like I said, it's simple. I did you a huge favor; all I ask is that you at least give me a shot. You don't have to be gay to enjoy the sex. Trust me on that one, you will enjoy it.

  He took advantage of Brian's momentary confusion to easily pin him down onto the couch. He'd need every advantage he could get. This wasn't any woman; Brian was built slightly heavier than he was, and Corey had to be careful to not anger him too much, or he could risk getting hurt. Corey's only hope was that Brian felt enough respect and debt towards him to at least give him enough time to get Brian to enjoy himself. After that, well, if the years of experience he had meant anything, Corey knew that he would be in the clear.

  Before Brian had a chance to struggle properly, Corey forcibly resumed the kiss, intentionally limiting Brian's air supply in an attempt to silence him. He had to work quickly though, or Brian's struggling would eventually knock him off. That didn't mean that Corey couldn't get any pleasure out of his "work" though. At the first opportunity he had, his tongue forced its way into Brian's mouth, exploring voraciously.

  Almost immediately, Brian's struggling ceased, and Corey reluctantly let go of the kiss.

  "Subs? Tastes even better secondhand!" Corey teased. It didn't take much intelligence to gauge that he had already won the battle. Brian's chest was heaving, eyes slowly glazing with lust, yet still opened sharply with apprehension.

  This was totally different from his first kiss with Abigail, but he couldn't place why. Oh, wait, of course he knew why, Corey was a guy, a guy that Brian very much respected for quite a while. Did liking this kiss make him gay though? Brian's mind was spinning. He had no problems with gay people, or so he thought, but then again… he never thought that he could be one of them. How could he be sure of anything anymore?

  Corey released his pin on Brian's body, walking confidently to his bed, and lied down, expectantly. Brian's apprehensiveness was replaced entirely by a desire to learn more, about himself and about what was happening.

  'But I can't be gay…' he thought to himself, working himself up from the couch, the protrusion from his pants begging to differ with him. 'I thought that I was attracted to Abigail, I thought I had been forever. And I'm sure I'm not attracted to Corey at all. So why am I reacting like this? I thought that I enjoyed my first kiss, but this?'

  Corey saw the thoughts written on his face as Brian sat on the opposite edge of the bed and interjected his thoughts.

  "You don't have to be confused, you know. It's just sex. It doesn't have to make you gay if you aren't. Let me finish what I started. If at any point you feel uncomfortable, just tell me. I won't try forcing anything anymore."

  "What about you, then, is it just sex to you? You've got so many girls at your beck and call, why did you have to drag me into this? You did all of this so you could sleep with me?"

  "Are you asking if I'm gay? I don't really know the answer to that. I'm pretty much attracted to anything with two legs. I guess that makes me bi or something. But with our school being so conservative, it's hard to explore the other side without getting judged and still maintain the respect of a team and the school." Corey scratched his head, gathering his thoughts before continuing.

  "But you? I've wanted you the day that I learned I was even into guys. I'm not afraid to work hard for something that I want. You don't have to want me back, just consider this even for the captain position. Like I said, you never know, you might enjoy yourself on the way."

  Brian took a moment to think on what Corey said. It was true, he wouldn't deny to himself that what Corey did on the couch felt amazing, and aroused him instantly. But Brian searched his brain and his heart, he was also sure that he wasn't attracted to Corey at all. Relieved that he didn't have to add possibly being gay to his plate, he reclined on the opposite side of the bed. He decided to submit to both Corey's and his desires, and pay him back for his graciousness.

  --

  To Brian's surprise, the first thing his noticed when he rested his head on the pillow was a mirror that spanned the top of the four poster bed, concealed from the outside by the curtains. He could only imagine what it was for, and laughed inwardly. He wouldn't have to imagine anything, it was about to happen.

  Corey smiled wolfishly, exuberant that he won his prize, and took no time in crawling over to the waiting Brian. Careful to not spook him this time, he slowly straddled Brian's waist, restarting the kiss that was abruptly ended before. Proceeding much more deliberately, he nibbled suggestively at Brian's lower lip, blue eyes staring into blue eyes. Corey took advantage of Brian's submissiveness to sneak a hand up Brian's shirt, feeling along the ridges of his abs before teasing his nipple.

  The gasp that Brian released gave Corey the opportunity to explore Brian's mouth again, waiting for his reaction before he went any further. Brian let out a loud, impatient moan before planting both of his hands around Corey's head and returning the kiss full force, catching Corey off guard. Brian saw the pleasant surprise in Corey's eyes, and wasted no time in pushing the curious tongue out of his mouth and forcing his own into Corey's. Corey smiled into the kiss, ecstatic that Brian was getting off on this as much as he was. Their tongues danced and explored for as long as their lungs could manage, both grinning by the time they pulled away.

  "Clothes, off, hot," Brian managed to get out, breathing too heavily to speak clearly. Corey obliged, stripping off Brian's shirt, eyes widening as he exposed him.

  "I've seen you in the locker room before, but damn, it's hard to believe you look even better when I know I can have you."

  "Then have me already," Brian stated, helping Corey get his own shirt off. He threw both of the shirts in a random direction. Out of curiosity, Brian felt along Corey's torso, watching his reaction with pride. He wasn't sure why, but it made him feel great to know that he could get Corey's face to look like that.

  "Mm… Brian, has anyone ever told you that you're kind of a slut when you're caught up in the moment? It's really hot."

  Corey resumed his previous position, relishing the skin to skin contact as he kissed Brian more deeply this time. Brian was more in the mood to be cooperative now, instead of competitive, and used his hands to explore along Corey's back and arms, loving the feel of the soft skin with hard muscle underneath, each muscle flexing slightly as his hands came in contact with them.

  !!CENSORED!!

  Brian rolled over slightly to kiss Corey in thanks, falling asleep almost immediately afterwards. Corey joined him soon, exhaustion overtaking his senses.

  --

  Christine, Brian, and Lee pulled into the Mannus driveway, ready and eager to eat. They were a little bit late, because Brian refused to show up reeking of coffee, and went home to shower off and change first. H
aving nothing better to do than drink discounted coffee for the last few hours, the trio was hyped up and ready to celebrate into the night. Christine rang the doorbell, ready to glomp the life out of his favorite idiot. Mrs. Mannus let them in though, with a slightly concerned look on her face when she saw that Brian wasn't amongst them.

  "Oh, hey Mrs. Mannus! The food smells wonderful! Is Brian in the kitchen?" Christine asked, talking a little bit too fast from the caffeine rush.

  "What do you mean? I thought that he would be with you?" Mrs. Mannus answered, her fears confirmed. Christine's immediate instinct was to glare at Brian, her pushed aside suspicion returning full force.

  "You, talk. I held my tongue earlier, but you know something, don't you?" Christine asked, her voice high from uncertainty.

  "I honestly do not know anything. I have no idea what you're talking about," Brian lied, holding steadfast to his promise, despite the pain it was obviously going to cause.

  "I know you do. Your eyes, I saw your eyes. They grew wide when he left the wrong way. You know where he is. Tell me!"

  Brian sighed, mentally preparing himself to continue this lie for as long as he needed to. There was a point in time when he and Corey were as close as Christine and Brian were, so he could easily empathize with how she felt. At the same time though, he silently wished that she could understand him back when this entire thing tumbled out of his control.

  'If this entire thing tumbles out of control,' he thought to himself. 'There's a possibility that Corey can keep himself under control. He might have grown up a little bit since I knew him before.'

  "That was a coincidence. I realized that I was getting close to being late for my shift. I'm sorry for confusing you." Brian said resolutely, loyalty to his friend eroding his guilt.

  Christine looked at him for a while, as did Mrs. Mannus, and satisfied with his answer, both of them left Brian and Lee in the living room, in a joint effort to find Brian.

  "Mrs. Mannus, he isn't answering his phone... but what else is new. Let me try Abigail," Christine said, swallowing her pride as she searched the school directory for her phone number.