Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel) - Chapter 7
Title: Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel)
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Seven
Rating: R
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 6657
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
August had come to an end and September began, bringing with it cooler temperatures and the beginning of Pierre’s new life. He had moved into his dorm, started working out again, practice had begun with his new hockey team, and his classes had started. Still unsure of what to put for his major, Pierre left it as “undecided” and had filled his schedule with prerequisite classes that he would have to pass for any major. He had a full credit load, taking a math class, a science class, an English class, a history class, and a French class. Though he really didn’t feel like going into another language, it was a requirement for any degree and he figured if there was any other language he might need to know for a future in the NHL, it would most likely be French. After all, the NHL operated just as much in Canada as it did in America. He knew if a Canadian team offered him a spot, he would take it without a second thought.
When he first got to his dorm it was to find his dorm mate already there setting up his side of the room. The introduction had gone over well enough and he had learned that the other boy was named Jason, though he went by Jay. Looking over him, Pierre got a distinct impression he knew why. Jay was of medium height and build, looking like he didn’t go out of his way to do much of anything. His hair was long and a light brown color, tied into a low ponytail behind his back. He wore a tie-dye t-shirt and loose fitting jeans that had holes in them, not the kind that you bought that way but the kind that looked as if they had been worn for so many years the fabric had simply started to disintegrate. He also noticed a pair of sandals by the front door and thought to himself that Jay was clearly a stoner hippie, though thankfully he didn’t smell of anything at all.
Jay’s personality seemed to match his outward appearance, giving off the impression that he was relaxed and wouldn’t be bothered by much of anything. When asked what kind of movies, TV shows, and music he liked, Jay’s response had been that he liked a bit of everything. After the first couple of days, Pierre had gotten brave and pinned up a picture of himself and David at the desk in his room. When Jay saw him doing so and asked if it was his brother, Pierre regarded him for a moment before deciding to take a chance and telling him, “My boyfriend, actually.” That moment felt like standing on the edge of a landmine but his worry had been unnecessary and short lived.
Very quickly Jay had been nodding and saying, “That’s cool, man,” before holding out a fist and adding, “Love is love, brother.”
A relief unlike anything he’d ever known had washed over Pierre and he met the other boy in a fist bump, his breath a little shaky against his will as he let it out. “Thanks,” was all he had said, and soon Jay was asking him questions about David. They had spent the next thirty minutes talking about nothing other than David, Pierre accidentally gushing about him more than he had ever meant to. It felt nice to get to talk to someone about him, Jay being the first person who he had ever been able to have this type of conversation with. Back home he had ended up with no friends and no family, and the only person he could have talked about David with would have been David himself, which of course would have made no sense to do. For the first time, Pierre thought he might have made an actual friend.
He and David talked every night on the phone, Pierre excitedly talking about his new hockey team and his training, and even going over his college courses and what the classes were like. He was glad to get to tell David about Jay, and to get to prove that he had meant it when he said he would be out publicly with David once he got to college. Jay had been his first opportunity to keep his word and he was ecstatic that it had gone so well. Though he hadn’t made any other friends yet, there were classmates that he was beginning to speak to on a regular basis that he was friendly with. It all felt so exciting and he couldn’t wait for David to get to come see him for the first time so that he could share it all with him.
After his first week, Pierre had found himself getting low on underwear and knew he needed to tackle the issue of his laundry. He had walked by the school laundry facility at one point during the day and peeked in but the room was filled with people and he found himself unable to go in, too ashamed of the fact that he had no idea how to wash his clothes. At his home growing up the house staff had always taken care of the laundry for him, and even when he had been staying at David’s house his dirty clothes had ended up mixed in with the other boy’s who had continued to do the laundry once the hamper was full as was already his habit. He had done Pierre’s laundry for him without ever thinking about it, and having never had to think about that chore in his life, it also hadn’t crossed Pierre’s mind that he needed to learn for himself. Now he found himself standing outside the laundry room, feeling like an idiot for not knowing how. He had headed back to his dorm, nervous and ashamed, and told himself he would worry about it later.
Later of course came and he found himself back outside that room later that night, hoping that if he went late in the evening not as many people would be around. He felt lucky when he peeked in just after 10 PM and saw that no one else was around and there were no machines running, so he entered the room and walked up to a machine that he figured was the washer. He saw that it had slots for coins and realized he was going to have to pay per load he washed. He looked around, seeing a change machine, and converted some of his bills into quarters. To the left of the change machine stood a vending machine that was filled with all manner of soaps and detergents and stain removers and laundry sheets. He stood at it, staring at all of the options, having never been aware before that there were so many different types and wondering what he actually needed.
“First time doing laundry?” a girl’s voice came from behind him.
Pierre jumped a little and turned to look at where the voice had come from, hearing kind laughter from the girl who had spoken. He smiled a little awkwardly, giving his own quiet laugh, and nodded. “That obvious?” he asked.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Don’t sweat it, most guys have their moms do their laundry at home so it’s pretty normal,” she told him, sounding sweet.
Pierre suddenly felt self conscious about the fact that he was standing there in blue plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt, though as he looked at her he realized she was wearing pink pajama shorts and a tank top, so he allowed that feeling to ebb away.
“Why are there so many?” he asked as he looked back at the contents of the machine, earning a soft giggle from her in response.
“Consumerism,” she responded simply, before pointing at a basic powder laundry soap. “That one’s all you really need for washing,” she informed him. “Though you should really buy a big container of it from the store. It’ll be way more cost effective that way. And don’t bother with fabric softener, it just puts a layer of crap all over your clothes and will ruin them and the washer in the end.”
“Okay, cool,” Pierre said before putting in his cash and selecting the detergent she had suggested.
“You can also get dryer sheets,” she said, pointing at another simple option, and Pierre nodded and paid for those as well. “They’ll end up doing the same thing as the fabric softener eventually but if you don’t use them your clothes will be all staticy. Kind of up to you whether or not you feel they’re worth it.”
Pierre grabbed the two dispensed items from the bottom of the machine and held them up to her, giving a nod. “Thanks,” he said, before turning and heading back to the machine he had left his clothes in front of. He stared at the machine for a second before he heard her giggling behind him again and she walked up to the machine.
“Put in the coins, start the water, and once it’s a little filled, put in the soap,” she told him kindly. Pierre nodded and did as she instructed, and she continued to explain, “With powder soap it helps to let the soap dissolve in the water. If you just throw your clothes in and throw the soap in on top of it then start the water, sometimes you end up with undissolved soap all over your clothes when you go to put them in the dryer.”
“There are so many things I never would have thought of,” he said in wonder, watching as he poured the soap into the partially filled washer and it began to turn the water cloudy.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Okay now you can throw your clothes in and close the machine,” she said, and as he began to put his dirty clothes in the washer she turned and pulled her basket to the machine right next to his, doing all of the same things he had just done.
“Thanks again,” he told her as she closed the lid on her machine. She turned and with her hands gave herself a boost so that she sat on the lid of the machine, bringing her closer to his height though she was still shorter than he was. He had to guess she couldn’t have been more than 5’2”; she was positively tiny.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said dismissively, her eyes locked onto his. There was something about the way she was sitting on the washer with her hands planted and her fingers curling over the edge with her legs kicking and her eyes on his that made Pierre suddenly realize she was attracted to him. He took a step back as nonchalantly as he could and leaned against the wall, wanting to keep the space between them appropriate and to not risk sending any wrong signals. “So I’m guessing you’re a freshman,” she said, her feet still kicking in a flirtatious way. Pierre nodded and smiled, not giving a verbal response. “And I’m gonna guess you’re here for sports,” she continued, her eyes taking him in in a not so subtle way.
Pierre laughed a little, feeling nervous all of a sudden, and nodded. “I guess I’m just obvious about everything, huh?”
She tilted her head to the side as she studied him, a look of contemplation on her features. “You could be a quarterback,” she said slowly as her eyes surveyed his body, but she looked back up at his face and gave a little shake of her head. “But I’m gonna guess hockey.”
Pierre’s eyebrows lifted a little and he nodded. “You’re good,” he told her with a smile.
“You just look the type,” she told him with a flirty smile. “What’s your name, hockey player?” she asked him playfully.
“Pierre,” he told her simply, earning a little look of surprise from her. He knew it wasn’t the most common American name but had gotten used to it over the years.
“Oui, oui,” she joked, and Pierre laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m Olivia,” she gave back in turn.
Pierre inclined his head at her with a sweet smile. “Nice to meet you, Olivia,” he said kindly.
“Same to you, Pierre,” she replied. Pierre didn’t like the twinkle in her eyes as she spoke to him; he could see very plainly that she was interested. They continued to chat for the next forty minutes, Pierre trying to shift the subject onto classes and off of him specifically, not wanting to continue to be the subject of conversation.
When the washer had signaled that the cycle was over, Pierre turned back to it and opened the lid, seeing with satisfaction that his clothes were wet but not soaking and there was no trace left behind of detergent. He felt a gentle tap on the back of his leg and looked over, seeing Olivia standing there with an arm full of wet clothes and her foot popped up in the air behind her; she had clearly given him a very soft kick to get his attention. She inclined her head and started to walk to a dryer and Pierre quickly grabbed his own wet clothes and followed after her, throwing his into a machine next to hers just as she had done. Then he watched as she threw a dryer sheet into the machine, following suit and doing the same with his own. Finally he copied the buttons she pushed, put in his coins, and started the drying cycle.
Olivia turned and leaned against the dryer she had just started, tilting her head to the side again as she fixed him with a very curious and intrigued smile. “You got a girlfriend, Pierre?” she asked bluntly.
Pierre blushed and froze for a second, wondering what he should do. Should he risk putting off someone he had just met? What if he told her the truth and she was disgusted by him over it? Then he reminded himself that he was no longer interested in fake friends, and that he only wanted to surround himself with people who liked him for who he actually was. If she got upset by David’s existence, she wasn’t someone who was meant to be in his life at all.
“I uh, I have a boyfriend, actually…” he trailed off, feeling way more nervous than he could have anticipated.
Her eyes shot open wide and her mouth actually fell open and Pierre felt himself blush harder. “You?!” she asked, sounding truly stunned.
Pierre didn’t think she sounded upset but rather surprised so he nodded and gave an awkward smile. “Finally not obvious about something?” he asked about himself, trying to lighten his nerves.
“Are you fucking with me?” she asked, still not sounding unkind but rather like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Pierre shook his head, holding his awkward smile. “Not even a little bit,” he reassured her.
“This isn’t like one of those things where a guy asks me out at a bar and I tell him I’m lesbian to get him to go away, is it?” she asked, her words fast.
Pierre sighed a little and pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocking the screen and turning it toward her to show her a picture of him and David from their day at Echo Cove. In that picture he had his arm around David and was kissing him on the cheek while David beamed into the camera, his hazel eyes looking rich and bright. He watched as her eyes took in the picture, her jaw dropping further. Then he pulled his arm back and put his phone back in his pocket, looking at her nervously, that awkward smile still on his lips.
She stood up straight and stared at him with wonder in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude at all but you don’t seem even a little...” she trailed off.
“Gay?” Pierre asked, his face scrunching a little at the awkwardness of the word on his tongue. “I don’t really know if I am,” he admitted uncomfortably. “But he’s my other half and I love him. That’s all that matters.”
Olivia’s hands found her cheeks and she looked up at him with a new kind of sparkle in her eyes, one that still made Pierre a little nervous. “That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, her voice fast and her eyes still sparkling.
A laugh uncontrolled burst from his chest and suddenly Pierre felt as if a wave of relief washed over him. He had managed to tell a second person about his relationship with David and it had gone well again. He couldn’t believe his luck and couldn’t wait to tell David, though he thought he would leave out the part about Olivia so heavily flirting with him the first 45 minutes they had known each other. Again, he had the feeling that he had just made a friend and he found himself thrilled.
That night he had headed back to his dorm with a hamper full of clean clothes and a skip in his step. Jay was out of the room, probably off finding some late night munchies, and he wasted no time in calling David to tell him that he had just made another friend who had been really cool - if not a little shocked - about him having a boyfriend. The conversation filled him with a sense of fulfillment that he had never quite known, and again he was so happy to get to prove to David that he would keep his word and wouldn’t hide him when he got to college.
David loved getting to hear from Pierre every night, even more so because the other boy sounded so happy. The fact that Pierre had told two people so far that they were a couple gave David a new sense of joy, especially because both times had gone so well and Pierre was making real friends. It made the distance feel a little bit easier, despite how much it hurt being away from him. Knowing that for the first time in his life Pierre was truly enjoying himself and getting to experience life his own way helped it all feel easier, and he found himself smiling every time they talked no matter how much he missed him. Pierre truly sounded like he was glowing and David loved every second of it.
His own start at his new school hadn’t gone quite as well as Pierre’s had, though he couldn’t say it had necessarily gone badly, either. His hopes of getting to hang out with Jenny and her new friends were quickly dashed and he hardly saw any trace of her around the school. She was taking advanced courses and some college courses already and was taking theater again which kept her busy at most times. She spent her lunch in the theater room and though she had invited David to eat with them, the first few times had felt so awkward that he stopped going back. Of course, her friends were nice to him, but they were all so dramatic in a way that he found a little exhausting and he had a hard time relating to them. They always talked about this play and that musical, none of which were things that David could relate to or participate in conversation about. After a couple of days, David had resigned himself to eating lunch alone in the cafeteria.
He had also hoped that there might be some classmates who would talk to him and who he could become friends with, but mutters and stares followed him through the halls, and by the end of the first day he realized that everyone in the school knew who he was. Their town was too small and with there only being two high schools, it was too much to ask that the drama of the picture from his own school wouldn’t have made it over to their rival school’s ears. It became very clear very quickly that no one was going to reach out to him as a friend, and though it was disappointing and a little sad, he had to admit that it was still better than the school he had gone to previously where he was picked on and bullied relentlessly. At least here he was just stared at but ultimately left alone. He had been alone before, he could certainly do it again.
And just as he was alone again at school, he was alone again at home. His father had gone back out to sea two days after Pierre had left for Anchorage, and for the first time in a long time David felt how truly empty his house was. There had been a time when he had gotten himself used to the solitude and the silence, but since having Pierre stay with him for just over two months, and his father being there another two weeks after, suddenly the quiet felt louder and more oppressive, and he found himself listening to his music louder than he used to. Now, however, he could hear Pierre’s voice over every song and it hurt in a way he hadn’t experienced before. David had never felt quite so alone before.
Getting to talk on the phone to Pierre every night was the only thing that he felt kept him going at the moment, and he worked his best to hide from his boyfriend how sad he was. He was glad that Pierre had so much to share, because for the first time David had nothing to offer to the conversation. Pierre was so excited about everything he was experiencing that he didn’t seem to notice the way David only listened to their conversations. David didn’t mind; he was glad that his boyfriend was able to monopolize the conversation because it helped him hide his depression, not wanting to do anything to bring the other boy down from his high. He wanted to do nothing but pump him up, despite how much he was hurting, himself.
During his second week of school, David was sitting at a table by himself with his lunch in front of him, though he had barely touched it. Instead he had his sketchbook open in front of him and was drawing, practicing female figures and fashion. He knew if he was going to get into any sort of fashion program he was going to have to also make women’s clothing, something which he hadn’t practiced too much in his life. He drew the form in a light, sketchy fashion and began to draw a long flowy dress, finding as he got into women’s fashion that he really liked dresses and the way they flowed down the body. Plus, there was so much variety of shapes, lengths and materials, it was like the possibilities were endless for what could be designed. He continued to sketch lightly, his mind somewhere else entirely, until he heard a deep voice that pulled him back to reality saying, “Hey.”
He looked up, seeing a tall boy standing in front of him, dressed in a Pierce the Veil t-shirt, an unzipped black hoodie and ripped black skinny jeans with a silver studded belt. He had multiple piercings in each ear with large gauges and chipped black nail polish, and was staring down at him with a peculiar look on his face. David looked up at him with surprise, wondering if he wanted the table and expected David to leave.
“What’s up?” David asked, sounding cautious and uncertain.
“Do you really not… remember me?” the other boy’s voice came, and for a moment David felt lost. He stared at the boy who was tall, his shoulders wide though he was still slender, with sandy blond hair that was short on the sides and longer on the top, sitting forward on his head in a wavy fashion. He looked into the boy’s gray eyes for a second before a feeling of dread dropped into his stomach and it suddenly dawned on him who he was looking at. He had grown a good four inches, his body had become more broad, his jaw had gotten stronger and more masculine, his arms were slightly muscular in a natural way, not like he worked out on a regular basis, but his eyes were still the same and his hair color and texture hadn’t changed. The other boy smiled a little when he saw the recognition dawn on David’s face and he leaned down, kneeling next to David where he sat in his chair. “Good, you do remember me,” he said, his voice much deeper than the last time David had heard it.
Suddenly David grabbed his things and stood, backing away several feet, his face struck with horror and alarm. He was staring at his ex-boyfriend, Hunter Jackson, someone who he thought he would never have to see again. “Don’t talk to me,” David warned, his voice low but his words shaking as he spoke them. He couldn’t believe who he was staring at, and how much he had changed.
The smile fell from Hunter’s lips and he stood again, towering over David in a way he never had before, looking much closer to a man than the scrawny boy that he remembered. “David, come on,” he said quietly.
The sound of his name leaving Hunter’s lips sent deep shudders through David’s body and he backed further away, shaking his head quickly. “Don’t,” he said shortly, before turning and walking away as quickly as he could, his lunch on the table completely forgotten. He turned to glance over his shoulder, terrified that the other boy would follow him, but feeling a sense of relief to see him still standing at the table and staring after him. David picked up his pace until he was jogging and headed to his next classroom, his mind racing as quickly as his heart.
How could he have forgotten that Hunter existed? How could it have slipped his mind that Hunter had already gone to this school when they were dating? Unless he had left town, it would only make sense that he still went there. Suddenly David found himself regretting the choice to transfer schools, even if staying at his old one would mean being picked on daily. Somehow he thought he would rather be picked on by people who meant nothing to him than to have to face his ex-boyfriend who had broken him down so entirely and assaulted him in a way that he still hadn’t healed from.
It was with a sense of paranoia that David finished the rest of his day and made as quick a path out to his car that he could. He didn’t see Hunter again and it was with a sense of relief that he drove home and went inside, locking the door behind him. He sat at the kitchen table and tried to do his school work but failed to keep himself focused on it. When his phone rang and he saw Pierre’s face light up the screen, he answered in record time and put the phone to his face, breathing out the word, “Pierre.”
The smile fell from Pierre’s face immediately, able to hear that something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” he asked quickly, his voice deep and serious.
David hesitated, not meaning to sound so obvious, and he thought about lying and pretending like everything was okay. Pierre’s voice came through the phone again, sounding just as serious as it had before.
“David, tell me what happened.”
David took a deep breath and felt his panic start to pour out of him outside of his control. “I’m so fucking stupid,” he breathed, feeling himself shaking. “I don’t know how but I completely forgot that Hunter goes to this school.”
Pierre’s brow furrowed and he sat up straight in his bed, having leaned against his headboard when he had called David initially. “Hunter?” he asked, this being a name he’d never heard David speak before.
Suddenly David realized he must have never said his name to Pierre and he took a shaky breath before admitting, “My ex-boyfriend.”
Pierre felt jealousy crash through his body and immediately he was angry, though he didn’t honestly have a reason to be. “Your ex-boyfriend goes to your new school?” he asked, unable to mask the jealousy in his voice as he spoke.
“What am I gonna do?!” David asked frantically. “I didn’t even think about him! But it’s not like I can just transfer back now, it’s too late for that, the school year has already started!”
The sound of true fear in David’s voice quelled the jealous feelings that had exploded inside of him and suddenly Pierre found himself worrying. What had happened during their relationship and breakup that had left David so freaked out to be around the other boy? He had said that it was messy and ugly and that in the end he was glad to be rid of him, and Pierre had been able to tell that he found the memory of him upsetting, but now he worried that something more sinister had happened between them. “Did he do something to you?” Pierre asked, his voice low and serious.
David shook his head and bit his lip, whispering, “He just tried to talk to me at lunch today and I freaked out.”
Pierre wanted to push the question again, to ask if Hunter had done something to him in the past to warrant this level of reaction, but he worried about David’s mental state and kept quiet for a moment. “What did you say to him?” Pierre finally asked, his voice hard in his discomfort.
“I told him not to talk to me and ran away,” David admitted honestly.
Pierre closed his eyes and leaned back against his headboard with a sigh, telling himself to stop being so damn jealous. “Do you think he’ll listen?” he asked, trying to sound softer for David’s sake.
“I hope so,” David responded quietly. “I definitely made it clear I didn’t want to be around him.”
“What about Jenny? Where was she?” Pierre asked, feeling helpless. He wished he could be there to scare this kid away and show him that David was not his to talk to anymore.
“Well… She’s always busy with her friends in the theater room,” David admitted, not wanting to lie but having kept this a secret for the past two weeks. “So… I don’t see her at school… at all…”
“David…” Pierre responded with defeat. “So you’re alone again?” he asked sadly.
“You could put it like that…” David trailed off. He had wanted to keep this detail from Pierre because he knew it would make him feel bad even though there was nothing he could do about it.
“What about anyone else? You haven’t made any other friends?” Pierre asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“Well… it would appear that everyone at this school also knows about the picture so… No one’s mean to be about it but everyone just kind of… stares… and talks about me behind my back,” he admitted slowly, pain in his voice at how little he had wanted to tell the other boy this fact.
“Daviiiid…” Pierre’s voice came again, sounding even more defeated. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly, the sadness clear in his voice.
“I didn’t want to be a bummer,” David replied quietly. “You’re always so happy when you call, I just want to hear about your day.”
“David, you have to talk to me about this stuff,” Pierre told him, sounding even sadder now. “You’re all alone at home again, apparently you’re still alone at school… You can’t shut me out, too.”
“Sorry,” David breathed, his eyes staring unseeingly at the table in front of him. “I just didn’t want you to feel bad.”
“Of course I feel bad, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know,” Pierre reasoned gently. After several seconds of silence, he allowed possessiveness to take over his voice and he added, “Do I need to come beat the shit out of him?” He was only half joking… maybe even only a quarter.
At this David actually laughed a little and Pierre felt himself smile at the sound. “No,” he said sullenly. “As cathartic as that would feel…”
“Just… tell me if he doesn’t leave you alone,” Pierre said, his voice serious.
“Okay,” David responded quietly. “I’m just gonna have to buck up and not let him see how scared I am of him,” he added, more for himself than for Pierre.
Pierre immediately felt his defenses shoot up again and he sat up straight in bed again. “Why would you be scared of him?” he asked, his voice again hard and serious. David’s eyes widened a little and he didn’t respond, scrambling for what to say, not wanting to tell Pierre what had happened between them and why he was so shaken by a run-in with the other boy. Pierre, frustrated by the silence, spoke again. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” he responded quickly.
“David I’m serious, did he hurt you?” Pierre asked again, not convinced by the tone of his boyfriend’s voice. “Look, I’ll skip all my classes and come there tomorrow, I don’t give a shit. If I have to beat the fuck out of him, I will,” he continued, his anger rising in him in a way it hadn’t in months.
David shook his head frantically though Pierre couldn’t see him. He couldn’t allow Pierre to hurt his future over something that happened in the past, so he quickly said, “No it was just… messy,” he used the word again. “I’m just scared of the confrontation. I never thought I’d have to see him again,” he added, hoping to convince his boyfriend before he went rogue and bought a plane ticket. “Look, the truth is, our relationship wasn’t great. It started off sweet but it only took a couple of months before things started to get bad,” David explained, hoping some backstory would help put Pierre’s mind at ease.
“We met at the Homecoming football game in freshman year, I was in band and had to go to the games, and he was in the band for the other team. We talked at halftime and he asked for my number and we sort of became friends,” David continued, sounding as if he didn’t want to be reliving this memory to his boyfriend at all. Pierre felt jealousy again pricking up inside but he kept himself quiet, allowing David to speak. “I didn’t see at the time but he never wanted to be friends. A month later we were dating, and we didn’t break up until winter vacation during sophomore year. It was good at first but then he started to want to do things I wasn’t ready for, and I let him pressure me into doing them. He would use guilt and manipulation to get his way. He would accuse me of not loving him and I thought I did so I always gave in. He wouldn’t let me tell anyone about us, not even my parents or Jenny. Jenny doesn’t know I ever even dated him. I kept it a secret for thirteen months and it felt like it was gonna kill me.”
Pierre allowed these words to flow through his mind, seeing a picture of an incredibly unhealthy relationship and suddenly understanding why David could be so distrusting and standoffish, though he reminded himself that his own mistreatment of David had also played into that, and felt guilt eating at him knowing that while David had been dealing with this mentally abusive boyfriend, he himself had been abusing David on a regular basis at school. The idea made him feel sick.
“We started to have fights because he wanted to have sex and I didn’t, and because I wanted to come out and he didn’t. Eventually I started suggesting that we just break up because we weren’t happy and any time I did he begged me not to break up with him and said he’d kill himself if I did.” The way David said this with such exasperation and defeat broke Pierre’s heart; he sounded like he was used to saying this, like it wasn’t a big deal that he had gone through this. How many times had this happened to him during his relationship with Hunter that he could speak about it this way? He felt horrified at the thought. “He swore we could come out soon and we would stay together, but then nothing ever changed. I finally had enough of it right before Christmas and I broke up with him for good. I told him to never talk to me again and that was it, he knew it was over and I never heard from him again.”
David knew he was leaving out an important part of the story from the day of their breakup but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He couldn’t speak of the way Hunter had bent him in half, held him down, grinded against him, and felt for his entrance no matter how hard he tried to squirm away from him, or how much he begged him to stop, or how hard he cried. And he couldn’t bring himself to relive the way Hunter had yelled at him after his dad had almost caught them, as if it was his fault they had been in that position to begin with. And he couldn’t speak the thought he’d wondered in his head a thousand times, wondering if Hunter would have gone so far as to rape him if they hadn’t been interrupted. That was something that David thought he would take to his grave. He had shared the important part, that he had finally been done and it had ended fully.
Pierre didn’t know what to say so he settled on, “I’m sorry you went through that.”
David sighed and shook his head at himself, his eyes falling closed. “I honestly hadn’t thought of him in so long that I completely forgot he went to this school. If I had remembered, I never would have transferred. But it’s too late now, and I’m just gonna have to get a hold of myself and deal with him,” he finished strongly.
Pierre waited a few seconds before sighing and leaning back against his headboard again. “Okay. But I’m serious. If he bothers you, you need to tell me.”
“I will,” David told him, forcing his voice to sound more sure. “I love you,” he added quickly, hoping to calm Pierre down.
“I love you too,” he responded, his voice softening again.
David steered the conversation into a lighter subject, asking Pierre about his day and forcing him to tell him though the older boy was clearly uncomfortable and didn’t want to move on. Their conversation lasted longer than usual that night though they talked about less. Pierre couldn’t keep his mind off of David and this mysterious ex-boyfriend Hunter, unable to put his mind at ease over the whole situation. He trusted David entirely; he didn’t trust Hunter in the slightest. When the two ended their conversation a while later, Pierre had a difficult time focusing on his homework, his mind continuously wandering back to the fear in David’s voice and wondering what it meant. There was one thing he was certain of: all was not well back in Juneau, and he was powerless to do anything about it.
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Seven
Rating: R
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 6657
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
August had come to an end and September began, bringing with it cooler temperatures and the beginning of Pierre’s new life. He had moved into his dorm, started working out again, practice had begun with his new hockey team, and his classes had started. Still unsure of what to put for his major, Pierre left it as “undecided” and had filled his schedule with prerequisite classes that he would have to pass for any major. He had a full credit load, taking a math class, a science class, an English class, a history class, and a French class. Though he really didn’t feel like going into another language, it was a requirement for any degree and he figured if there was any other language he might need to know for a future in the NHL, it would most likely be French. After all, the NHL operated just as much in Canada as it did in America. He knew if a Canadian team offered him a spot, he would take it without a second thought.
When he first got to his dorm it was to find his dorm mate already there setting up his side of the room. The introduction had gone over well enough and he had learned that the other boy was named Jason, though he went by Jay. Looking over him, Pierre got a distinct impression he knew why. Jay was of medium height and build, looking like he didn’t go out of his way to do much of anything. His hair was long and a light brown color, tied into a low ponytail behind his back. He wore a tie-dye t-shirt and loose fitting jeans that had holes in them, not the kind that you bought that way but the kind that looked as if they had been worn for so many years the fabric had simply started to disintegrate. He also noticed a pair of sandals by the front door and thought to himself that Jay was clearly a stoner hippie, though thankfully he didn’t smell of anything at all.
Jay’s personality seemed to match his outward appearance, giving off the impression that he was relaxed and wouldn’t be bothered by much of anything. When asked what kind of movies, TV shows, and music he liked, Jay’s response had been that he liked a bit of everything. After the first couple of days, Pierre had gotten brave and pinned up a picture of himself and David at the desk in his room. When Jay saw him doing so and asked if it was his brother, Pierre regarded him for a moment before deciding to take a chance and telling him, “My boyfriend, actually.” That moment felt like standing on the edge of a landmine but his worry had been unnecessary and short lived.
Very quickly Jay had been nodding and saying, “That’s cool, man,” before holding out a fist and adding, “Love is love, brother.”
A relief unlike anything he’d ever known had washed over Pierre and he met the other boy in a fist bump, his breath a little shaky against his will as he let it out. “Thanks,” was all he had said, and soon Jay was asking him questions about David. They had spent the next thirty minutes talking about nothing other than David, Pierre accidentally gushing about him more than he had ever meant to. It felt nice to get to talk to someone about him, Jay being the first person who he had ever been able to have this type of conversation with. Back home he had ended up with no friends and no family, and the only person he could have talked about David with would have been David himself, which of course would have made no sense to do. For the first time, Pierre thought he might have made an actual friend.
He and David talked every night on the phone, Pierre excitedly talking about his new hockey team and his training, and even going over his college courses and what the classes were like. He was glad to get to tell David about Jay, and to get to prove that he had meant it when he said he would be out publicly with David once he got to college. Jay had been his first opportunity to keep his word and he was ecstatic that it had gone so well. Though he hadn’t made any other friends yet, there were classmates that he was beginning to speak to on a regular basis that he was friendly with. It all felt so exciting and he couldn’t wait for David to get to come see him for the first time so that he could share it all with him.
After his first week, Pierre had found himself getting low on underwear and knew he needed to tackle the issue of his laundry. He had walked by the school laundry facility at one point during the day and peeked in but the room was filled with people and he found himself unable to go in, too ashamed of the fact that he had no idea how to wash his clothes. At his home growing up the house staff had always taken care of the laundry for him, and even when he had been staying at David’s house his dirty clothes had ended up mixed in with the other boy’s who had continued to do the laundry once the hamper was full as was already his habit. He had done Pierre’s laundry for him without ever thinking about it, and having never had to think about that chore in his life, it also hadn’t crossed Pierre’s mind that he needed to learn for himself. Now he found himself standing outside the laundry room, feeling like an idiot for not knowing how. He had headed back to his dorm, nervous and ashamed, and told himself he would worry about it later.
Later of course came and he found himself back outside that room later that night, hoping that if he went late in the evening not as many people would be around. He felt lucky when he peeked in just after 10 PM and saw that no one else was around and there were no machines running, so he entered the room and walked up to a machine that he figured was the washer. He saw that it had slots for coins and realized he was going to have to pay per load he washed. He looked around, seeing a change machine, and converted some of his bills into quarters. To the left of the change machine stood a vending machine that was filled with all manner of soaps and detergents and stain removers and laundry sheets. He stood at it, staring at all of the options, having never been aware before that there were so many different types and wondering what he actually needed.
“First time doing laundry?” a girl’s voice came from behind him.
Pierre jumped a little and turned to look at where the voice had come from, hearing kind laughter from the girl who had spoken. He smiled a little awkwardly, giving his own quiet laugh, and nodded. “That obvious?” he asked.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Don’t sweat it, most guys have their moms do their laundry at home so it’s pretty normal,” she told him, sounding sweet.
Pierre suddenly felt self conscious about the fact that he was standing there in blue plaid pajama pants and a white t-shirt, though as he looked at her he realized she was wearing pink pajama shorts and a tank top, so he allowed that feeling to ebb away.
“Why are there so many?” he asked as he looked back at the contents of the machine, earning a soft giggle from her in response.
“Consumerism,” she responded simply, before pointing at a basic powder laundry soap. “That one’s all you really need for washing,” she informed him. “Though you should really buy a big container of it from the store. It’ll be way more cost effective that way. And don’t bother with fabric softener, it just puts a layer of crap all over your clothes and will ruin them and the washer in the end.”
“Okay, cool,” Pierre said before putting in his cash and selecting the detergent she had suggested.
“You can also get dryer sheets,” she said, pointing at another simple option, and Pierre nodded and paid for those as well. “They’ll end up doing the same thing as the fabric softener eventually but if you don’t use them your clothes will be all staticy. Kind of up to you whether or not you feel they’re worth it.”
Pierre grabbed the two dispensed items from the bottom of the machine and held them up to her, giving a nod. “Thanks,” he said, before turning and heading back to the machine he had left his clothes in front of. He stared at the machine for a second before he heard her giggling behind him again and she walked up to the machine.
“Put in the coins, start the water, and once it’s a little filled, put in the soap,” she told him kindly. Pierre nodded and did as she instructed, and she continued to explain, “With powder soap it helps to let the soap dissolve in the water. If you just throw your clothes in and throw the soap in on top of it then start the water, sometimes you end up with undissolved soap all over your clothes when you go to put them in the dryer.”
“There are so many things I never would have thought of,” he said in wonder, watching as he poured the soap into the partially filled washer and it began to turn the water cloudy.
She smiled at him and nodded. “Okay now you can throw your clothes in and close the machine,” she said, and as he began to put his dirty clothes in the washer she turned and pulled her basket to the machine right next to his, doing all of the same things he had just done.
“Thanks again,” he told her as she closed the lid on her machine. She turned and with her hands gave herself a boost so that she sat on the lid of the machine, bringing her closer to his height though she was still shorter than he was. He had to guess she couldn’t have been more than 5’2”; she was positively tiny.
“Don’t worry about it,” she said dismissively, her eyes locked onto his. There was something about the way she was sitting on the washer with her hands planted and her fingers curling over the edge with her legs kicking and her eyes on his that made Pierre suddenly realize she was attracted to him. He took a step back as nonchalantly as he could and leaned against the wall, wanting to keep the space between them appropriate and to not risk sending any wrong signals. “So I’m guessing you’re a freshman,” she said, her feet still kicking in a flirtatious way. Pierre nodded and smiled, not giving a verbal response. “And I’m gonna guess you’re here for sports,” she continued, her eyes taking him in in a not so subtle way.
Pierre laughed a little, feeling nervous all of a sudden, and nodded. “I guess I’m just obvious about everything, huh?”
She tilted her head to the side as she studied him, a look of contemplation on her features. “You could be a quarterback,” she said slowly as her eyes surveyed his body, but she looked back up at his face and gave a little shake of her head. “But I’m gonna guess hockey.”
Pierre’s eyebrows lifted a little and he nodded. “You’re good,” he told her with a smile.
“You just look the type,” she told him with a flirty smile. “What’s your name, hockey player?” she asked him playfully.
“Pierre,” he told her simply, earning a little look of surprise from her. He knew it wasn’t the most common American name but had gotten used to it over the years.
“Oui, oui,” she joked, and Pierre laughed and rolled his eyes. “I’m Olivia,” she gave back in turn.
Pierre inclined his head at her with a sweet smile. “Nice to meet you, Olivia,” he said kindly.
“Same to you, Pierre,” she replied. Pierre didn’t like the twinkle in her eyes as she spoke to him; he could see very plainly that she was interested. They continued to chat for the next forty minutes, Pierre trying to shift the subject onto classes and off of him specifically, not wanting to continue to be the subject of conversation.
When the washer had signaled that the cycle was over, Pierre turned back to it and opened the lid, seeing with satisfaction that his clothes were wet but not soaking and there was no trace left behind of detergent. He felt a gentle tap on the back of his leg and looked over, seeing Olivia standing there with an arm full of wet clothes and her foot popped up in the air behind her; she had clearly given him a very soft kick to get his attention. She inclined her head and started to walk to a dryer and Pierre quickly grabbed his own wet clothes and followed after her, throwing his into a machine next to hers just as she had done. Then he watched as she threw a dryer sheet into the machine, following suit and doing the same with his own. Finally he copied the buttons she pushed, put in his coins, and started the drying cycle.
Olivia turned and leaned against the dryer she had just started, tilting her head to the side again as she fixed him with a very curious and intrigued smile. “You got a girlfriend, Pierre?” she asked bluntly.
Pierre blushed and froze for a second, wondering what he should do. Should he risk putting off someone he had just met? What if he told her the truth and she was disgusted by him over it? Then he reminded himself that he was no longer interested in fake friends, and that he only wanted to surround himself with people who liked him for who he actually was. If she got upset by David’s existence, she wasn’t someone who was meant to be in his life at all.
“I uh, I have a boyfriend, actually…” he trailed off, feeling way more nervous than he could have anticipated.
Her eyes shot open wide and her mouth actually fell open and Pierre felt himself blush harder. “You?!” she asked, sounding truly stunned.
Pierre didn’t think she sounded upset but rather surprised so he nodded and gave an awkward smile. “Finally not obvious about something?” he asked about himself, trying to lighten his nerves.
“Are you fucking with me?” she asked, still not sounding unkind but rather like she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
Pierre shook his head, holding his awkward smile. “Not even a little bit,” he reassured her.
“This isn’t like one of those things where a guy asks me out at a bar and I tell him I’m lesbian to get him to go away, is it?” she asked, her words fast.
Pierre sighed a little and pulled his phone from his pocket, unlocking the screen and turning it toward her to show her a picture of him and David from their day at Echo Cove. In that picture he had his arm around David and was kissing him on the cheek while David beamed into the camera, his hazel eyes looking rich and bright. He watched as her eyes took in the picture, her jaw dropping further. Then he pulled his arm back and put his phone back in his pocket, looking at her nervously, that awkward smile still on his lips.
She stood up straight and stared at him with wonder in her eyes. “I’m so sorry, I don’t mean to sound rude at all but you don’t seem even a little...” she trailed off.
“Gay?” Pierre asked, his face scrunching a little at the awkwardness of the word on his tongue. “I don’t really know if I am,” he admitted uncomfortably. “But he’s my other half and I love him. That’s all that matters.”
Olivia’s hands found her cheeks and she looked up at him with a new kind of sparkle in her eyes, one that still made Pierre a little nervous. “That is the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” she said, her voice fast and her eyes still sparkling.
A laugh uncontrolled burst from his chest and suddenly Pierre felt as if a wave of relief washed over him. He had managed to tell a second person about his relationship with David and it had gone well again. He couldn’t believe his luck and couldn’t wait to tell David, though he thought he would leave out the part about Olivia so heavily flirting with him the first 45 minutes they had known each other. Again, he had the feeling that he had just made a friend and he found himself thrilled.
That night he had headed back to his dorm with a hamper full of clean clothes and a skip in his step. Jay was out of the room, probably off finding some late night munchies, and he wasted no time in calling David to tell him that he had just made another friend who had been really cool - if not a little shocked - about him having a boyfriend. The conversation filled him with a sense of fulfillment that he had never quite known, and again he was so happy to get to prove to David that he would keep his word and wouldn’t hide him when he got to college.
David loved getting to hear from Pierre every night, even more so because the other boy sounded so happy. The fact that Pierre had told two people so far that they were a couple gave David a new sense of joy, especially because both times had gone so well and Pierre was making real friends. It made the distance feel a little bit easier, despite how much it hurt being away from him. Knowing that for the first time in his life Pierre was truly enjoying himself and getting to experience life his own way helped it all feel easier, and he found himself smiling every time they talked no matter how much he missed him. Pierre truly sounded like he was glowing and David loved every second of it.
His own start at his new school hadn’t gone quite as well as Pierre’s had, though he couldn’t say it had necessarily gone badly, either. His hopes of getting to hang out with Jenny and her new friends were quickly dashed and he hardly saw any trace of her around the school. She was taking advanced courses and some college courses already and was taking theater again which kept her busy at most times. She spent her lunch in the theater room and though she had invited David to eat with them, the first few times had felt so awkward that he stopped going back. Of course, her friends were nice to him, but they were all so dramatic in a way that he found a little exhausting and he had a hard time relating to them. They always talked about this play and that musical, none of which were things that David could relate to or participate in conversation about. After a couple of days, David had resigned himself to eating lunch alone in the cafeteria.
He had also hoped that there might be some classmates who would talk to him and who he could become friends with, but mutters and stares followed him through the halls, and by the end of the first day he realized that everyone in the school knew who he was. Their town was too small and with there only being two high schools, it was too much to ask that the drama of the picture from his own school wouldn’t have made it over to their rival school’s ears. It became very clear very quickly that no one was going to reach out to him as a friend, and though it was disappointing and a little sad, he had to admit that it was still better than the school he had gone to previously where he was picked on and bullied relentlessly. At least here he was just stared at but ultimately left alone. He had been alone before, he could certainly do it again.
And just as he was alone again at school, he was alone again at home. His father had gone back out to sea two days after Pierre had left for Anchorage, and for the first time in a long time David felt how truly empty his house was. There had been a time when he had gotten himself used to the solitude and the silence, but since having Pierre stay with him for just over two months, and his father being there another two weeks after, suddenly the quiet felt louder and more oppressive, and he found himself listening to his music louder than he used to. Now, however, he could hear Pierre’s voice over every song and it hurt in a way he hadn’t experienced before. David had never felt quite so alone before.
Getting to talk on the phone to Pierre every night was the only thing that he felt kept him going at the moment, and he worked his best to hide from his boyfriend how sad he was. He was glad that Pierre had so much to share, because for the first time David had nothing to offer to the conversation. Pierre was so excited about everything he was experiencing that he didn’t seem to notice the way David only listened to their conversations. David didn’t mind; he was glad that his boyfriend was able to monopolize the conversation because it helped him hide his depression, not wanting to do anything to bring the other boy down from his high. He wanted to do nothing but pump him up, despite how much he was hurting, himself.
During his second week of school, David was sitting at a table by himself with his lunch in front of him, though he had barely touched it. Instead he had his sketchbook open in front of him and was drawing, practicing female figures and fashion. He knew if he was going to get into any sort of fashion program he was going to have to also make women’s clothing, something which he hadn’t practiced too much in his life. He drew the form in a light, sketchy fashion and began to draw a long flowy dress, finding as he got into women’s fashion that he really liked dresses and the way they flowed down the body. Plus, there was so much variety of shapes, lengths and materials, it was like the possibilities were endless for what could be designed. He continued to sketch lightly, his mind somewhere else entirely, until he heard a deep voice that pulled him back to reality saying, “Hey.”
He looked up, seeing a tall boy standing in front of him, dressed in a Pierce the Veil t-shirt, an unzipped black hoodie and ripped black skinny jeans with a silver studded belt. He had multiple piercings in each ear with large gauges and chipped black nail polish, and was staring down at him with a peculiar look on his face. David looked up at him with surprise, wondering if he wanted the table and expected David to leave.
“What’s up?” David asked, sounding cautious and uncertain.
“Do you really not… remember me?” the other boy’s voice came, and for a moment David felt lost. He stared at the boy who was tall, his shoulders wide though he was still slender, with sandy blond hair that was short on the sides and longer on the top, sitting forward on his head in a wavy fashion. He looked into the boy’s gray eyes for a second before a feeling of dread dropped into his stomach and it suddenly dawned on him who he was looking at. He had grown a good four inches, his body had become more broad, his jaw had gotten stronger and more masculine, his arms were slightly muscular in a natural way, not like he worked out on a regular basis, but his eyes were still the same and his hair color and texture hadn’t changed. The other boy smiled a little when he saw the recognition dawn on David’s face and he leaned down, kneeling next to David where he sat in his chair. “Good, you do remember me,” he said, his voice much deeper than the last time David had heard it.
Suddenly David grabbed his things and stood, backing away several feet, his face struck with horror and alarm. He was staring at his ex-boyfriend, Hunter Jackson, someone who he thought he would never have to see again. “Don’t talk to me,” David warned, his voice low but his words shaking as he spoke them. He couldn’t believe who he was staring at, and how much he had changed.
The smile fell from Hunter’s lips and he stood again, towering over David in a way he never had before, looking much closer to a man than the scrawny boy that he remembered. “David, come on,” he said quietly.
The sound of his name leaving Hunter’s lips sent deep shudders through David’s body and he backed further away, shaking his head quickly. “Don’t,” he said shortly, before turning and walking away as quickly as he could, his lunch on the table completely forgotten. He turned to glance over his shoulder, terrified that the other boy would follow him, but feeling a sense of relief to see him still standing at the table and staring after him. David picked up his pace until he was jogging and headed to his next classroom, his mind racing as quickly as his heart.
How could he have forgotten that Hunter existed? How could it have slipped his mind that Hunter had already gone to this school when they were dating? Unless he had left town, it would only make sense that he still went there. Suddenly David found himself regretting the choice to transfer schools, even if staying at his old one would mean being picked on daily. Somehow he thought he would rather be picked on by people who meant nothing to him than to have to face his ex-boyfriend who had broken him down so entirely and assaulted him in a way that he still hadn’t healed from.
It was with a sense of paranoia that David finished the rest of his day and made as quick a path out to his car that he could. He didn’t see Hunter again and it was with a sense of relief that he drove home and went inside, locking the door behind him. He sat at the kitchen table and tried to do his school work but failed to keep himself focused on it. When his phone rang and he saw Pierre’s face light up the screen, he answered in record time and put the phone to his face, breathing out the word, “Pierre.”
The smile fell from Pierre’s face immediately, able to hear that something wasn’t right. “What’s wrong?” he asked quickly, his voice deep and serious.
David hesitated, not meaning to sound so obvious, and he thought about lying and pretending like everything was okay. Pierre’s voice came through the phone again, sounding just as serious as it had before.
“David, tell me what happened.”
David took a deep breath and felt his panic start to pour out of him outside of his control. “I’m so fucking stupid,” he breathed, feeling himself shaking. “I don’t know how but I completely forgot that Hunter goes to this school.”
Pierre’s brow furrowed and he sat up straight in his bed, having leaned against his headboard when he had called David initially. “Hunter?” he asked, this being a name he’d never heard David speak before.
Suddenly David realized he must have never said his name to Pierre and he took a shaky breath before admitting, “My ex-boyfriend.”
Pierre felt jealousy crash through his body and immediately he was angry, though he didn’t honestly have a reason to be. “Your ex-boyfriend goes to your new school?” he asked, unable to mask the jealousy in his voice as he spoke.
“What am I gonna do?!” David asked frantically. “I didn’t even think about him! But it’s not like I can just transfer back now, it’s too late for that, the school year has already started!”
The sound of true fear in David’s voice quelled the jealous feelings that had exploded inside of him and suddenly Pierre found himself worrying. What had happened during their relationship and breakup that had left David so freaked out to be around the other boy? He had said that it was messy and ugly and that in the end he was glad to be rid of him, and Pierre had been able to tell that he found the memory of him upsetting, but now he worried that something more sinister had happened between them. “Did he do something to you?” Pierre asked, his voice low and serious.
David shook his head and bit his lip, whispering, “He just tried to talk to me at lunch today and I freaked out.”
Pierre wanted to push the question again, to ask if Hunter had done something to him in the past to warrant this level of reaction, but he worried about David’s mental state and kept quiet for a moment. “What did you say to him?” Pierre finally asked, his voice hard in his discomfort.
“I told him not to talk to me and ran away,” David admitted honestly.
Pierre closed his eyes and leaned back against his headboard with a sigh, telling himself to stop being so damn jealous. “Do you think he’ll listen?” he asked, trying to sound softer for David’s sake.
“I hope so,” David responded quietly. “I definitely made it clear I didn’t want to be around him.”
“What about Jenny? Where was she?” Pierre asked, feeling helpless. He wished he could be there to scare this kid away and show him that David was not his to talk to anymore.
“Well… She’s always busy with her friends in the theater room,” David admitted, not wanting to lie but having kept this a secret for the past two weeks. “So… I don’t see her at school… at all…”
“David…” Pierre responded with defeat. “So you’re alone again?” he asked sadly.
“You could put it like that…” David trailed off. He had wanted to keep this detail from Pierre because he knew it would make him feel bad even though there was nothing he could do about it.
“What about anyone else? You haven’t made any other friends?” Pierre asked, trying to sound hopeful.
“Well… it would appear that everyone at this school also knows about the picture so… No one’s mean to be about it but everyone just kind of… stares… and talks about me behind my back,” he admitted slowly, pain in his voice at how little he had wanted to tell the other boy this fact.
“Daviiiid…” Pierre’s voice came again, sounding even more defeated. “Why didn’t you tell me?” he asked quietly, the sadness clear in his voice.
“I didn’t want to be a bummer,” David replied quietly. “You’re always so happy when you call, I just want to hear about your day.”
“David, you have to talk to me about this stuff,” Pierre told him, sounding even sadder now. “You’re all alone at home again, apparently you’re still alone at school… You can’t shut me out, too.”
“Sorry,” David breathed, his eyes staring unseeingly at the table in front of him. “I just didn’t want you to feel bad.”
“Of course I feel bad, but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t know,” Pierre reasoned gently. After several seconds of silence, he allowed possessiveness to take over his voice and he added, “Do I need to come beat the shit out of him?” He was only half joking… maybe even only a quarter.
At this David actually laughed a little and Pierre felt himself smile at the sound. “No,” he said sullenly. “As cathartic as that would feel…”
“Just… tell me if he doesn’t leave you alone,” Pierre said, his voice serious.
“Okay,” David responded quietly. “I’m just gonna have to buck up and not let him see how scared I am of him,” he added, more for himself than for Pierre.
Pierre immediately felt his defenses shoot up again and he sat up straight in bed again. “Why would you be scared of him?” he asked, his voice again hard and serious. David’s eyes widened a little and he didn’t respond, scrambling for what to say, not wanting to tell Pierre what had happened between them and why he was so shaken by a run-in with the other boy. Pierre, frustrated by the silence, spoke again. “Did he hurt you?”
“No,” he responded quickly.
“David I’m serious, did he hurt you?” Pierre asked again, not convinced by the tone of his boyfriend’s voice. “Look, I’ll skip all my classes and come there tomorrow, I don’t give a shit. If I have to beat the fuck out of him, I will,” he continued, his anger rising in him in a way it hadn’t in months.
David shook his head frantically though Pierre couldn’t see him. He couldn’t allow Pierre to hurt his future over something that happened in the past, so he quickly said, “No it was just… messy,” he used the word again. “I’m just scared of the confrontation. I never thought I’d have to see him again,” he added, hoping to convince his boyfriend before he went rogue and bought a plane ticket. “Look, the truth is, our relationship wasn’t great. It started off sweet but it only took a couple of months before things started to get bad,” David explained, hoping some backstory would help put Pierre’s mind at ease.
“We met at the Homecoming football game in freshman year, I was in band and had to go to the games, and he was in the band for the other team. We talked at halftime and he asked for my number and we sort of became friends,” David continued, sounding as if he didn’t want to be reliving this memory to his boyfriend at all. Pierre felt jealousy again pricking up inside but he kept himself quiet, allowing David to speak. “I didn’t see at the time but he never wanted to be friends. A month later we were dating, and we didn’t break up until winter vacation during sophomore year. It was good at first but then he started to want to do things I wasn’t ready for, and I let him pressure me into doing them. He would use guilt and manipulation to get his way. He would accuse me of not loving him and I thought I did so I always gave in. He wouldn’t let me tell anyone about us, not even my parents or Jenny. Jenny doesn’t know I ever even dated him. I kept it a secret for thirteen months and it felt like it was gonna kill me.”
Pierre allowed these words to flow through his mind, seeing a picture of an incredibly unhealthy relationship and suddenly understanding why David could be so distrusting and standoffish, though he reminded himself that his own mistreatment of David had also played into that, and felt guilt eating at him knowing that while David had been dealing with this mentally abusive boyfriend, he himself had been abusing David on a regular basis at school. The idea made him feel sick.
“We started to have fights because he wanted to have sex and I didn’t, and because I wanted to come out and he didn’t. Eventually I started suggesting that we just break up because we weren’t happy and any time I did he begged me not to break up with him and said he’d kill himself if I did.” The way David said this with such exasperation and defeat broke Pierre’s heart; he sounded like he was used to saying this, like it wasn’t a big deal that he had gone through this. How many times had this happened to him during his relationship with Hunter that he could speak about it this way? He felt horrified at the thought. “He swore we could come out soon and we would stay together, but then nothing ever changed. I finally had enough of it right before Christmas and I broke up with him for good. I told him to never talk to me again and that was it, he knew it was over and I never heard from him again.”
David knew he was leaving out an important part of the story from the day of their breakup but he couldn’t bring himself to say it. He couldn’t speak of the way Hunter had bent him in half, held him down, grinded against him, and felt for his entrance no matter how hard he tried to squirm away from him, or how much he begged him to stop, or how hard he cried. And he couldn’t bring himself to relive the way Hunter had yelled at him after his dad had almost caught them, as if it was his fault they had been in that position to begin with. And he couldn’t speak the thought he’d wondered in his head a thousand times, wondering if Hunter would have gone so far as to rape him if they hadn’t been interrupted. That was something that David thought he would take to his grave. He had shared the important part, that he had finally been done and it had ended fully.
Pierre didn’t know what to say so he settled on, “I’m sorry you went through that.”
David sighed and shook his head at himself, his eyes falling closed. “I honestly hadn’t thought of him in so long that I completely forgot he went to this school. If I had remembered, I never would have transferred. But it’s too late now, and I’m just gonna have to get a hold of myself and deal with him,” he finished strongly.
Pierre waited a few seconds before sighing and leaning back against his headboard again. “Okay. But I’m serious. If he bothers you, you need to tell me.”
“I will,” David told him, forcing his voice to sound more sure. “I love you,” he added quickly, hoping to calm Pierre down.
“I love you too,” he responded, his voice softening again.
David steered the conversation into a lighter subject, asking Pierre about his day and forcing him to tell him though the older boy was clearly uncomfortable and didn’t want to move on. Their conversation lasted longer than usual that night though they talked about less. Pierre couldn’t keep his mind off of David and this mysterious ex-boyfriend Hunter, unable to put his mind at ease over the whole situation. He trusted David entirely; he didn’t trust Hunter in the slightest. When the two ended their conversation a while later, Pierre had a difficult time focusing on his homework, his mind continuously wandering back to the fear in David’s voice and wondering what it meant. There was one thing he was certain of: all was not well back in Juneau, and he was powerless to do anything about it.