Flippy Ch. 1
This story is about Ferdinand. He lives close to New York, in a city named Bella Nueva. It’s an odd name for a city in the East Coast as is the name Ferdinand. Ferdi is 15 years old and he is very short for his age. At 4 feet 8 inches, Ferdi has trouble making a basket, reaching the top counters, and reaching for the top drawer in his closet. His mom is very kind and tells him that being short can have its benefits. Ferdi sure has not found any benefits so far. He goes to school everyday and though you would think he would be the perfect victim, Ferdi gets along well with everyone. You could go as far as to say that he was one of those popular kids you would like to hang around with. Of course, no one would imagine that Ferdi had such a great issue concerning his height.
For a city, Bella Nueva sure is small. That is probably why there is such a homey feeling to the surroundings and everyone gets along. Well, that was so for Ferdinand until the new student came in. It was the ending of August, and the beginning of September and it was already quite cold. You could already see the turning of the leaves, from green to yellow, to red. A pretty red color that matched Ferdinand’s straight wispy hair. Nothing could have prepared him for the new boy’s arrival. His name was Jeremiah and he was completely the opposite of Ferdinand. Well muscled, with long limbs and strong back he was really tall. Maybe 6 foot 5 inches, close to seven most likely. His hair was black and his skin was bronze colored. A great contrast to Ferdi’s milky skin. The students immediately recognized Jeremiah as an outsider.
As it turns out Jeremiah came from the west states, mainly Arizona. Even though he was an outsider he fit right in. Everyone was really eager to meet him and although he didn’t talk much the students couldn’t help doting on him. But in Ferdi’s case Jeremiah was not exactly the person he would like to get close to. On their first encounter, Jeremiah turned a furious gaze on Ferdi making the boy cower in fear. Ferdi had never seen such a fierce stare especially not towards him. He could not fathom what the new student had against him but he preferred to stir clear out of his way.
He would have succeeded most likely if it had not been for his smarty brains. As it turns out being the popular kid with straight grades and popular votes, the teachers assigned Ferdi to help out Jeremiah with school. Apparently the west states were not as updated as the ones on the east coast and Jeremiah was rapidly falling behind.
So on Thursday afternoon Jeremiah and Ferdi made arrangements to meet after school at his house. Ferdi was surprised to be invited to Jeremiah’s home since he seemed to have a thing against him. Every time Ferdi would pass by Jeremiah he would get a fierce stare; trying to pass clear of him was not as easy as it sounded. Imagine the look of surprise on Jeremiah’s face when he was told that his tutor would be no other than Ferdi. Ferdi almost rushed out of the room when the teacher showed him his new charge. Of course he couldn’t do that for he had made a commitment with the tutoring center to tutor students and that did not exclude Jeremiah. He cursed a million curses under his breath as he got over his shock.
This all happened on Tuesday afternoon and for the next two nights Ferdi could hardly sleep as he braced himself for the upcoming tutoring with Jeremiah on Thursday. His mother who worked most of the day out in the other city doing office hours could only cheer him on as best as possible. She could never pay as much attention as she wanted to her son. Then again being a single parent was not an easy thing and Ferdi was such an enthusiastic kid. She felt he deserved as much as she could give him.
Ferdi was a quite mature kid for his age and understood his mother’s position. He didn’t feel neglected or alone. He was full time into his studies, helped out in school and appreciated the full meals that his mother would leave for him everyday. He had never felt cornered is such a way and by the time Thursday arrived he had dark shadows under his eyes from lack of sleep. To be honest he looked quite haggard as he approached school but as the day continue to move on Ferdi couldn’t help but forget how tired he was. After all he was more than just a normal student, he had duties to attend to and his friends just couldn’t leave him alone. What with this math problem that Kenya couldn’t solve or the mechanics class in which they couldn’t fix the radio. Forget P.E where they had to play dodge ball. No time whatsoever for a sleep deprived mind.
By the end of the day he had all but forgotten the reason for his sleep deprived day. That was until he was about to leave class, the last one to leave actually, and bumped into Jeremiah. “You ready?” a low toned voice asked. Ferdi jumped and dropped the books he was carrying. He looked up to Jeremiah with wide eyes. Jeremiah just looked annoyed and bent down to help pick up the books. Recovering from the shock Ferdi began to pick up the books as well. When he looked up again from his reverie he was caught again with one of those fierce stares that he had come to avoid. It wasn’t hate he felt from Jeremiah’s stare but more like frustration. Ferdi couldn’t actually make out what was wrong. Jeremiah sighed and started the walk out of school.
Ferdi just then realized that he hadn’t thought to ask where he lived. They would surely need some sort of transportation. He kept stealing glances at Jeremiah to see if he was thinking the same thing. Seeing Ferdi’s continuous glances Jeremiah had to explain. “I always walk to school. I don’t feel well in crowded places” he told Ferdi. Then for the first time he smiled. “Hope you are ready for a long walk, little guy” he chuckled. Ferdi had no time to be angry about the smart remark. He was too shocked by the wide grin on Jeremiah’s face. He couldn’t help but return the smile.
There was a slight breeze in the air that played with Ferdi’s hair. With the sun shining on it his copper hair shimmered. Jeremiah couldn’t help but notice the display of color and almost reached out to touch it. Ferdi in his own world was oblivious to the small battle going on in Jeremiah’s world and reality. Now no one had bothered to ask Jeremiah the reason why he had moved so far away from his hometown and in reality there was no great mystery. His father had just gotten a new job on this side of the coast and he couldn’t give up the opportunity. Having Jeremiah for a troublesome son, he felt they needed a fresh start and a fresh start it was.
Too bad for Jeremiah that his “troublesome” personality had followed him all the way over the country to the east coast. Reality was that for a long time Jeremiah had not realized what the problem was with his attitude. He had made good friends on the west coast but he would turn really possessive. Then when someone else would try to approach them he would get easily irritated and even jealous. It took him a while to realize that although girls had a strong appeal to him so did boys. When he realized this he felt really depressed. He lost his appetite for several weeks and even zoomed out of school and everything surrounding him. He finally came to the conclusion that his was a part of himself that he had to accept and that he had to move on.
A new start had seemed like a great idea until he met Ferdi. Everything seemed to be moving smoothly in his new school when out of nowhere appeared the cutest person he had ever met. Small in build, smooth skin untouched by the sun, with eyes that reflected the blue sky he could have given up his soul for this person. Then his illusion was shattered when he realized this person was a guy and that most likely he would never agree to have a relationship with him. So his shock turned to anger and every time he saw Ferdi anger would inevitably eat him up with frustration. The poor guy would rush away in fear surely convinced that he was hated by Jeremiah.
Then lo and behold divine punishment seemed to have fallen upon him when Ferdi was assigned as his tutor. If it wasn’t because he was so bad at math maybe then this wouldn’t have happened thought Jeremiah. He sighed again. Nothing could be done as far as he could tell. After a few miles walk they finally stopped at Jeremiah’s house. Well it wasn’t actually a house. He lived in a three story apartment building; it was rather huge and to be honest it didn’t house that many civilians. Ferdi looked impressed. Apparently he had never been to this side of town so it was his first time seeing this complex building. The atmosphere was pretty nice for such a huge building. Really clean with a hotel manager right on the entrance and nice looking red carpets covering the floor. Must be rich, Ferdi thought.
Ferdi started feeling more at ease as they went up the elevator. This could be his chance to make up with Jeremiah after all. Make things clear and get him out of his head at last. Or at least ease up the constant tension he felt around him. Jeremiah on the other hand kept reaffirming himself that they were only going to study. Nothing to be nervous about; they would go up to his room, work a few math problems, maybe eat a few snacks and that would be it. But looking down at Ferdi in the elevator, few inches away from him, couldn’t help but remind him that he was a filled up to the brim with hormones honest to god teenager. He felt like making a run for it.
Fortunately there was nothing much to be worried about as they entered his apartment. His dad was off to work like always. So first thing they did was eat a few snacks then they moved to his room where they worked on homework for at least two hours. Ferdi turned out to be a better teacher than Jeremiah had expected. He actually understood what he was working on. Jeremiah was really into his work so he didn’t notice when Ferdinand started to doze off. When he turned around to ask for help he was shocked to see Ferdi had fallen asleep.
His heart almost stopped at that moment. “Ferdinand…” he called out with a shaky voice. That’s when he noticed the slight hollow shadows under Ferdinand’s eyes. He couldn’t fathom what would have made Ferdi so tired. Jeremiah slowly got up and approached him. He was really tense but he was determined not to do anything stupid. Ferdi was sitting down on the floor with his head resting on Jeremiah’s bed. Jeremiah tried to shake him awake but Ferdi wouldn’t wake up. He slumped to the side with a sigh. This made Jeremiah really frustrated. What in the world was wrong with this guy? Wasn’t he afraid of being taken advantage of? Then again guys don’t usually go around thinking they will get jumped. He braced himself. After all he couldn’t really leave him lying right there on the floor.
He bent down to pick him up and as he put his arms around Ferdi’s slight body he couldn’t help but notice how warm his skin was. For a guy Ferdi really had strong feminine appeal. Jeremiah swallowed hard. He could feel his self control slipping. He wanted so much to immerse himself in the warmth of Ferdi’s body. To caress that milky skin, run his hands through that wavy hair, but more than anything to have a taste of those small plump lips. He was going to be driven mad at this rate. The few seconds that took Jeremiah to lay Ferdinand on his bed, were like an eternity to him.
Jeremiah went to his desk and turned on his bedside lamp. Then he went ahead and turned off the lights of his room. Finally he approached Ferdinand on his bed. You could see his chest rise as he breathed. He looked so small and vulnerable, Jeremiah simply couldn’t resist. He slowly bent down, well alert to any sign of movement from Ferdinand, and slowly approached his head to his. He paused for a moment making sure that Ferdinand would not wake up suddenly. Then he touched his lips to Ferdinand’s and quickly withdrew his heart pounding in his ears. Ferdinand continued to sleep undisturbed. “Damn,” Jeremiah thought, “this kid sleeps like the dead”. Making this observation obviously did not help Jeremiah to keep still. Once again, Jeremiah touched his lips to Ferdinand’s this time lingering. At no sign of movement Jeremiah pressed his lips closer to his and began to really have a taste. To his surprise, whether it was an unconscious act or just pure reflex, Ferdinand responded to his kiss. Nothing passionate, it must be said, but something more slow and tender. By this time, Jeremiah had completely forgotten about what he was doing. All he could think of was the pleasure of having Ferdinand’s lips against his.
He instantly felt the moment Ferdinand’s body tensed up. Jeremiah opened his eyes to see the shocked eyes of Ferdinand. This was it. Nothing he said or did now could hide the inevitable truth. “I’m sorry” he blurted out and immediately got up to leave. To his surprise he was pulled back to the bed. Ferdinand had grabbed on to his shirt and pulled him back.
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” repeated Jeremiah, “please; I beg you, don’t tell anyone”. Jeremiah couldn’t look at Ferdinand. He was devastated. How could he have been so stupid? What was he thinking? Now everyone would know and he would have to bear the stares of the students. He would be an easy target for bullies. All the gossip he would have to stand. Worst yet, his new friends would probably feel disgusted and leave him. He didn’t want that.
“I thought you hated me” Ferdinand said softly. Jeremiah’s head jerked up. Of all the things he had expected to hear it was not that. Jeremiah could only stare dumbfounded. Ferdinand shook his head confused. “Is this why you treated me like that?” asked Ferdinand. He didn’t look angry at all. “All this time, the reason why you treated me like that, was because you…” he paused, “you liked me?” Ferdinand blushed slightly as he realized what his words implied. “You’re not mad?” Jeremiah asked. “Mad?” Ferdinand said caught off guard. “Well, no…” he blushed. “Well, I guess I should be mad huh? You...” he shook his head blushing even more. “You kissed me!” he finally blurted out with shock.
“I’m sorry!” replied Jeremiah immediately. “I couldn’t help myself. You just looked so cute and I …” “Cute!” Ferdinand replied furiously. Now he really did look mad. Of all the things he considered himself cute was not in that list. Ferdinand quickly got off the bed while Jeremiah resisted the urge to go after him. “Wait!” said Jeremiah as he finally got up. Ferdinand had picked up his stuff and was ready to bolt out the door.
“Wait! Are you going to tell everyone?” Jeremiah called after him. Ferdinand stopped at this and looked back at him crossly. “Tell everyone I was kissed by a guy?” asked Ferdinand. “I don’t think so” he replied and with that he opened the door and left Jeremiah’s home apartment. In the meantime, Jeremiah just stood there trying to figure out if to be grateful or to feel insulted. But one thing he knew for sure, if he felt he liked Ferdinand before now he felt like he really couldn’t live without him. That night Jeremiah went to sleep with only one thing in his mind. The feeling of Ferdinand’s lips against his.