Part 2
With Alex’s help, the lesson passed blissfully quickly and soon we were gathering our bags and putting out coats on.
“So which way do you live?” Alex asked as I wrested my arm into my black jacket.
“Left out of the gate, down by the pond.” I told him as he helped me by straightening out the sleeve.
“Brilliant. I’m not too far from there. Want to walk home together?” he offered.
“Sounds good to me.”
We exited the school gates together, heading left towards our respective homes.
“So, do I get to hear the tale of this protest monopoly then?”
“Okay. It’s not as exciting as it sounds actually. Basically there were about 8 of us who were quite close friends who went, four boys and four girls. So us boys all had a room together and the girls had the corresponding room upstairs but we wanted to play cards, right, because we’re all massive nerds. So they all come downstairs and head into our room and we set up a game of poker on the floor, gambolling for Skittles. We’re in the middle of a game, which I’m dominating, when a teacher walks in, having heard girl’s voices, and tells them to get out. We ask why. Her reasoning is that they might get pregnant and that looks bad on the school. I point out that I’m probably the only guy even capable of impregnating a girl and I’m gay.”
Alex laughs
“So anyway the girls get chucked out and we all move up to the dining room to play. As soon as we have everything set up, we’re told to move again. This time by a different teacher because that want to put a film on. He also tells us that we can’t play poker because it’s gambling and they can’t allow that. So we grab a Monopoly set and move to the common room, where they’re watching another film. We try the games room but there’s a table tennis tournament going on. So the only places left in the building to play are the stairwell and the rooms. In protest of us not being allowed in the rooms, we play on the stairs, all the while pointing out that we wouldn’t be having this problem if they just let us in each others rooms.”
I laughed.
It was just such an Alex way to deal with the problem of a daft rule.
“Protest monopoly. I like it. Did it work?”
“No. the gits just kept trashing the board when they went up to bed.”
“Shame.” I glanced over at him, grinning.
“Yeah, I think it made them realise, though, that nerds are just as capable of breaking the rules, we just do it in the name of logic instead of rule-breaking.”
“A very valid point. We are a greatly overlooked portion of society.”
“Tragically overlooked.”
We spent the rest of the walk home putting the world to rights, and it was wonderful. For someone so different, Alex really understood what I fundamentally believe.
Sadly it was time to part ways.
“I’ll see you at Ben’s?”
“Yeah, see you then.”
“Mum, I’m home.” I called as I crossed the threshold and dumped my bag in the hall.
“Good day?” I heard emanating from the living room. I wandered in.
“Yeah, pretty good.”
“Make any new friends? “She asked, smiling cheerfully at me.
“Yeah, a guy called Alex who’s really nice. A couple called Tom and Ben who are lovely. Teoh, who’s loud and another Charlie, who’s a little odd.”
“That’s nice to hear.”
I smiled at her.
“Yeah. Actually, Tom and Ben have invited me to a party tonight. Can I go?”
She looked up at me, surprised, but I sensed that she was pleased. I’m not normally one for parties at all, never mind with people I’ve only just met. I think she worries about my social life (or rather, lack of) sometimes.
“Sure, Charlie. Of course. Where is it and when do you need picking up?” She asked me enthusiastically.
“It’s only a few minutes walk away so I’ll just walk home.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind picking you up.”
“Mum. I’m 16. I can walk back from a friend’s house on my own.” I huffed in mock exasperation.
“I know. I do worry about you though.”
“I know you do, mum, but trust me, I’m a big boy now.”
“You’re still my little boy though.” She smiled at me sadly. “Now go and get changed. You can’t go to a party dressed like that.”
I followed her orders and headed upstairs to shower and put in a clean shirt. I chose a light blue button down that a girl had once told me brought out my eyes.
Two hours later I was outside Ben’s door.
*knock, knock*
Ben opened it, a smile on his face and a drink in his hand.
“Charlie! Come on in.”
I followed him through the doorway and into a living room which I swear was bouncing with the beat of the music and the volume of people jumping in it.
“Welcome to Casa de Cook. But that’s the only thing you can’t do here.” Ben laughed his mouth close to my ear. “There’s drinks in the kitchen. Head on through and grab one. And if you need to crash here tonight, the floor’s all yours. And anyone else’s who happens to stay over. Or you can crash in with Teoh if you want. He won’t mind. Hates an empty bed.”
And with that Ben was gone, leaving me alone in this unfamiliar place. I followed his advice and headed into the kitchen to grab a drink. I’d just got a glass of coke when I heard a soft voice in my ear.
“Hey. Charlie, right?”
I damn near punched a hole in Ben’s kitchen ceiling with how high I jumped. Okay, maybe that’s an overstatement but he bloody well scared me. I wheeled around to see a rather tall, handsome man laughing at me, his brown eyes glittering with amusement.
“I’m Ed. Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Did a good job of it.” I smiled, showing I meant no harm.” And yeah, I’m Charlie. How did you know?”
“Ben sent me a photo with the caption ‘found a new pretty boy for you to play with. Go get him, tiger’. As much as I appreciate Ben trying to set me up, I wish he’d realise I’m straight.” Ed laughed again.
“I know what you mean. I’ve had three different people today all assume I’m gay, Ben included. Actually, he tried to set me up with you.”
“Really? What did you say?”
“Sounds like a nice guy but I like girls.”
“Trust me, Charlie. He won’t believe it. One gay kiss 18 months age and he’s convinced I’m just stuck in the closet. No amount of girlfriends is ever going to chance that.” Ed took a rueful swig of his beer. “So how come you’re not drinking?” he asked, changing subject fluidly.
“I don’t like being out of control. And it tastes funny.”
He thought for a moment.
“You know, Charlie, that’s very wise. Does this mean you’re going to be the sober one, the one who remembers what everyone else has done?”
“Erm, I guess.” I said, uneasily.
Ed took me by the shoulders and looked at me seriously.
“Charlie, whatever I get up to with a guy, promise me you’ll never tell Ben. I’ll never hear the end of it. And whatever Teoh does, get it on camera. We’re working on a scrapbook of all the deadly sins he’s committed whilst intoxicated, as well as how many verses of Leviticus he would be sent to hell for.”
“How many so far?” I asked, before I could stop myself.”
“5 deadly sins and more passages than I can count. The cross-dressing one was fun.”
I think I must have looked as startled as I felt because Ed chuckled.
“Don’t worry. He went into Ben’s room to change his underwear.”
That didn’t help.
After a while, though, I began to relax. Ed was great company and introduced me to everyone at the party without leaving my side which I was grateful for as Alex was, shall we say, otherwise occupied, with Teoh. Which basically means making out on the couch all night. It was fine though. Everyone there was actually pretty nice, despite the fact that the music was almost unbearably loud and everyone was absolutely wasted. I found myself in the garden.
“Good time?” a voice I recognised as Tom’s asked.
“Yeah, it’s fun.”
“You don’t go to many parties, do you” It wasn’t a question, more of a statement. I answered anyway.
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Never really had many friends.”
Tom thought for a moment, drawing out a packet of cigarettes and lighting one. He took a drag before turning to face me.
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why have you never had many friends?”
“I don’t really know. Not a very naturally sociable person, I guess.”
Tom nodded.
“You know what the solution to that is, right?”
“No. what?”
“Well, there’s a few, actually. One, get wasted and stay wasted. You lose your inhibitions and it’s much easier to talk to people. Two, orgy. Once you’ve slept with someone you don’t need to worry nearly as much about embarrassing yourself in front of them. Three, smile. You have a lovely smile but we rarely see it. It makes you seem unapproachable. Just relax a little around everyone and you’ll find talking much easier.”
“I think I like the third option best.”
Tom laughed.
“Figured you might.”
And with a knowing smile and a pat on the shoulder, he ground out his cigarette and left, leaving me in the garden to reflect on what he’d said. Maybe I did scare people off by not smiling. I just don’t like to smile when there’s nothing to smile at. It’s like not wasting words. I just don’t like to do things without meaning or consideration. Maybe that’s another reason; just going up to someone and saying hi requires spontaneity. I don’t like to act without thinking about the consequences and by the time I’ve made up my mind they’ve usually left. It kind of sucks.
I was still lamenting my lack of social skills when Alex came up behind me and flung his arm around my shoulders, stinking of cheap beer.
“Heeeeeeyy, Charlieburg.” He hiccupped.
“Hey Alex.”
“I’m drunk. Can I stay at yours tonight?”
“Why can’t you go home?”
“My mum doesn’t like me drinking.”
“Okay. Thought you’d be going home with Teoh.”
“He’s sleeping here and Fawn and Ed have both already claimed sleeping in his bed with him so…”
I sighed.
“Yeah, sure. You can sleep at mine. I can lend you a t-shirt to go home in tomorrow as well. Just let me text my mum.”
“Thank you Charlieburg.” Alex grinned and kissed my cheek, overbalancing a little.
“Whoa, Alex. Maybe we should get you home, yeah?”
“Okay, Charlieburg. Whatever you say.” He giggled. I rolled my eyes and slid my arm around his waist, supporting him. Slowly and with immense difficulty we made our way back into the house to say goodbye to Ben.
“You taking him home?” Ben asked, concerned but mildly amused after seeing the state Alex was in.
“Yeah. He’s staying at mine tonight.”
“Good. I don’t want him going home alone like that.”
“No, me neither. I’ll take care of him.” I assured Ben.
“I know you will. See you tomorrow, Charlie.”
“See you, Ben.”
We made our way towards the door.
“Charlie!”
“Hey Ed, you okay?”
“Yeah, just wanted to say bye and give you my number. We should hang out some time. And no, I’m not flirting. Just, you know, you’re a nice guy.” I was kind of surprised, but flattered all the same.
Ed was clearly three sheets to the wind, as my mother would say. Pretty pissed, in other words. He grabbed my hand and scrawled his mobile number on it.
“And look after Alex, will you? He doesn’t look too good. Get some food in him, and a lot of water.”
“Thanks. I will.”
“See you around, Charlie.”
“Bye, Ed.”
With my arm around Alex’s waist, I half carried him home, thankful that he’s so skinny and Ben lives so close to me. It only took about 10 minutes and one stop at a flowerbed for Alex to throw up in.
I opened the front door carefully, listening to see if my mum was still awake.
“Charlie? That you?”
She was.
“Yeah, mum. It’s me. My friend Alex is here as well. Can he stay over?” I asked as we moved into the kitchen to grab him some water. She appeared in the doorway.
“Of course, Charlie. He doesn’t look too good though. Has he been drinking?”
There was no point lying, given how badly he smelt of beer and Teoh’s cologne.
“Yeah, he’s had a few.”
“Okay. Get some water in him and get him into bed. He’ll sleep off the worst of it. I’ll make sure there’s plenty of towels in the bathroom so he can shower when he wakes up. It’s probably best for him to just go straight to school from here, if that’s alright with his mum, so he can get as much sleep as possible. Lend him a t-shirt and some pyjamas to sleep in as well; he won’t want to sleep in those clothes.” My mum reeled off like it was rehearsed. “I’m going to bed now. Goodnight.”
“G’night mum. And thanks.”
She smiled at me.
“It’s quite alright, Charlie. Just call me if there’s any problems and I’ll sort him out. I’ve been through all of this with your brother already.”
And with that she left for bed, leaving me with Alex. It’s times like this that I really appreciate my mum. She knows just what to do and is always really understanding. It’s nice. We get on really well. And wow, this is beginning to sound like a cheesy Mothers Day card so I’ll just get back to the point. Basically my mum is awesome and my best friend is wankered.
“Alex?” I called softly, nudging him where he had sunk to the floor
“Mmm? What?” he groaned.
“Wake up. Drink this.” I set a pint glass of water down in front of him.
“M’kay.” He agreed, not sounding too happy about it. He downed the glass quickly and I refilled it from the tap before nudging him again.
“Come on, get up. Time for bed.”
I started towards the stairs and he followed me like a lethargic puppy, all droopy eyed and docile.
“Put these on.” I ordered, handing him a pair of pyjamas before grabbing my own and heading towards the bathroom to put them on and give him some privacy. When I came back his clothes lay on a heap on the floor and he was already tucked up in my bed, asleep. I deliberated for a moment before climbing in next to him and shutting off the light.
Breakfast the next morning was awkward, to say the least. Alex and I had both already got up, showered and dressed and were eating the toast that my mum had forced into us when Bridie and Will came down. By the fact that they came down together they’d obviously been talking about us; probably speculating about who Alex was and why he’d stayed the night.
“So, is Alex your boyfriend?” Will asked, getting straight to the point.
“WILL!” Mum reprimanded him as Alex nearly choked on his toast laughing before winking over at me cheekily.
That bastard. I could see Wills eyebrows raise slightly and put him straight.
“No! Alex and I aren’t dating. He’s just being a prat.” I throw an elbow at his ribs. “Anyway, I’m straight. I’ve told you that.”
“I have a boyfriend anyway.” Alex added.
“Wait, you and Teoh are official?” I asked, turning to face him.
“Yeah. As of last night. I know you can be kind of obtuse sometimes Charlie but really? You hadn’t figured that out?”
“Well I’d figured out something was going on, I just didn’t know it was official.” I defended.
“Moron.” He teased playfully. I elbowed his ribs in response, laughing.
“So wait, if you two aren’t dating then how come you were sharing a bed?” Bridie asked, looking slightly devious.
“Because I’d had a bit too much to drink and your mum was kind enough to let me stay here.” Alex answered truthfully.
“But why in Charlie’s bed? What’s wrong with the couch?”
“I don’t know. I just like sharing a bed with my friends, completely innocently. There’s something really soothing about waking up in the middle of the night and being able to look over at them and hear them breathing and just feel safer because they’re there. And when you wake up in the morning and you’ve all entangled yourselves and his head is on your chest and your arms are around his waist and it’s warm and grounding and just nice. That’s why Charlie’s bed.”
Bridie and Will just looked at us, trying to figure us out. I don’t blame them really. Even I don’t really understand me and Alex. We just are. There’s nothing really to understand. But equally there’s everything. I completely understood what Alex meant about how comforting it is ta wake up and realise that you’ve snuggled up to your best friend in the night. It’s nice. And Alex makes a great pillow, despite being all rib and no fat.
“So you didn’t fuck him?” Will demands of Alex.
“WIlL” I won’t tell you again. Language!” Mum glared at him
“No. I didn’t fuck Charlie. I think I’d worry about breaking him.” Alex laughed.
“Good.” Will replied, decisively.
“Will, why are you being so overprotective all of a sudden? Leave Alex alone. He’s my friend, and one of the few I have. So just back off.” I finally snapped. What gave him the right to give Alex a hard time?
“Jesus, Charlie. I’m just trying to watch out for you. You come home with a strange boy I’ve never met before, he sleeps in your bed and comes down to breakfast with us wearing a t-shirt I bought for you and you expect me not to get protective?”
“I expect you to appreciate that I’m a big boy now and can handle myself. And what business of it is yours if Alex and I were dating anyway? Which we’re not.” I was getting lteadily more annoyed as breakfast progressed.
“You’re my brother. I’m supposed to look after you. If you go out and get yourself a boyfriend I need to make sure he’s not going to hurt you.”
Alex rubbed my back soothingly.
“He has a point. He’s just trying to watch out for you. I’m sure if I had a younger brother I’d do the same.” He murmured to me, his voice calming.
I took a deep breath to steady my temper.
“I know. And I’m sorry, Will. I’m just fed up of people assuming things about us.”
“It’s okay, Charlie. I probably should have handled things better. I’ve just never had to do this before. I thought you were asexual.”
Alex laughed.
“He might as well be. I swear he repels girls. It’s ridiculous. I’m gay, I’m supposed to have female friends but since meeting him I’ve only been able to meet one, and that was only briefly over lunchtime.”
“The lunchtime you spent flirting with Teoh.” I teased, grinning at him.
“Please. Every waking moment is spend flirting with Teoh. Aside from the ones where I’m teasing you.”
I stuck my tongue out at him before we both fell about laughing.
Will shook his head.
“I don’t understand you two. Do you want a lift to college? I’m heading that way anyway.”
“Sure.”
I could tell from the abrupt change in subject that will didn’t want to discuss this anymore. We’d probably talk about it again tonight once he’d calmed down a bit more and had had time to process everything.
“So, I take it Day scored last night then.” Tom called, by way of greeting when we arrived at school.
Alex grinned cockily.
“What makes you think that?”
“Well you and Charlie went home together and you still have that faint look about you of ‘I just got laid’.”
Alex laughed.
“Wait, Charlie? You think I did Charlie?”
“Well didn’t you?”
“Charlie is like the least sexual being on the planet. No. Me and Teoh, however…” Alex smirked.
“Really? When? Where?” Tom demanded, sounding slightly jealous but mainly amused.
“Yeah. Ben’s party. Ben’s bed.”
“You did what to my best friend in my bed?” Ben demanded, raising his eyebrows in mock disapproval.
“It was more a case of what he did to me. Jesus. I don’t think I’m going to be able to sit down today.”
“Okay. Too much information, Alex.” Ben laughed.
“Oh no. Too much information would be a detailed description of the things he did with his tongue.” Alex laughed at the look on Ben’s face.
“Did he do the thing? With the thing? In your…?” Tom asked, grinning.
“Yep. Twice.”
“Nice.”
“Oh it was.”
“Okay. How about we stop discussing Alex and Teoh’s sex life and the fact that I’m going to have to burn those sheets, and head to registration, shall we?” Ben suggested, looking kind of disgusted.
“I think that’s probably a good idea.” I agreed and we headed up, laughing and joking. I was happy; being with my first proper friends in, well, ever. We were laughing and joking, teasing Alex and sharing tales. All was well.
So there you have it. There’s the story of possibly my favourite 24 hours of my life so far. I met my best friend. I went to my first party. I met the guys who would later become my band mates and whom I’d tour the world with. It turns out the woman who’d later become my wife was at that party too, but our paths never crossed. Never mind, they will and we’ll have one more thing to talk about; one more instance of when fate kept us apart until the time was right for us and all the rest of that fairy tale mush. But that’s a different story; a love story. This is a story of friendship and trust and overcoming difficulties. And wow, I need to get better at ending stories happily but not cheesily. I’m even making myself feel ill. Sorry about that.