Brothers And Heroes part 30
1/23/06 01:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
roxyIn this spot would be the previous parts but the memories aren't cooperating right now. So on to the story!
“So what should I do? Don’t you think I should talk to him, tell him how I feel?” Clark was on his back on the bed, his legs leaning against the wall and his head hanging over the edge of the bed. “He’s going to be here for the whole summer. Come on Whit, help me out!”
“Clark, he’s not going to be your, your—whatever, boyfriend or whatnot. He’s too old—don’t you know that the law says Lex could go to jail for just touching you? He’s eighteen—“
“So--”
“Clark! Don’t be dense. You know what I’m telling you. It’s dangerous and wrong and if he takes you up on it, that makes him a bad person.”
“He could never be a bad person! Besides, in a few weeks I’ll be a teenager too, I’ll be old enough. I might be older than that—my parents just guessed when they--”
“Clark! For crying out loud, shut up!” Whit sounded angry, worried and Clark felt guilty. Whitney was right, he knew better than to talk about his ‘adoption’. Telling Whitney the truth had been the best thing he’d ever done--at least, for him. He knew how heavy a burden it could be, no matter how strong his friend was.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I got carried away. But really, don’t you think it makes a difference, Whit?”
“Why don’t you come over, I think we need to talk face to face about this.”
“You just want me to be in smacking range.” He grinned as Whitney laughed. “All right—give me a few minutes to get there.”
Clark shoved his pillows into the bed and artistically arranged them so it looked like he was under them. He considered the pile—perfect. If it was pitch black and his parents got struck blind, it should pass.
He grabbed his favorite jacket; a red cloth windbreaker that looked like the one his hero wore in Rebel Without A Cause. He’d just discovered James Dean, and not only had he been a great actor, he’d been so good-looking that it made his insides shiver. Mom and Pop thought it was funny that he thought James Dean was cool, they probably wouldn’t think it was so funny if they knew he thought he was almost as sexy as Lex.
He laced up his tennis shoes quickly and ran lightly and quietly out to the yard and after a quick glance around took off, not at top speed, but fast enough that he was down the driveway and on the road in seconds. There, with a big grin, he let loose and ran as fast as he could, and timed himself.
He was at Whitney’s house bare minutes after he spoke to him and Whitney let him in the back door.
“Seven minutes, getting faster,” he beamed at Whitney who smiled back. “Yep, I timed it too.”
They zipped up to Whitney’s room and Whitney tossed him a chocolate frosted cookie in a clear plastic bag. Whitney grinned at him, and Clark knew he had another reason to want him there. No guesses what it was about….
“Clark--guess what? Guess who’s going to the movies tomorrow night with Lana?”
“I don’t know,” Clark answered and tried not to laugh. “Who?” He stuffed his mouth with a big bite of cookie and waited.
“Screw you, Kent,” Whitney snarled and threw a sneaker at him.
Clark laughed and apologized. “No, really, that’s great. She seems like a great person Whitney. I like her a lot. Good for you for asking her. Finally.”
Whitney grinned. “Yeah. She’s pretty amazing. And that’s not what you’re here to talk about.”
Clark tried to tell Whitney that he was just as happy to talk about Lana, but Whitney refused. “Clark, I just want to make sure that you don’t screw up your life and his. If you try to put pressure on him it’ll just backfire, for the both of you.”
Clark frowned and crumbled the bag in his hand. “Whitney, you’re like an old fart or something. Can’t you ever just—go with it? Why do you always have to think so hard about everything?”
“Because someone’s got to look at what’s happening, right? This is not me being an old fart; it’s me telling you the truth. You’ll send him to jail if he touches you. Even if you make him, it’d be the same as if you didn’t want him to. It’s the law. Every body knows that. And for crap’s sake, don’t talk about what you can do on the phone, or to anyone but me or your family, geez.”
“Oh come on! What, Russian agents are listening in on our phone calls? That’s crazy Whit--”
Whitney frowned at Clark, “Don’t take chances. For once in your life listen to me.”
“All right, I won’t talk about it on the phone anymore. Except to you, okay?”
“And Lex—promise to put that out of your head? “
Clark nodded. “Sure.”
“Say. How about you come to the movies with Lana and me, you won’t be a third wheel, she has a friend that just moved into town, a cute little blonde…”
Clark gave Whitney a tired look. “Unless her friend is a boy, I don’t think so.”
Whitney opened his mouth and then shut it with a firm nod. “Right.” Clark knew what he wanted; it was pointless to waste his breath when it was such an obvious waste of time.
They talked on about Lana, and Lex, and Whitney tried to tell him again that Bruce was interested in Lex too. Clark got angry, as usual, and Whitney asked himself, as usual, why the heck couldn’t people see what was right in front of them and plain as day. It just wasn’t that much of a secret. Clark must be working hard *not* to see it, and it worried Whitney. He didn’t want to see Clark get hurt.
Damn. Everything would be a lot simpler if Clark *could* get interested in the little blonde.
They both fell asleep on the floor and before daybreak, Clark sped home and was in bed when Mom opened his door the next morning.
******
Over breakfast, in between inhaling massive bites of pancakes and sausage and hash browns, Bruce asked Lex if he wanted to help with a project he had on his mind, “Ma said I could fix up the loft, do you want to help?” and Lex thought it was a great idea. “Sure. Sounds like fun”.
“Great. I’ve got some posters and we can get some paint and stuff…” they noticed that Clark was staring at them, longing in every line of his face.
“Want to help, Clark? We can use all the help we can get, and I happen to know that you’re a good man with a paintbrush.” Bruce asked and earned a smile from Lex.
Clark shook his head. “I can’t today,” he said, staring at Lex. ”Whitney and I are going to the movies with his girlfriend--and a friend of hers. A girl,” he said and watched Lex’s reaction. “A date.”
“Wow, Clark has a girlfriend,” Lex smiled indulgently.
“Yeah,” he snapped and pushed back from the table. “Just like you. And Bruce.” He stomped off and Bruce looked after him openmouthed. What the hell just happened? What did he say?? He looked at Lex and shrugged and Lex looked after him, a curious expression on his face.
Bruce stood too, and began to clear the plates away. “Wanna go down town after we take care of the kitchen, look at the paint and stuff?”
“Okay…and as long as we’re going down town, I have a favor to ask you….”
******
They were outside the pharmacy, at a phone booth and Lex thrust a handful of coins at Bruce. “Here. Tell them you’re a friend from school…Lex racked his brain. “Um…tell them you’re Wallace Drake, he was dweeb enough to pass…”
Bruce frowned and started loading coins into the phone. “Give me the damn number.” Why was Lex going through all this trouble for just a friend? ‘Cause he wasn’t just a friend. Jealously lanced through his middle but it was Lex and he had to do it for him.
When he got past the parents and was talking to Harry, he stumbled over his words, felt like a…a dweeb. “Hell—hello, I’m—“
“I know, you have to be a friend of Lex’s—Drake would never call me. Can I speak to him please?”
Bruce wasn’t sure what he expected but the soft voice on the other end wasn’t it. He didn’t sound like the crazy punk that Lex described. He sounded kind of…sweet.
Bruce flung open the door and jammed the phone into Lex’s chest. He sat on the concrete tire barrier and stared out across the parking lot and tried hard not to eavesdrop.
He could hear a steady mumble of conversation from the booth and then silence. He looked back and Lex was holding the phone against his cheek and shaking his head, tears rolling down his face, He jumped up and reached for the door handle and he heard Lex say, “I do love you.”
.
******
Lex looked through the cloudy glass at Bruce’s back and Harry’s voice poured into his ear like honey, warm and thick and slow. His skin shivered from want of touching him, it was hot in the booth, and he was still cold. He needed to be held. “Harry…”
“I know.”
They spoke a bit, quickly, time was short and he couldn’t tell him how much he wanted to see his face, kiss him and feel his mouth warm on him, he missed his smell, his taste—
Right before they had to hang up. Harry asked, “Was that Bruce on the phone, your cousin?”
“Yes. He’s a good guy, I didn’t have to promise him much to do this.” Lex chuckled.
“You’ll forget me soon,” Harry told him. “They’ll make you forget—they won’t try, it’ll just happen.”
“Hell no it won’t--why are you saying that? Don’t waste our time getting jealous.” He crammed another dime in the slot and hoped he wouldn’t need more and Harry was talking.
“I’ll be going to school in England next year. No more phone calls Lex. No more contact, and I’ll fade away and then Bruce will be there and then…poor Bruce, someday Clark will be old enough…”
“What the fuck Harold, are you *high*? Listen to me--I love you,” Lex shifted the phone so it was closer to his mouth. “Please don’t--”
“It’s terrible to be totally in love with someone who doesn’t love you back. Lex.”
“God, Harry, I tell you—told you all the time, you know how feel about you.”
“Sure, but not like…Love love, you know…oh well, it really doesn’t matter.”
Lex was shaking his head, and his eyes stung with tears. Why was he saying this now, why was he doing this?
“I’ll never stop loving you Lex. No matter what,”
.
“I do love you.” And the dial tone droned on and on in his ear and then Bruce was yanking the door open.
******
“Lex what the fuck is wrong?”
“Bruce—oh shit Bruce.” Lex scrubbed the heel of his hand hard across his eyes. He’s not just my friend. Harry’s more. He’s…important to me.”
Bruce stared, and his mouth opened and he heard, “Vic is not your girlfriend? You’re queer?” fall out of his mouth like nuggets of stupid, He made a move with his hands; the desire to grab back the idiotic words was that strong. Bruce couldn’t stop staring at him. “When…when did you *know*?”
They were walking along the road out of town, shopping forgotten, sun beating down on their backs and soaking through their tee shirts. Lex had a ball cap on, courtesy of Martha’s desire to keep him from burning. It proudly proclaimed Kent Seeds, courtesy of Jon’s desire to get lots of use out to the hundred or so hats he’d ordered for his employees. He didn’t answer Bruce right away, took the hat off and wiped his forehead.
“Well… the first time I had sex with Vic I knew. Every time after that. The first time Harry kissed me, it was better than any thing that Vic and I ever did--that was more like my real first time.”
Bruce felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. What if he’d tried to—if he’d let himself touch Lex, what could have happened? “What about when you were a kid, did you know then?”
Lex shook his head. “Not really, I had odd thoughts from time to time, and…” he blushed and stopped. I just thought I was a late bloomer.”
Bruce said, “Well you know I’ve been with Serena a lot, was anyway…and some one else.”
Lex looked over. “Yeah?” They trudged along a bit and when Bruce didn’t speak, Lex said, “Who? Someone I know?”
Bruce shook his head. “You know the martial arts class I’m taking?”
“Yeah—holy shit, not the teacher?”
“NO!” Bruce shook his head violently. “No! Geez, Mac wouldn’t—he isn’t—he’s old enough to be my father! He’s like a father. It’s a kid in the class. Sean.”
“Sean…the kid you double date with?” He grinned at Bruce. “Kinky. But I could tell you stories.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not love, not by a long shot. We just get together from time to time…I like him fine but…” he shrugged and grinned a little. “You know.”
Lex nodded. “Oh yeah. What about Serena, more than that or just a friend?”
Bruce grimaced. “Serena is Serena, she does what she wants when she wants. I don’t bother her and she calls when she wants. Is it like that with Victoria?”
“No, Vic’s a bitch, she’s self centered and I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her, but she’s fun and she loves me and I can’t help but love her back.” He laughed, “And in a way, she made it possible for me and Harry to be together.”
They walked on and Bruce said, “Tell me about Harry?”
Lex’s expression softened a bit. “Okay,” he said with a shy smile. “One night, at a school dance, this big blonde asshole thought he’d embarrass me in front of the whole school….”
And in keeping of the fine tradition of neverending WIPs here at Storytime, (formly Big Echoey)'To Be Continued'.
“So what should I do? Don’t you think I should talk to him, tell him how I feel?” Clark was on his back on the bed, his legs leaning against the wall and his head hanging over the edge of the bed. “He’s going to be here for the whole summer. Come on Whit, help me out!”
“Clark, he’s not going to be your, your—whatever, boyfriend or whatnot. He’s too old—don’t you know that the law says Lex could go to jail for just touching you? He’s eighteen—“
“So--”
“Clark! Don’t be dense. You know what I’m telling you. It’s dangerous and wrong and if he takes you up on it, that makes him a bad person.”
“He could never be a bad person! Besides, in a few weeks I’ll be a teenager too, I’ll be old enough. I might be older than that—my parents just guessed when they--”
“Clark! For crying out loud, shut up!” Whit sounded angry, worried and Clark felt guilty. Whitney was right, he knew better than to talk about his ‘adoption’. Telling Whitney the truth had been the best thing he’d ever done--at least, for him. He knew how heavy a burden it could be, no matter how strong his friend was.
“Okay, okay, I’m sorry, I got carried away. But really, don’t you think it makes a difference, Whit?”
“Why don’t you come over, I think we need to talk face to face about this.”
“You just want me to be in smacking range.” He grinned as Whitney laughed. “All right—give me a few minutes to get there.”
Clark shoved his pillows into the bed and artistically arranged them so it looked like he was under them. He considered the pile—perfect. If it was pitch black and his parents got struck blind, it should pass.
He grabbed his favorite jacket; a red cloth windbreaker that looked like the one his hero wore in Rebel Without A Cause. He’d just discovered James Dean, and not only had he been a great actor, he’d been so good-looking that it made his insides shiver. Mom and Pop thought it was funny that he thought James Dean was cool, they probably wouldn’t think it was so funny if they knew he thought he was almost as sexy as Lex.
He laced up his tennis shoes quickly and ran lightly and quietly out to the yard and after a quick glance around took off, not at top speed, but fast enough that he was down the driveway and on the road in seconds. There, with a big grin, he let loose and ran as fast as he could, and timed himself.
He was at Whitney’s house bare minutes after he spoke to him and Whitney let him in the back door.
“Seven minutes, getting faster,” he beamed at Whitney who smiled back. “Yep, I timed it too.”
They zipped up to Whitney’s room and Whitney tossed him a chocolate frosted cookie in a clear plastic bag. Whitney grinned at him, and Clark knew he had another reason to want him there. No guesses what it was about….
“Clark--guess what? Guess who’s going to the movies tomorrow night with Lana?”
“I don’t know,” Clark answered and tried not to laugh. “Who?” He stuffed his mouth with a big bite of cookie and waited.
“Screw you, Kent,” Whitney snarled and threw a sneaker at him.
Clark laughed and apologized. “No, really, that’s great. She seems like a great person Whitney. I like her a lot. Good for you for asking her. Finally.”
Whitney grinned. “Yeah. She’s pretty amazing. And that’s not what you’re here to talk about.”
Clark tried to tell Whitney that he was just as happy to talk about Lana, but Whitney refused. “Clark, I just want to make sure that you don’t screw up your life and his. If you try to put pressure on him it’ll just backfire, for the both of you.”
Clark frowned and crumbled the bag in his hand. “Whitney, you’re like an old fart or something. Can’t you ever just—go with it? Why do you always have to think so hard about everything?”
“Because someone’s got to look at what’s happening, right? This is not me being an old fart; it’s me telling you the truth. You’ll send him to jail if he touches you. Even if you make him, it’d be the same as if you didn’t want him to. It’s the law. Every body knows that. And for crap’s sake, don’t talk about what you can do on the phone, or to anyone but me or your family, geez.”
“Oh come on! What, Russian agents are listening in on our phone calls? That’s crazy Whit--”
Whitney frowned at Clark, “Don’t take chances. For once in your life listen to me.”
“All right, I won’t talk about it on the phone anymore. Except to you, okay?”
“And Lex—promise to put that out of your head? “
Clark nodded. “Sure.”
“Say. How about you come to the movies with Lana and me, you won’t be a third wheel, she has a friend that just moved into town, a cute little blonde…”
Clark gave Whitney a tired look. “Unless her friend is a boy, I don’t think so.”
Whitney opened his mouth and then shut it with a firm nod. “Right.” Clark knew what he wanted; it was pointless to waste his breath when it was such an obvious waste of time.
They talked on about Lana, and Lex, and Whitney tried to tell him again that Bruce was interested in Lex too. Clark got angry, as usual, and Whitney asked himself, as usual, why the heck couldn’t people see what was right in front of them and plain as day. It just wasn’t that much of a secret. Clark must be working hard *not* to see it, and it worried Whitney. He didn’t want to see Clark get hurt.
Damn. Everything would be a lot simpler if Clark *could* get interested in the little blonde.
They both fell asleep on the floor and before daybreak, Clark sped home and was in bed when Mom opened his door the next morning.
******
Over breakfast, in between inhaling massive bites of pancakes and sausage and hash browns, Bruce asked Lex if he wanted to help with a project he had on his mind, “Ma said I could fix up the loft, do you want to help?” and Lex thought it was a great idea. “Sure. Sounds like fun”.
“Great. I’ve got some posters and we can get some paint and stuff…” they noticed that Clark was staring at them, longing in every line of his face.
“Want to help, Clark? We can use all the help we can get, and I happen to know that you’re a good man with a paintbrush.” Bruce asked and earned a smile from Lex.
Clark shook his head. “I can’t today,” he said, staring at Lex. ”Whitney and I are going to the movies with his girlfriend--and a friend of hers. A girl,” he said and watched Lex’s reaction. “A date.”
“Wow, Clark has a girlfriend,” Lex smiled indulgently.
“Yeah,” he snapped and pushed back from the table. “Just like you. And Bruce.” He stomped off and Bruce looked after him openmouthed. What the hell just happened? What did he say?? He looked at Lex and shrugged and Lex looked after him, a curious expression on his face.
Bruce stood too, and began to clear the plates away. “Wanna go down town after we take care of the kitchen, look at the paint and stuff?”
“Okay…and as long as we’re going down town, I have a favor to ask you….”
******
They were outside the pharmacy, at a phone booth and Lex thrust a handful of coins at Bruce. “Here. Tell them you’re a friend from school…Lex racked his brain. “Um…tell them you’re Wallace Drake, he was dweeb enough to pass…”
Bruce frowned and started loading coins into the phone. “Give me the damn number.” Why was Lex going through all this trouble for just a friend? ‘Cause he wasn’t just a friend. Jealously lanced through his middle but it was Lex and he had to do it for him.
When he got past the parents and was talking to Harry, he stumbled over his words, felt like a…a dweeb. “Hell—hello, I’m—“
“I know, you have to be a friend of Lex’s—Drake would never call me. Can I speak to him please?”
Bruce wasn’t sure what he expected but the soft voice on the other end wasn’t it. He didn’t sound like the crazy punk that Lex described. He sounded kind of…sweet.
Bruce flung open the door and jammed the phone into Lex’s chest. He sat on the concrete tire barrier and stared out across the parking lot and tried hard not to eavesdrop.
He could hear a steady mumble of conversation from the booth and then silence. He looked back and Lex was holding the phone against his cheek and shaking his head, tears rolling down his face, He jumped up and reached for the door handle and he heard Lex say, “I do love you.”
.
******
Lex looked through the cloudy glass at Bruce’s back and Harry’s voice poured into his ear like honey, warm and thick and slow. His skin shivered from want of touching him, it was hot in the booth, and he was still cold. He needed to be held. “Harry…”
“I know.”
They spoke a bit, quickly, time was short and he couldn’t tell him how much he wanted to see his face, kiss him and feel his mouth warm on him, he missed his smell, his taste—
Right before they had to hang up. Harry asked, “Was that Bruce on the phone, your cousin?”
“Yes. He’s a good guy, I didn’t have to promise him much to do this.” Lex chuckled.
“You’ll forget me soon,” Harry told him. “They’ll make you forget—they won’t try, it’ll just happen.”
“Hell no it won’t--why are you saying that? Don’t waste our time getting jealous.” He crammed another dime in the slot and hoped he wouldn’t need more and Harry was talking.
“I’ll be going to school in England next year. No more phone calls Lex. No more contact, and I’ll fade away and then Bruce will be there and then…poor Bruce, someday Clark will be old enough…”
“What the fuck Harold, are you *high*? Listen to me--I love you,” Lex shifted the phone so it was closer to his mouth. “Please don’t--”
“It’s terrible to be totally in love with someone who doesn’t love you back. Lex.”
“God, Harry, I tell you—told you all the time, you know how feel about you.”
“Sure, but not like…Love love, you know…oh well, it really doesn’t matter.”
Lex was shaking his head, and his eyes stung with tears. Why was he saying this now, why was he doing this?
“I’ll never stop loving you Lex. No matter what,”
.
“I do love you.” And the dial tone droned on and on in his ear and then Bruce was yanking the door open.
******
“Lex what the fuck is wrong?”
“Bruce—oh shit Bruce.” Lex scrubbed the heel of his hand hard across his eyes. He’s not just my friend. Harry’s more. He’s…important to me.”
Bruce stared, and his mouth opened and he heard, “Vic is not your girlfriend? You’re queer?” fall out of his mouth like nuggets of stupid, He made a move with his hands; the desire to grab back the idiotic words was that strong. Bruce couldn’t stop staring at him. “When…when did you *know*?”
They were walking along the road out of town, shopping forgotten, sun beating down on their backs and soaking through their tee shirts. Lex had a ball cap on, courtesy of Martha’s desire to keep him from burning. It proudly proclaimed Kent Seeds, courtesy of Jon’s desire to get lots of use out to the hundred or so hats he’d ordered for his employees. He didn’t answer Bruce right away, took the hat off and wiped his forehead.
“Well… the first time I had sex with Vic I knew. Every time after that. The first time Harry kissed me, it was better than any thing that Vic and I ever did--that was more like my real first time.”
Bruce felt like he’d been punched in the stomach. What if he’d tried to—if he’d let himself touch Lex, what could have happened? “What about when you were a kid, did you know then?”
Lex shook his head. “Not really, I had odd thoughts from time to time, and…” he blushed and stopped. I just thought I was a late bloomer.”
Bruce said, “Well you know I’ve been with Serena a lot, was anyway…and some one else.”
Lex looked over. “Yeah?” They trudged along a bit and when Bruce didn’t speak, Lex said, “Who? Someone I know?”
Bruce shook his head. “You know the martial arts class I’m taking?”
“Yeah—holy shit, not the teacher?”
“NO!” Bruce shook his head violently. “No! Geez, Mac wouldn’t—he isn’t—he’s old enough to be my father! He’s like a father. It’s a kid in the class. Sean.”
“Sean…the kid you double date with?” He grinned at Bruce. “Kinky. But I could tell you stories.”
“Yeah, well, it’s not love, not by a long shot. We just get together from time to time…I like him fine but…” he shrugged and grinned a little. “You know.”
Lex nodded. “Oh yeah. What about Serena, more than that or just a friend?”
Bruce grimaced. “Serena is Serena, she does what she wants when she wants. I don’t bother her and she calls when she wants. Is it like that with Victoria?”
“No, Vic’s a bitch, she’s self centered and I wouldn’t trust her as far as I could throw her, but she’s fun and she loves me and I can’t help but love her back.” He laughed, “And in a way, she made it possible for me and Harry to be together.”
They walked on and Bruce said, “Tell me about Harry?”
Lex’s expression softened a bit. “Okay,” he said with a shy smile. “One night, at a school dance, this big blonde asshole thought he’d embarrass me in front of the whole school….”
And in keeping of the fine tradition of neverending WIPs here at Storytime, (formly Big Echoey)'To Be Continued'.
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