Daniel Charleton University, Part 7
Title: Daniel Charleton University, Part 7
Word count: 2998
Rating: PG-13
Summary: James worries about Hartley. Hartley is annoyed. Michael isn't jealous. Ted explains his perfectly reasonable desire to punch Dick in the face.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Part 7
Michael shuffled along next to Ted, glancing at him from time to time. Ted had his head down, his shoulders drooping. Hartley hadn’t seemed as annoyed when they came out of the shower; in fact, he seemed amused, if slightly rushed. He’d said he had homework, pecked Ted on the cheek, and then he and James had headed off to their dorm. Michael had been braced for either yelling or the silent treatment. He’d figured a scold was the best they could hope for, but Hartley hadn’t even mentioned their overprotectiveness. Ted seemed confused as well.
“Maybe I should call him? Make sure he isn’t angry?”
“He didn’t seem angry,” Michael pointed out. Years ago, back when his parents still cared what each other did, his father used to shout and rave when his mother asked about other women, and she would cry when his father accused her of being overly friendly with the neighbors. There’d been days of angry fights and slamming doors. Hartley’s brief flare of annoyance and then apparent forgiveness confused Michael.
“Yeah, but he was. Maybe he’s being passive-aggressive. What if the homework thing was just an excuse to get rid of me because he couldn’t stand to be around me any longer?” Ted looked behind him, towards Broome Hall. “Maybe I should buy him a gift? I could bring him a coffee and a pastry. That’s a suitably non-girly alternative to flowers, right?”
Didn’t gay guys already know what gifts to bring, Michael wondered. “Maybe you should leave him alone,” Michael said. “If he’s not upset, fussing might bother him, and if he is upset, giving him a chance to calm down is probably best. He did say he’d see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Ted didn’t look convinced.
Michael sighed. “Look, I gotta go. I need to do battle with my calc textbook.”
Ted looked guilty now. “Aw geeze Mike, I’m sorry. I haven’t been helping you study at all. How have you been doing?”
“I passed the last test. Only got a C-, but I passed. I’ll manage. There’s this guy in my class who said he’d help. I’ll give him a call, see if he can come over tonight.”
“Don’t do that,” Ted protested. “It’s late. I’ll help you out. I’m free for the rest of the night.”
“You sure?”
“Positive, c’mon.” Ted linked his elbow around Michael’s and the two headed to Michael’s dorm. Michael knew he should feel guilty about making up a new study buddy, but he told himself that he’d only done it so Ted wouldn’t feel obligated to help, not to make Ted jealous. Besides, giving Ted a distraction from his worry over Hartley was an act of friendship. It would be good for Ted not to think about his boyfriend for a couple hours.
~~~~
“I’m just saying,” James said as he and Hartley walked down the hall to their room, “you should be careful.”
“Ted’s nice. You are an idiot,” Hartley said. He was getting very tired of this conversation.
“You’re too trusting,” James insisted. “All the signs are there!”
“Now what are you fighting about?” Len came around the corner and scowled at the two of them. Hartley was suddenly nervous. If James convinced Len, Hartley’s love life would get a lot more complicated.
“Nothing,” Hartley insisted, but James had apparently come to the same conclusion Hartley had, or maybe he was just ranting to anyone within hearing distance.
“Hartley’s new boyfriend is a jealous, abusive stalker!”
“The hell, James?” Hartley demanded. “Where did the abusive stalker come from?”
Len frowned. “So the jealous part is true? Hartley, you ain’t making the same mistakes twice, are you?”
Hartley rolled his eyes. Not this again.
“Hartley was talking to another guy, and his boyfriend came up and started acting all tough and macho. He almost started a fight, and all Hartley was doing was talking!”
“You were ready to fight too,” Hartley pointed out. “You were as bad as Ted.”
“That’s different. I hate Grayson.”
“Ted doesn’t seem too fond of him either, and Dick was deliberately causing trouble.”
“What about in the room? I just mentioned that you got a little handsy with me once, and he started groping you!”
“To freak you out!”
“Exactly! He’s trying to alienate you from your friends!”
Hartley gaped at him. “What?”
“Didn’t we do this already?” Len grumbled. “James, what’s this guy like?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking me? I’m the one dating him,” Hartley said.
“You’ve got lousy taste in men,” Len answered. “James?”
“Definitely jealous and possessive. He’s trying to get rid of me, I can tell. Probably wants to separate Hartley from his support network.”
“Just like the last one. Dammit, Hartley! You’re smarter than this.”
“James-my-ex,” Hartley said, using the full title to keep James-my-idiot-roommate from turning this into a stand-up routine, “did not want to separate me from my support network. He felt uncomfortable around you. Probably because you all glared and made threats and told him that if he wanted to spend time with us, he had to be initiated into the gang and steal a car. He never asked me to choose between you and him. And, for the record, everyone except you and those people who think I’m beyond hope of redemption says I shouldn’t be friends with you. Apparently, when your ‘support network’ consists of delinquents, people who truly care do their best to discourage the friendship.”
James clutched his chest. “Delinquents? You wound me.”
“What about the other one?” Len demanded. “The one who blackened your eye.”
“I told you,” Hartley said through gritted teeth, “I dated Earl for three months when I was fifteen. I ran into him by chance last time I went home. We got into a fight. I won. He never hit me or threatened me while we were dating, or stalked me after we broke up. Now can we stop with the ‘men are evil’ routine? Is treating me like your kid sister really the only way you can cope with me being gay?”
“Men are evil!” James insisted. “They’re only after one thing.” He slung an arm around Hartley’s shoulders. “We’re just looking out for you.”
“I know what they’re after. I’m after it too. Since I’m an evil man and all. And I would really appreciate it if you would stop trying to ruin any relationship I have before it gets started!” Hartely shrugged off James’ arm and strode to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Len looked at James. “New boyfriend going to be trouble?”
James nodded. “Definitely. Spoiled rich kid, used to getting whatever he wants, doesn’t like sharing his toys, and already knows how to manipulate Hartley.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Len growled. “Try not to rile Hartley too much though. You know how touchy he gets.”
“Aye aye, Cap’n.” James saluted and followed Hartley into their room.
~~~~
Between Michael’s sudden complete inability to understand calculus, Hartley’s dormmates sudden desire to spend all their free time with Hartley, and school itself, Ted and Hartley didn’t have a chance to get together until Saturday evening. They nearly didn’t get to see each other Saturday, but Hartley told James he was going to practice in the concert hall and Ted convinced Ralph to spend the evening in Sue’s room and Michael to go play football with Guy, so Hartley and Ted had Ted’s room to themselves for a few hours. They talked for awhile, then stretched out on Ted’s bed, kissing slowly, hands tentatively touching. One nice thing about boys, Ted thought, is that there were no breasts to worry about, just smooth chest that could be touched without fear of getting slapped.
“This is nice,” Hartley said.
“Yeah. Sorry I haven’t been around. Mike needed help.”
“It’s okay. It gave me a chance to reassure my friends that you didn’t insist on spending every second with me.” Ted raised his eyebrows and Hartley sighed. “They have decided that I’m the girl in every relationship. The abused girl in need of protection. Incidentally, you are scum and planning on taking advantage of my innocence.”
“You’re joking. You still have innocence?”
Hartley snickered. “No. I tried to explain that once. They turned funny colors, put their hands over their ears, and ran away.” He sighed. “They drove off my last boyfriend. He really tried, but my friends aren’t exactly easy to get along with even when they aren’t openly hostile. I figured I should warn you before they started threatening you.” He wiggled closer to Ted, sliding his hand beneath Ted’s shirt. “On the plus side, it makes me really appreciate the crude, insensitive, homophobic jokes I have to put up with when I’m not dating.”
“Geeze. They haven’t even met me.”
“James has, and he told the others.”
Ted frowned. “We got along okay. Alright, we got a little competitive, but there’s no reason for him to think I’m a bad boyfriend just because I do a better back flip.”
“You went all caveman on Dick.”
“So did James.”
“That’s different,” Hartley quoted, rolling his eyes. “Why do you hate him, anyway?”
Ted groaned. “Do we have to talk about this?”
“Yes.”
Ted sighed and flopped onto his back. “Fine, but it’s a long story. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago,” Hartley snickered and Ted grinned, “back in middle school, there was an awkward, uncertain prince just beginning to suspect that he was different from his peers. One day, he met a smart, funny princess in a chat room, and they became good friends. The prince thought he could fall in love with her, and then he’d be normal.”
“And did the princess turn out to be a prince?”
“Nope. The princess was Babs. I introduced you the other day, remember? And you saw her the other night practicing with Grayson.” Hartley nodded, although he hadn’t connected Dick’s partner with Ted’s friend, and Ted continued. “Babs and I hit it off and chatted all the time. I really did try to fall in love with her. Even did, a little, but it was all intellectual, you know? And the whole time I’m thinking ‘She’s a girl and I really like her, I’m not gay,’ she’s talking about this guy she knows. Her dad’s the police commissioner, and Wayne’s big on supporting the police.”
“My parents complain about that sometimes. They say he takes philanthropy too far, makes the rest of us look bad.”
“Yeah, mine too.” Ted switched back to his story. “Anyway, Babs’ dad is friends with Wayne. Her dad and Wayne would meet for coffee and to talk bulletproof vests, and they’d bring the kids along. Grayson’s a couple years younger then Babs, but thanks to the tutors Wayne hired before enrolling him in school, he tested a grade level ahead, and Babs was lazy enough that she didn’t skip a grade even though she could. They went to the same school, and between being only a grade apart and their dads being friends, they saw each other all the time. She was his first crush. She thought it was cute and annoying. Then he hit puberty, hard. Suddenly he was attractive and had girls after him, and Babs started getting interested back. But he was rich and she wasn’t, and everyone gave her a hard time, calling her a gold digger and cradle robber.”
“People still use ‘gold digger’?” Hartley asked. “I thought that only showed up in regency romances.”
“You read regency romances?”
“Some of them are quite good,” Hartley defended himself. “I don’t read the smutty ones, but there are some with actual plot and characterization.”
“You read the smutty ones. They’re your favorite,” Ted leered.
“You were saying about Babs?”
“Nice change of subject,” Ted teased. “So, Babs was interested, and Grayson was interested, but the other kids gave her a hard time and she worried about the PR fallout for her dad if the tabloids found out, so nothing happened. Then this drop-dead gorgeous foreign exchange student showed up and Grayson lost all interest in Babs. She was heartbroken, but didn’t let on to anyone but me. The exchange student left and Grayson moved on to experimenting with boys. By now I’d figured out that I wanted to experiment with boys too, but Babs was still my best friend. I think she was relieved that I wasn’t interested in her, to be honest. We both graduated, I told her about this school, and she got a scholarship. The next year Grayson followed, and the two started dating. She’s happy and he’s behaving himself, but I don’t trust him.”
Hartley considered this for a few seconds, then shook his head. “There was more there than just an overprotective friend. What did he do?”
Ted sighed. “You are far too observant, you know that?” He stretched and folded his arms beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling. “The first time I met Grayson was at the Olympic tryouts. Everyone there was a nervous wreck. Then in walks Grayson with his entourage-“
“He brought an entourage?”
“Okay, so it was Wayne, Wayne’s other adopted kid, their butler, and the next door neighbor.”
“Didn’t anyone else bring family?”
“Most did. That’s not the point.”
“Did your parents come?”
Ted scowled. “They were busy. Can I finish the story?”
Hartley kissed Ted on the cheek. “Sorry.”
“Right. So Grayson swaggers in, and everyone’s falling over themselves. ‘Oh, Mr. Grayson, we’re honored by your presence. That’s one spot filled. You don’t mind trying out, do you? Just a formality, of course. You could fall on your face and still get on the team. Can I kiss your feet?’”
“He’s that good?”
“Yeah. If he doesn’t get a gold in every event he’s in, it’s because he felt sorry for the other guy and screwed up on purpose.”
“And you’re jealous.”
“No! Look, Grayson’s the best, I admit that. Better than me. But the thing is, he doesn’t care. He loves to fly, and he loves attention and trophies, but he doesn’t care if it’s a gold medal and world-wide adoration, or his name on a circus poster, or the neighborhood kids cheering and a smiley face sticker. He knows he’s the best, and he’ll show off, but he doesn’t compete. He doesn’t fight to be the best. The Olympics mean as much to him as that work-out the other night.”
“Isn’t that good? They are called the Olympic Games. Shouldn’t people treat them like games and not the most important competition of their lives?”
Ted shook his head. “Maybe people do take them too seriously, but Grayson doesn’t take them seriously at all. His try-out was flawless, but I was watching, and I saw. Everyone else gave it their all. He didn’t. He wasn’t worried, and he wasn’t trying. He’s a performer at heart, not a competitive athlete, and the try-outs were just the dress rehearsal before the show. It’s not fair to everyone else, all those kids who have dreamed of this for years and worked so hard that they’ll lose to some jerk who won’t appreciate winning.”
Hartley raised an eyebrow. “And this has nothing to do with you not getting on the team?”
“I didn’t try hard enough,” Ted said. “I don’t care enough either, but I’m not good enough to make the team with anything less than my best. I flubbed a landing right off the bat. I could have spiced up the rest of the routine to recover, but I didn’t. I was there to see how I compared, see if I could make the team, not to actually do it. I know how good I am, and I don’t need the medal. Difference between me and Grayson is that he doesn’t need it either, but he’ll still take it.”
“Hmm.” Hartley considered everything Ted had said. “He doesn’t sound so bad. A bit of a jerk when he was in high school, but who wasn’t? I don’t think you’d care so much about his attitude towards competition if you weren’t already determined not to like him.” Ted hmphed. “I’m surprised he goes out of his way to annoy you though. Why does he care? Did you try to break up him and Babs?”
“Like I could. Babs knows her own mind. No,” Ted grinned, “I did something better. I stole his fan club.” Ted snickered at Hartley’s gobsmacked expression. “That neighbor he brought with him to the tryouts is sort of another adopted brother. He spends a lot of time in Wayne Manor and practically worships Grayson. He’s taking gymnastics too, but the kid’s a thinker, not an athlete. Twelve years old, and Tim’s already reading trade journals. He saw some of my inventions-just tweaks to other people’s designs, mostly, but it got some attention. Then he saw some videos of me from competitions, and was impressed by that too. Grayson’s smart, but he doesn’t use it if he doesn’t have to. Turns out Tim’s more impressed by a science guy who’s really good at gymnastics than by an excellent gymnast who only learns what science he has to. After the try-outs, everyone was telling Grayson how great he was, and Tim was tugging on Wayne’s sleeve, begging to be introduced to me. I guess it rankled. So I gave the kid my e-mail, screen name, phone number, stopped by to say hello the last time Kord and Wayne Industries did business, sent him a few prototypes, went to his science fair, you know, just little things.”
Hartley shook his head. “You are an evil man, Ted. Maybe James is right, and I’m not safe with you.”
Ted grinned, rolling over to his side and wrapping his arms around Hartley. “Too late now, my pretty! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!” He started tickling Hartley, who laughed and tried to squirm away, content to let the conversation end and move on to far more enjoyable activities.
TBC
Part 8
Word count: 2998
Rating: PG-13
Summary: James worries about Hartley. Hartley is annoyed. Michael isn't jealous. Ted explains his perfectly reasonable desire to punch Dick in the face.
Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6
Part 7
Michael shuffled along next to Ted, glancing at him from time to time. Ted had his head down, his shoulders drooping. Hartley hadn’t seemed as annoyed when they came out of the shower; in fact, he seemed amused, if slightly rushed. He’d said he had homework, pecked Ted on the cheek, and then he and James had headed off to their dorm. Michael had been braced for either yelling or the silent treatment. He’d figured a scold was the best they could hope for, but Hartley hadn’t even mentioned their overprotectiveness. Ted seemed confused as well.
“Maybe I should call him? Make sure he isn’t angry?”
“He didn’t seem angry,” Michael pointed out. Years ago, back when his parents still cared what each other did, his father used to shout and rave when his mother asked about other women, and she would cry when his father accused her of being overly friendly with the neighbors. There’d been days of angry fights and slamming doors. Hartley’s brief flare of annoyance and then apparent forgiveness confused Michael.
“Yeah, but he was. Maybe he’s being passive-aggressive. What if the homework thing was just an excuse to get rid of me because he couldn’t stand to be around me any longer?” Ted looked behind him, towards Broome Hall. “Maybe I should buy him a gift? I could bring him a coffee and a pastry. That’s a suitably non-girly alternative to flowers, right?”
Didn’t gay guys already know what gifts to bring, Michael wondered. “Maybe you should leave him alone,” Michael said. “If he’s not upset, fussing might bother him, and if he is upset, giving him a chance to calm down is probably best. He did say he’d see you tomorrow.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Ted didn’t look convinced.
Michael sighed. “Look, I gotta go. I need to do battle with my calc textbook.”
Ted looked guilty now. “Aw geeze Mike, I’m sorry. I haven’t been helping you study at all. How have you been doing?”
“I passed the last test. Only got a C-, but I passed. I’ll manage. There’s this guy in my class who said he’d help. I’ll give him a call, see if he can come over tonight.”
“Don’t do that,” Ted protested. “It’s late. I’ll help you out. I’m free for the rest of the night.”
“You sure?”
“Positive, c’mon.” Ted linked his elbow around Michael’s and the two headed to Michael’s dorm. Michael knew he should feel guilty about making up a new study buddy, but he told himself that he’d only done it so Ted wouldn’t feel obligated to help, not to make Ted jealous. Besides, giving Ted a distraction from his worry over Hartley was an act of friendship. It would be good for Ted not to think about his boyfriend for a couple hours.
~~~~
“I’m just saying,” James said as he and Hartley walked down the hall to their room, “you should be careful.”
“Ted’s nice. You are an idiot,” Hartley said. He was getting very tired of this conversation.
“You’re too trusting,” James insisted. “All the signs are there!”
“Now what are you fighting about?” Len came around the corner and scowled at the two of them. Hartley was suddenly nervous. If James convinced Len, Hartley’s love life would get a lot more complicated.
“Nothing,” Hartley insisted, but James had apparently come to the same conclusion Hartley had, or maybe he was just ranting to anyone within hearing distance.
“Hartley’s new boyfriend is a jealous, abusive stalker!”
“The hell, James?” Hartley demanded. “Where did the abusive stalker come from?”
Len frowned. “So the jealous part is true? Hartley, you ain’t making the same mistakes twice, are you?”
Hartley rolled his eyes. Not this again.
“Hartley was talking to another guy, and his boyfriend came up and started acting all tough and macho. He almost started a fight, and all Hartley was doing was talking!”
“You were ready to fight too,” Hartley pointed out. “You were as bad as Ted.”
“That’s different. I hate Grayson.”
“Ted doesn’t seem too fond of him either, and Dick was deliberately causing trouble.”
“What about in the room? I just mentioned that you got a little handsy with me once, and he started groping you!”
“To freak you out!”
“Exactly! He’s trying to alienate you from your friends!”
Hartley gaped at him. “What?”
“Didn’t we do this already?” Len grumbled. “James, what’s this guy like?”
“Shouldn’t you be asking me? I’m the one dating him,” Hartley said.
“You’ve got lousy taste in men,” Len answered. “James?”
“Definitely jealous and possessive. He’s trying to get rid of me, I can tell. Probably wants to separate Hartley from his support network.”
“Just like the last one. Dammit, Hartley! You’re smarter than this.”
“James-my-ex,” Hartley said, using the full title to keep James-my-idiot-roommate from turning this into a stand-up routine, “did not want to separate me from my support network. He felt uncomfortable around you. Probably because you all glared and made threats and told him that if he wanted to spend time with us, he had to be initiated into the gang and steal a car. He never asked me to choose between you and him. And, for the record, everyone except you and those people who think I’m beyond hope of redemption says I shouldn’t be friends with you. Apparently, when your ‘support network’ consists of delinquents, people who truly care do their best to discourage the friendship.”
James clutched his chest. “Delinquents? You wound me.”
“What about the other one?” Len demanded. “The one who blackened your eye.”
“I told you,” Hartley said through gritted teeth, “I dated Earl for three months when I was fifteen. I ran into him by chance last time I went home. We got into a fight. I won. He never hit me or threatened me while we were dating, or stalked me after we broke up. Now can we stop with the ‘men are evil’ routine? Is treating me like your kid sister really the only way you can cope with me being gay?”
“Men are evil!” James insisted. “They’re only after one thing.” He slung an arm around Hartley’s shoulders. “We’re just looking out for you.”
“I know what they’re after. I’m after it too. Since I’m an evil man and all. And I would really appreciate it if you would stop trying to ruin any relationship I have before it gets started!” Hartely shrugged off James’ arm and strode to his room, slamming the door behind him.
Len looked at James. “New boyfriend going to be trouble?”
James nodded. “Definitely. Spoiled rich kid, used to getting whatever he wants, doesn’t like sharing his toys, and already knows how to manipulate Hartley.”
“We’ll keep an eye on him,” Len growled. “Try not to rile Hartley too much though. You know how touchy he gets.”
“Aye aye, Cap’n.” James saluted and followed Hartley into their room.
~~~~
Between Michael’s sudden complete inability to understand calculus, Hartley’s dormmates sudden desire to spend all their free time with Hartley, and school itself, Ted and Hartley didn’t have a chance to get together until Saturday evening. They nearly didn’t get to see each other Saturday, but Hartley told James he was going to practice in the concert hall and Ted convinced Ralph to spend the evening in Sue’s room and Michael to go play football with Guy, so Hartley and Ted had Ted’s room to themselves for a few hours. They talked for awhile, then stretched out on Ted’s bed, kissing slowly, hands tentatively touching. One nice thing about boys, Ted thought, is that there were no breasts to worry about, just smooth chest that could be touched without fear of getting slapped.
“This is nice,” Hartley said.
“Yeah. Sorry I haven’t been around. Mike needed help.”
“It’s okay. It gave me a chance to reassure my friends that you didn’t insist on spending every second with me.” Ted raised his eyebrows and Hartley sighed. “They have decided that I’m the girl in every relationship. The abused girl in need of protection. Incidentally, you are scum and planning on taking advantage of my innocence.”
“You’re joking. You still have innocence?”
Hartley snickered. “No. I tried to explain that once. They turned funny colors, put their hands over their ears, and ran away.” He sighed. “They drove off my last boyfriend. He really tried, but my friends aren’t exactly easy to get along with even when they aren’t openly hostile. I figured I should warn you before they started threatening you.” He wiggled closer to Ted, sliding his hand beneath Ted’s shirt. “On the plus side, it makes me really appreciate the crude, insensitive, homophobic jokes I have to put up with when I’m not dating.”
“Geeze. They haven’t even met me.”
“James has, and he told the others.”
Ted frowned. “We got along okay. Alright, we got a little competitive, but there’s no reason for him to think I’m a bad boyfriend just because I do a better back flip.”
“You went all caveman on Dick.”
“So did James.”
“That’s different,” Hartley quoted, rolling his eyes. “Why do you hate him, anyway?”
Ted groaned. “Do we have to talk about this?”
“Yes.”
Ted sighed and flopped onto his back. “Fine, but it’s a long story. Once upon a time, a long, long time ago,” Hartley snickered and Ted grinned, “back in middle school, there was an awkward, uncertain prince just beginning to suspect that he was different from his peers. One day, he met a smart, funny princess in a chat room, and they became good friends. The prince thought he could fall in love with her, and then he’d be normal.”
“And did the princess turn out to be a prince?”
“Nope. The princess was Babs. I introduced you the other day, remember? And you saw her the other night practicing with Grayson.” Hartley nodded, although he hadn’t connected Dick’s partner with Ted’s friend, and Ted continued. “Babs and I hit it off and chatted all the time. I really did try to fall in love with her. Even did, a little, but it was all intellectual, you know? And the whole time I’m thinking ‘She’s a girl and I really like her, I’m not gay,’ she’s talking about this guy she knows. Her dad’s the police commissioner, and Wayne’s big on supporting the police.”
“My parents complain about that sometimes. They say he takes philanthropy too far, makes the rest of us look bad.”
“Yeah, mine too.” Ted switched back to his story. “Anyway, Babs’ dad is friends with Wayne. Her dad and Wayne would meet for coffee and to talk bulletproof vests, and they’d bring the kids along. Grayson’s a couple years younger then Babs, but thanks to the tutors Wayne hired before enrolling him in school, he tested a grade level ahead, and Babs was lazy enough that she didn’t skip a grade even though she could. They went to the same school, and between being only a grade apart and their dads being friends, they saw each other all the time. She was his first crush. She thought it was cute and annoying. Then he hit puberty, hard. Suddenly he was attractive and had girls after him, and Babs started getting interested back. But he was rich and she wasn’t, and everyone gave her a hard time, calling her a gold digger and cradle robber.”
“People still use ‘gold digger’?” Hartley asked. “I thought that only showed up in regency romances.”
“You read regency romances?”
“Some of them are quite good,” Hartley defended himself. “I don’t read the smutty ones, but there are some with actual plot and characterization.”
“You read the smutty ones. They’re your favorite,” Ted leered.
“You were saying about Babs?”
“Nice change of subject,” Ted teased. “So, Babs was interested, and Grayson was interested, but the other kids gave her a hard time and she worried about the PR fallout for her dad if the tabloids found out, so nothing happened. Then this drop-dead gorgeous foreign exchange student showed up and Grayson lost all interest in Babs. She was heartbroken, but didn’t let on to anyone but me. The exchange student left and Grayson moved on to experimenting with boys. By now I’d figured out that I wanted to experiment with boys too, but Babs was still my best friend. I think she was relieved that I wasn’t interested in her, to be honest. We both graduated, I told her about this school, and she got a scholarship. The next year Grayson followed, and the two started dating. She’s happy and he’s behaving himself, but I don’t trust him.”
Hartley considered this for a few seconds, then shook his head. “There was more there than just an overprotective friend. What did he do?”
Ted sighed. “You are far too observant, you know that?” He stretched and folded his arms beneath his head, staring up at the ceiling. “The first time I met Grayson was at the Olympic tryouts. Everyone there was a nervous wreck. Then in walks Grayson with his entourage-“
“He brought an entourage?”
“Okay, so it was Wayne, Wayne’s other adopted kid, their butler, and the next door neighbor.”
“Didn’t anyone else bring family?”
“Most did. That’s not the point.”
“Did your parents come?”
Ted scowled. “They were busy. Can I finish the story?”
Hartley kissed Ted on the cheek. “Sorry.”
“Right. So Grayson swaggers in, and everyone’s falling over themselves. ‘Oh, Mr. Grayson, we’re honored by your presence. That’s one spot filled. You don’t mind trying out, do you? Just a formality, of course. You could fall on your face and still get on the team. Can I kiss your feet?’”
“He’s that good?”
“Yeah. If he doesn’t get a gold in every event he’s in, it’s because he felt sorry for the other guy and screwed up on purpose.”
“And you’re jealous.”
“No! Look, Grayson’s the best, I admit that. Better than me. But the thing is, he doesn’t care. He loves to fly, and he loves attention and trophies, but he doesn’t care if it’s a gold medal and world-wide adoration, or his name on a circus poster, or the neighborhood kids cheering and a smiley face sticker. He knows he’s the best, and he’ll show off, but he doesn’t compete. He doesn’t fight to be the best. The Olympics mean as much to him as that work-out the other night.”
“Isn’t that good? They are called the Olympic Games. Shouldn’t people treat them like games and not the most important competition of their lives?”
Ted shook his head. “Maybe people do take them too seriously, but Grayson doesn’t take them seriously at all. His try-out was flawless, but I was watching, and I saw. Everyone else gave it their all. He didn’t. He wasn’t worried, and he wasn’t trying. He’s a performer at heart, not a competitive athlete, and the try-outs were just the dress rehearsal before the show. It’s not fair to everyone else, all those kids who have dreamed of this for years and worked so hard that they’ll lose to some jerk who won’t appreciate winning.”
Hartley raised an eyebrow. “And this has nothing to do with you not getting on the team?”
“I didn’t try hard enough,” Ted said. “I don’t care enough either, but I’m not good enough to make the team with anything less than my best. I flubbed a landing right off the bat. I could have spiced up the rest of the routine to recover, but I didn’t. I was there to see how I compared, see if I could make the team, not to actually do it. I know how good I am, and I don’t need the medal. Difference between me and Grayson is that he doesn’t need it either, but he’ll still take it.”
“Hmm.” Hartley considered everything Ted had said. “He doesn’t sound so bad. A bit of a jerk when he was in high school, but who wasn’t? I don’t think you’d care so much about his attitude towards competition if you weren’t already determined not to like him.” Ted hmphed. “I’m surprised he goes out of his way to annoy you though. Why does he care? Did you try to break up him and Babs?”
“Like I could. Babs knows her own mind. No,” Ted grinned, “I did something better. I stole his fan club.” Ted snickered at Hartley’s gobsmacked expression. “That neighbor he brought with him to the tryouts is sort of another adopted brother. He spends a lot of time in Wayne Manor and practically worships Grayson. He’s taking gymnastics too, but the kid’s a thinker, not an athlete. Twelve years old, and Tim’s already reading trade journals. He saw some of my inventions-just tweaks to other people’s designs, mostly, but it got some attention. Then he saw some videos of me from competitions, and was impressed by that too. Grayson’s smart, but he doesn’t use it if he doesn’t have to. Turns out Tim’s more impressed by a science guy who’s really good at gymnastics than by an excellent gymnast who only learns what science he has to. After the try-outs, everyone was telling Grayson how great he was, and Tim was tugging on Wayne’s sleeve, begging to be introduced to me. I guess it rankled. So I gave the kid my e-mail, screen name, phone number, stopped by to say hello the last time Kord and Wayne Industries did business, sent him a few prototypes, went to his science fair, you know, just little things.”
Hartley shook his head. “You are an evil man, Ted. Maybe James is right, and I’m not safe with you.”
Ted grinned, rolling over to his side and wrapping his arms around Hartley. “Too late now, my pretty! Mwa-ha-ha-ha!” He started tickling Hartley, who laughed and tried to squirm away, content to let the conversation end and move on to far more enjoyable activities.
TBC
Part 8