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Chapter 11

You know when your day is going great and you get that call that just screws up your happy vibe? Well, I got that call right after I dropped Gale off. You'd think the universe, or God if he's up there, would give me a break, but apparentally that's too much to ask. I was just turning down my street when Shannon called me. Smiling, still in a daze from our date, I answered.

"Hey, Shann-" I was immediately cut off by Shannon's desperate ranting.

"I'm sorry! I'm really, really, sorry! I tried, but you know I suck at lying and your mom was all pressure-y and she said that if I didn't tell her where you were she'd call my mom!" I froze and completely stopped the car. All the lights were on in my house, and I could see my mother standing outside, waiting. She hadn't seen me yet.

"Oh my God, Shannon! What the hell did you do?!" I snapped, a sense of dread creeping in. I was pretty sure I already knew what she did.

"I-I told her...you were on a date...w-with Gale." She whispered then started to ramble again. "I tried, I really did, but she saw right through me! She knew from the start that you weren't at my house and then Hayley said she wasn't going to help me and-

"Wait." I interrupted. "Where the hell was Danny?! You weren't supposed to answer the phone, he was!"

"Um, yeah, about that. Danny went to a party." That asshole. I'm going to kick his ass later. I took a deep breath and slowly drove towards my house. My mom's head snapped towards my direction and she folded her arms. She looked livid.

"Alright, well, thanks a lot you guys. My mom is probably going to kick me out of the house." Before Shannon could finish apologizing, I hung up. I didn't ask them to murder. I didn't ask them to steal. All I asked them to do was cover for me for a few hours. I wasn't going to do drugs or drink or go to a reckless party or have sex with strangers. All I wanted to do was spend time with my boyfriend. Was that too much to ask?

I parked my car in the driveway and shut it off, but before I could even open the car door, my mom had it open, tapping her foot impatiently. Her eyes were puffy and red, her cheeks tear stained.

"Get in the house." She snapped and stomped inside. I followed, my head hung. My dad, for once, was seated in on the couch, the tv off, giving the situation his undivided attention. Great. I'm so screwed. His face was emotionless, but he always looks like that.

"Young man, you have seriously disappointed me. You lied to me and told me you were at Shannons, but Shannon says you were on a date." She hissed in her Mom Voice. You know, that scary deep voice all moms have when they're pissed. I gulped and avoided her eyes, although I didn't need to look to see they were blazing. She was definitely upset.

"Well?! Is it true? Were you on a date?!" She growled. I contemplated denying it and just telling her I wasn't on a date. I thought about saying Shannon was lying. I thought about saying I went to a party and didn't want to tell her which, let's face it, would get me grounded, but at least she would still love me.

But then I thought of Gale, my boyfriend who I was head over heels for. I didn't like the thought of pretending he didn't exist, especially when I was being asked. I don't really understand why she was yelling at me, though. She knew I was lying when I left, yet she doesn't yell at me until now. Guess being gay doesn't cut it.

"Jasper!" My mom growled an I sighed.

"Yes, I was." The room was completely silent as my mom glared at me. I glanced at my dad, who was still unreadable. I was just about to beg her to say something when my mom exploded. With happiness.

"THIS IS GREAT!" She cheered and did her happy dance. My dad smiled softly and turned the tv back on. My mom was skipping around the house, but then she stopped in front of me and smacked the back of my head.

"Ow!" I exclaimed, but I was happy. She accepted me. My dad accepted me. They didn't care if I was gay. My heart was soaring.

"Oh! Shannon said her name was Gale. What is your girlfriend like? Are you going to bring her over for dinner?" My heart sank and my happy feeling was gone. She thought Gale was a girl. I guess since Gale is a unisex name. Shannon must've assumed my mom knew Gale.

"Mom?"

"I bet she is a real sweetheart! What's her favorite color? She sound like a yellow kind of girl. Like the sun."

"Mom."

"How long have you been with her? It can't have been too long, right?"

"Mom!" She stopped and frowned at me.

"Maybe a few weeks. Since this is your first date. Although, your father waited weeks before he and I-

"Mom, Will you stop and listen for one damn second?!" I yelled at her. She completely stopped, frozen, and my dad paused the movie he was watching. My mom's eyebrows met her hairline and I sat down, holding my head in my hands. I mumbled and she frowned.

"What?"

"Gale. HE is a sweetheart, HIS favorite color is blue, like HIS eyes, and we've been together for almost a month." I stressed every every indication that Gale was a male. mom grew as pale as a ghost, opening and closing her mouth like a fish. My dad's eyes were wide.

"He?" My mom practically whimpered. I stood up and she flinched away. My own mom. I stared at her, surprised and hurt, then just shook my head bitterly.

"Yes, he." I ran upstairs and locked myself in my room.I could hear my parent yelling at each other, probably blaming the other for raising a faggot son. To drown them out, I turned on my iPod and put my over-the-head headphones. My phone rang a couple times but after a while I turned it off. Distantly, someone was pounding on my door but I ignored them until I eventually fell asleep.

***

In the morning, I felt like crap. I had a headache from leaving my light on while I slept, the position I fell asleep in left me with a pain in my neck, my eyes were red from crying, and I was up at six, which was way earlier than I wanted to be up on a Saturday. Since I locked the door and had my headphones on, my mom couldn't come in and turn my light off. If she even cared enough to.

I couldn't go back to sleep so I quietly took a shower and got dressed, choosing to leave my hair alone. It would take up to much time. I slipped on my shoes and slowly pried open my door. No one was in the hallway, so I slowly crept downstairs. My dad was sleeping in his chair facing the tv, so he couldn't see me even if he was awake. My mom was probably sleeping upstairs in her room,and judging by the sleeping arrangement, my mom won the argument last night.

In the kitchen, I wrote my parents saying I would be back sometime in the evening. They may not care whether or not I come home, but they're still my parents. I can't just leave the house without telling them. No matter how upset I am. Or they are.

It's way too early to do anything really, so I just climbed into my truck and drove to the park. No one was there, seeing as it was still dark, so I just sat in the parking lot and thought things through. My mind was weighing the pros and cons in my life.

Con. My parents know I'm gay.

Pro. I'm dating Gale.

Con. The school will probably figure out that I'm gay soon.

Pro. I'm dating Gale.

Con. I'm going to have to deal with my parents eventually, and they're most likely going to kick me out.

Pro. I'm dating Gale.

...

Well, I think that the odds are in my favor.

I pretty much drove around until eight, then I went to Starbucks for hot chocolate and a coffee cake. The people there were all insomniacs or tired businessmen looking for a quiet place to be before work. All I could hear was the clicking of computer keys. I seriously stood out.

I was there for a while, even after I was done with my cake, so I sat and played virtual chess on my phone. My phone so far had beaten me four times. I grimaced and moved my queen across the board, and my phones queen captured me.

"Dammit." I muttered. Right when I was going to quit the game, a hand appeared over my shoulder and slid its finger across the screen. My knight moved and stole the other teams queen. I glanced over my shoulder and found the owner of the hand to be Gale. He smiled as he took a seat across from me.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" I asked.

I couldn't sleep so I went out, Gale signed, then yawned like a drowsy kitten. I awwed, and he blushed. The other team made a move and Gale made another, taking one of their pawns and turning it into a queen. I watched in awe as he slowly defeated the other team.

"You play chess?" I asked and Gale nodded. "My dad would love you." Then I remembered what went down yesterday and my face fell. Gale noticed and frowned.

What's wrong, He signed. I sighed and told him what happened yesterday. His eyes grew wide and his jaw dropped into an O. It was pretty adorable and lightened my spirits. Before Gale could respond, my cell phone rang. I glanced at the number and pressed ignore. Gale raised his eyebrows.

"My mom." I explained and he nodded, understanding. I went around the table and sat next to him, watching him play another round of chess. No one I knew was around so I rested my head on his shoulder. He didn't even blink. It made me happy. Before, he had always been hesitant and uneasy around me, but now he was a lot more open. We were even sharing my hot chocolate!

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked and Gale hesitated, his fingers stilled on my phone's keys. Slowly, Gale nodded and handed my phone back to me. He had already reached checkmate.

"What were your parents like when you came out?" I asked and I could've sworn Gale froze slightly. An unreadable expression flashed across his face but was gone before I could consider what it meant.

My parents were cool about it, Gale signed. My brother, not so much.

I threw my empty cup away and stood. Gale followed and we left the coffee shop. As we were climbing into my truck, an idea sprang to my mind.

"Do you want to sleepover?" I asked randomly. Gale smiled and rolled his eyes.

How random.

"I know, but I thought it would be cool. Not at my house, of course, but at the greenhouse. There's a tv and we could play games. We'll probably have to get sleeping bags and food, but I can buy it. Sometimes I babysit our neighbors kids, so I have enough money to get some snacks." I rambled and mentally planned everything.

Gale shook is head, still smiling, and popped open his violin case. He pulled out a jumbo zip-lock bag full of cash.

"Oh, no no no. I'm paying. It was my idea." I said and Gale pouted, which was so adorable.

I want to help pay, Gale signed .

I've caught on to how he signs. When he's angry, he signs really fast, and some of his words and done forcefully. Usually he's just blowing off steam, so it's best not to tell him to slow down when he starts. Learned that the hard way. When he's happy, he signs slowly so I'll understand what he's signing. And of course, he's smiling. If he's sad, he signs as few words as possible.

We argued back and forth about who would do the paying until we agreed to split the price. I drove us to Wal-Mart so we could decide on what to buy. The entire time, Gale was fidgety and skittish. I kept asking him if he was ok, but he always said yes.

We were walking down the aisles with a shopping cart while Gale glanced back back every five seconds like he was being stalked by ninjas. I'm starting to think Gale is a really paranoid person. He always looks on edge, and even though he's ok with me, I wish he'd feel a little more comfortable.

"You ok?" I asked for the billionth time and Gale sighed frustrated.

Yes, now stop asking, he signed.

"But I'm worried!"

Well, stop worrying.

"Gale, your my boyfriend, I'm going to worry." I said, smiling a little when I called him my boyfriend. I liked the sound of that. My boyfriend Gale. Haha! Gale just turned away and look down the aisle we were in.

"Hey, Gale?" I called out and he directed his attention to me, narrowing his eyes, as if daring me to repeat the same question I had been asking for at least ten minutes. "Are you allergic to anything besides coconut?" Gale thought for a moment before responding.

Yeah. Obnoxious brunettes, he signed and I rolled my eyes.

"Alright, I get it. I'll leave you to your suspicious ways."

Gale POV

I needed to stop. Jasper was already getting suspicious. I couldn't help it though. The same security guard was working today, and he recognizes me. The last thing I need is to bump into him. He'll definitely question me if we cross paths, so I need to be careful. Unfortunately, I can't do that with Jasper glued to my hip.

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy being around him, but not when I'm at risk of being found out. If Jasper found out that I've been sleeping in Wal-Mart, he'd never want to be with me. I'd be alone in the hellhole they call school. His friends wouldn't talk to me either, except for Hayley because she still talks to me. And maybe Damian.

Damian. He's going to get himself in trouble if he isn't careful. I know what he's up to. Shannon doesn't see it, or she doesn't care, but either way, he's playing with fire. A forest fire. And I'm not going to be there for him this time to deal with his mess. That isn't my job anymore. Not after what happened last time.

I followed behind Jasper warily, my thoughts wandering. Jasper finally stopped questioning me and tossed food into the basket. I watched him carefully. How could he be so cheerful, so care free, when his parents could possibly be packing his clothes in cardboard boxes as we speak? When it was me, I was was bawling my eyes out all day. Except, my parents didn't let me pack my things in a box. They just gave me my violin, my my button jacket, and told me to get out of their house. Somehow, I know his parents won't do that.

I thought of my brother when my family found out I was gay. His eyes had filled with disgust and shame. That's the worst look a thirteen year old could from their brother, the one person I tried my hardest to be like. To impress. Now, I'd never be what he wanted me to be. What I wanted to be.

"Gale?" I looked up and met his worried eyes. I frowned and went to sign that I was fine, but he reached out and wiped a tear from my eye. I hadn't even realized I was crying. He pulled me into his arms, and regardless of the fact that we were in Wal-Mart, the most common grocery store in freakin' America, kissed my forehead. He didn't say anything. He just held me until my tears stopped. Other shoppers past right by, not giving us one weird look.

Finally, he let me go and we made our way to the cash register. Jasper didn't say anything until we were on our way to his dad's building.

"You don't have to tell me anything. I get that some things are personal. But if you do need someone to lean on, I'm available twenty-four seven." He smiled at me, wiggling his eyebrows and I smiled. He's always so positive and it effects everyone around him. No matter where he is. I wish I was smart enough or strong enough to leave him now. He was starting to grow on me. I was getting attached, and so was he. Being with Jasper is only going to lead to disaster.

I've never stayed in a city for too long. I only stay long enough to make money and buy clothes. Staying at Wal-Mart allowed me to save my money for food and a place to stay. I don't have to worry about buying clothes and paying for a bed in Wal-Mart. But this was only temporary. I couldn't stay forever, sleeping on aisle twelve amongst the camping gear. Eventually, I'd have to leave.

I hate Jasper for what he's done to me. Because of him, I don't want to leave. He's become more than just some cute boy to spend time with. We haven't known each other for long, and he's already more to me than a fling.

"Gale?" Jasper was standing on my side of the car with the door open, and we were in the parking lot of his dad's company office. I took his hand and we went into the building, snack foods in hand.

-

Dedicated to to Cupcake_Queen96 because your feedback was extremely helpful. This is my first boyxboy story (this is actually my first online story) so to hear people are reading means a lot.

This was more of a filler chapter but the next chapter will have drama, secrets, and sad stuff! Plus, we will find out more about Damian. GASP! Anyway, Comment/ Vote Vote and I'll keep writing. Hope everyone enjoyed :)

Here is Jasper's mom---------------->

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