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Landslide
by bigboobedcanuck

Chapter Four

[ * ]

Ephram cursed and slammed the lid down over the keys. He’d been trying to conquer a passage in one of Beethoven’s pieces and it was seemingly impossible. His fingers just couldn’t move fast enough.

“Having some trouble?”

Ephram sighed internally at the sound of his father’s voice. “Yes, your keen sense of perception is still intact,” he said.

“Maybe we should start looking for another teacher.” Andy walked over and stood beside the piano, his hands in his pockets.

“No. I don’t need another teacher, I just need to practice more.” Ephram lifted the lid and turned back the pages of the music.

“More practice? Ephram, you’ve been sitting at this piano for days. For a while there, you were going out. What happened? I even agreed to let you go out to parties this summer, and instead you’re just sitting home alone.”

“It’s reverse psychology in action. You should be patting yourself on the back, Dad.” Ephram’s fingers began moving over the keys once more.

“But the summer will be over before you know it, you should go out and have some fun, kiddo. It’s a beautiful day.”

Ephram stopped abruptly. “Do you mind? I’m trying to practice. You bugged me about it for months when we moved here, you should be happy.”

“Well, that was when you weren’t playing at all. Now—”

“Now I’m playing too much? You’re never satisfied.” Ephram turned his attention back to the music and began playing again.

“Ephram, I just want you to be happy and you don’t seem like you are. I…” He trailed off as Ephram continued playing, his focus solely on the music. Finally, Andy walked away, Ephram watching from the corner of his eye. He felt a stab of guilt at the defeated droop of his father’s shoulders.

He continued playing. Once again, he was unable to manage the troublesome passage and he tore his fingers from the keys with a shout of frustration. He’d been trying for days to just concentrate, and he couldn’t do it. He knew what the problem was, but he didn’t want to admit it.

He missed Bright.

How was it possible? How did they go from hating each other to…not hating each other? The guilt he felt over sniping at his father was nothing compared to what he felt towards Bright. Bright had totally stopped Colin and his flying monkeys from making Ephram’s body one with the pavement. And instead of thanking him, he’d totally freaked out.

Ephram’s face flushed when he thought of the other freak-out that had happened. How nice Bright’s arms had felt around him, how he’d felt solid and strong and…safe. How close his lips had been, and how much he’d wanted to kiss them….

“Jesus!” Ephram shoved the bench back with his legs and stood. He stalked into the kitchen and opened the fridge. None of its contents seemed appealing. He slammed the door shut and started opening the cupboards.

It was ridiculous, wanting to kiss Bright.

Completely ridiculous.

He gave up on the kitchen and headed up his room. He flopped down on his bed and contemplated the ceiling. Through the open window, birds chirped.

“Shut up,” he said. Ephram closed his eyes, but the only thing he could think of was Bright.

Not just about kissing him, thankfully. Ephram knew that whatever the hell other weird thing was going on, he missed Bright as a friend. He missed having someone to hang out with. Bright wasn’t a bad listener, and it had been nice having him around.

He got up and went back downstairs. After pacing around the kitchen again, he wandered onto the porch. His father and Delia were with Nina and Sam in the next yard and Ephram shrank back, out of sight. The last thing he needed was everyone pressuring him into doing whatever stupid activity they had lined up.

The lid of the mailbox creaked as he lifted it open. The mail had been delivered, which at least meant it was lunchtime. Too bad A&E didn’t have those afternoon reruns of Law and Order anymore. Of course, all they did was make him miss New York, even with all its crime.

Ephram went back into the house, glad his appearance had gone unnoticed. He leafed through the mail and was surprised to see an envelope addressed to him, from Ticketmaster. His stomach clenched as he realized it was the Evanescence tickets. He’d ordered them and had been planning on treating Bright to the concert (which was on a Saturday after all). As a…thank you. Or something.

He returned to his room and tossed the envelope on his desk, unopened, then pulled out his chair and sat down. The sounds of Delia’s laughter wafted in through the window and finally he got up and slammed it shut.

---------------------------------------------

“So, big plans tonight, son?”

Bright looked up from the fort he was building with his mashed potatoes. “Uh, not really.”

“Well why not? Amy’s going to that summer festival over in Walkerton. Aren’t you going?” Harold cut his roast beef precisely as he spoke.

“Nah.” Bright went back to building his fort. He glanced at Amy, who was looking very interested in her green beans.

“‘Nah’? Tell me, Bright, does massacring the English language really have to be part of the summer of your discontent? And stop playing with your food.”

Bright took his fork and squashed his potatoes down into his plate. “Sorry.” He ate a few bites.

“Honey, you and Amy and Colin always used to do things together, but you never seem to anymore.” Rose looked from Amy to Bright and back again.

Bright shrugged. “It’s no big deal, I still hang with Colin.” It was a total lie, but he figured his parents didn’t need to know that.

“Mom, Colin and I want to do…couple-y things, you know?” Amy didn’t look at Bright.

“What do you mean, ‘couple-y things’?” Harold put his knife down with a clatter. “Young lady—”

“Dad, it’s cool. Amy and Colin can hang out by themselves, I don’t want to be a third wheel.” Bright stabbed at his beans with his fork.

“Well, why don’t you have a girlfriend? That way there could be four wheels and everyone would be happy.”

“Harold! Sweetheart, it’s fine that you don’t have a girlfriend. Don’t listen to your father.” Rose glared at her husband.

Bright felt nauseous. Why didn’t he have a girlfriend? It was a pretty important question, actually. Was it because he just couldn’t find the right girl? Or was it because he did want Ephram to be his boyfriend? Bright threw his fork down with a sound of disgust.

“What’s wrong?” His mother’s voice was concerned.

“Nothing. I’m just…sick of mashed potatoes. Can’t you make something different for a change?” Bright took a gulp of milk.

“Bright! You apologize to your mother, right this instant.” His father glowered at him across the table.

“I thought they were your favourite.” There was a tiny waver in his mother’s voice.

Great, now he’d hurt his mom’s feelings. “No, they are, Mom. And yours are the best, I love them. I’m just full, is all. I’m really sorry.”

His mother smiled at him. “It’s alright. Are you sure you’re feeling okay these days?”

“Yeah, I’m sure.” Bright smiled at her in what he hoped was a reassuring way. He looked warily at his father, who looked ready to launch into some kind of diatribe.

“Hey, Dad, guess what?” Harold’s attention swung over to Amy. “I heard the Pinecone is going to be having a contest for Citizen of the Year. I’m going to nominate you.”

“Well, well! Sweetheart, I think that’s a fine idea! I could definitely teach the unwashed masses of this town a few things about being civic minded.” Harold began rambling on, all thoughts of Bright’s behaviour forgotten. Bright threw Amy a grateful look and she smiled slightly in acknowledgment.

Bright felt a twinge of regret. Not only had he lost his best friend, but he recognized that Amy had been a good friend, too. But she was so wrapped up in Colin that these moments of unity were few and far between. He felt like he didn’t even know her anymore.

Bright concentrated on finishing his dinner while his father mapped out his campaign plans. Harold obsessed over whether Dr. Brown would be a candidate, while Bright just tried not to obsess over Dr. Brown’s son.

It was a losing battle.

--------------------------------------

“Ephram, are you coming to Walkerton?” Delia peered at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

Ephram looked back down at his spaghetti. “No. But I’m sure you guys are going to have an awesome time.”

“But why aren’t you coming? You haven’t done anything this week.”

“I have, too. I’ve played the piano. And lots of other things.” Ephram could sense his father’s raised eyebrow, and didn’t bother looking up from his plate to visually confirm it.

“But you don’t play it right anymore, you’re always swearing at it. You used to play better before.”

“Why don’t you just shut up, Delia? What the hell do you know?” Ephram felt a surge of anger and he twirled the pasta around his fork forcefully.

“Hey, don’t talk to your sister like that!” His father’s voice was sharp and Ephram looked up at him. Then his eyes met Delia’s, which were now shimmering with tears. His heart flip-flopped and shame coursed through him. He’d yelled at Delia plenty of times, but his tone had rarely been quite so nasty.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it.” Ephram reached across the table and put his hand over Delia’s. “You’re right, I’m not playing very well. Seriously, I’m sorry, okay?”

Delia smiled tremulously. “Okay.”

“Ephram, what’s going on with you?”

Ephram rubbed his eyes tiredly. “Dad, can we just not do this right now? Please?”

Andy relented. “Okay. But we are going to do this. Soon.”

Ephram nodded and they finished dinner in silence. He volunteered to clean up, figuring it would get his father and Delia out of his hair faster. They headed out with Nina and Sam, and Ephram washed the pots and loaded the dishwasher.

Afterwards he surfed through all one hundred channels they had, but couldn’t find anything that held his interest for longer than five seconds. He drifted up to his room and flipped through his manga but his eyes kept drifting over to his desk, where the unopened Ticketmaster envelope lay.

Finally he tossed the comics aside and reached beneath his mattress, pulling out a well-worn Playboy magazine that Dan McDougall had dared him to steal in eighth grade. He undid his jeans and pulled his cock out, stroking it impatiently.

He flipped through the familiar pictures and then closed his eyes, trying to conjure up the perfect fantasy. The big problem being that the only person he could imagine was Bright.

“Fuck, what the fuck is wrong with me?” Ephram picked up the magazine again and forced himself to focus on the models. His hand pumped his cock, but since he and Bright had started…helping each other out, jacking himself off wasn’t nearly as rewarding as it had once been. He squeezed harder, but it was no use. He screamed in frustration.

“Great, now I can’t even fucking jerk off!” Tension had crept into every muscle and Ephram considered going downstairs to the kitchen and breaking every dish and glass he could find. Instead he hurled the magazine against the wall, where it tore and then landed on his floor with a soft splat. He sighed and did his jeans up. Finally he snatched up the envelope off his desk and grabbed his jacket as he strode out the door.

------------------------------------

Bright shot the basketball from just in front of the garage, and it glanced off the rim with a clang.

“Fuck!” He marched over to where the ball had stopped rolling and bounced it a few times. His game had been off during the year when Colin hadn’t been on the team, but now it was just pathetic.

He shot again, and missed once more. “He shoots, he misses by a mile!” Bright sneered at himself then grabbed the ball again. As he dribbled up and down the driveway, he tried to focus on his form. It was almost dark out, but he was determined to keep practicing.

His parents had gone out to a movie, and Amy was long gone with Colin, probably making out on some back road and nowhere near the summer festival. He shuddered at the thought of his sister making out and then his thoughts immediately turned to Ephram.

As they always seemed to.

Bright shot the ball again. This time, it didn’t even hit the rim, and he sighed and went to retrieve it. He had tried everything he could think of to erase Ephram from his brain, but it was no use. It had been almost a week since he’d stopped Colin and the guys from beating him up, and he couldn’t help but remember the current of fear he’d felt when he saw Ephram down on the ground.

He’d wanted to beat the shit out of Colin, pound his face into oblivion. Sometimes he fantasized about it, his fist hammering Colin’s face over and over, until there was nothing left. There was nothing left inside, anyway.

Then he’d pull Ephram close and keep him safe. He wouldn’t let him get hurt like Colin had. He’d never let that happen to someone again.

Bright dribbled the ball absently. He missed Ephram. He could never tell his parents, but he was…lonely. He turned to the net and shot again, yelling in frustration. It was so fucking sad; he was acting like such a loser.

He bounced the ball angrily. He just needed to focus, and then he could be like he was before. The ball arced through the air and rebounded off the rim of the basket. Bright resolutely picked the ball up and tried again.

-----------------------------------------

Ephram stood in the shadows of the house next door to the Abbotts, watching Bright struggle with the basketball. He had none of the grace that Ephram remembered from the few games he’d actually seen him play in during the school year.

As he watched, the tension he felt only increased and he debated a million times whether to just go home, or whether he should extend his olive branch. Finally, he walked up the driveway to where Bright paced back and forth with the ball.

Bright paused when he saw him, frozen for a moment. Then he continued dribbling.

“Um, hey.” Ephram’s voice sounded like little more than a squeak. The noise of the ball hitting the pavement was his only reply. “Look, Bright, about what happened…” Ephram trailed off, unsure of what to say.

Bright shot the ball and missed. “What? What about what happened?” His voice was loud in the quiet calm of the summer night, which was punctured only by the rubbery smacking of the basketball. “If you expect me to apologize for helping you out, you can just fucking go home.”

“No, I’m the one who’s apologizing. Look, I’m an asshole. I don’t know why I…was so ungrateful. They totally would have pounded me, and you stopped them. Thanks, and I’m sorry.” Ephram crossed his arms nervously.

Bright continued dribbling and shooting the ball, not looking at Ephram. “Fine, you’re welcome. You can go now.”

Ephram shuffled his feet. “I don’t want to go.”

“Why the hell not? Apology accepted, or whatever.”

“I know, but I don’t want to go.” Ephram had no idea what else to say. Or why he wasn’t just going. Then he remembered the envelope in his pocket, and pulled it out. “Remember I mentioned that concert? You know, Evanescence?”

Bright paused his activity. “Yeah.” He bounced the ball more slowly.

“Well, I got tickets. So, if you still want to go, or whatever….”

“I never said I wanted to go in the first place.”

Ephram cleared his throat. “Yeah, but if you wanted to, I bought you a ticket.”

Bright turned to him and flipped the ball back and forth between his hands. “Why would you do that?”

“What do you mean? Because…I thought you might want to go. Look, it’s no big deal, forget it.”

“But why would you want to go with me, anyway?”

“Because I like you.”

Ephram had no idea why he’d said it. Bright stopped fidgeting with the ball, and it bounced onto the ground, rolling to a stop a few feet away. The words had just flowed out, and Ephram’s heart pounded.

“What? What…do you mean?” Bright swallowed and his voice was strained. Ephram walked towards him, his feet seeming to move of their own accord. Bright backed up a few steps, until he was standing against the garage door and could go no further.

Ephram stopped in front of Bright and his voice was little more than a whisper. “I mean…I like you. Okay? I don’t know why, but I do.”

Bright blinked and looked down. After a few seconds, he whispered back. “I like you, too.” His eyes flickered upward and he licked his lips nervously.

Ephram took a deep breath and leaned into Bright, before he could lose his nerve. He kissed him tentatively, his hands lightly holding Bright’s upper arms. He pulled back and they looked at each other.

Ephram’s body thrummed and he shivered when Bright ran his hand up his back, his fingers coming to rest on the back of Ephram’s neck. Their eyes were still locked as Ephram moved closer. Suddenly Bright’s mouth was on his, and Ephram kissed him with a passion he’d never felt before.

Bright slid his tongue into Ephram’s mouth and Ephram thought his heart might explode in his chest. Bright’s lips were surprisingly soft and his mouth tasted like Vanilla Coke and his tongue was strong and it felt good and what the hell where they doing?

They clutched each other and pressed against the garage door. Bright’s hands had moved down to Ephram’s ass and they ground their hips together. A car approached in the distance and Bright pushed Ephram away, breaking the kiss. “Someone could see, come on.” He yanked Ephram up the walkway and toward the front door. As it closed behind them, Bright shoved him against it, his mouth on Ephram’s in an instant.

Their tongues dueled and Ephram could feel Bright’s erection pressing against his own. Bright tore his mouth away and they both gasped for air. Ephram pulled the hem of Bright’s t-shirt up and over his head, tossing it on the floor. He ran his hands all over Bright’s chest and back, his lips sucking and kissing Bright’s neck.

Bright moaned and pulled Ephram’s jacket down his arms, struggling to discard it while Ephram’s hands roamed over him. Finally, he stepped back a few inches and yanked Ephram’s coat off. He then followed suit with the long-sleeve t-shirt Ephram was wearing underneath and crushed him back against the door, their chests pressed together.

They kissed again and Ephram gasped in pleasure at the feeling of Bright’s skin rubbing against his. He hadn’t allowed himself to think too much about what it would be like if he and Bright ever moved beyond jerking each other off, but he never thought it would be so good. He was painfully hard in his jeans and he frantically tried to undo his fly. Bright did the same, and they gasped and moaned and licked and sucked each other’s mouths as their cocks sprung free.

Bright grabbed both their cocks in his hand and rubbed them together while his hips pistoned forward. Ephram panted, “Oh god, oh god…” and Bright’s hand pumped their cocks hard between their bodies. They both moaned and Ephram had never felt so alive, the sweat of their bodies and their grunts and gasps melding together.

Then he was coming and his body shuddered, his mouth slack. Bright still panted with exertion and after a few moments, Ephram reached down and grabbed Bright’s cock. He stroked it hard, his thumb flicking over the head, the way he knew would make Bright quiver. Bright tensed and then he was coming, spurting long strands over Ephram’s hand and onto their stomachs.

They stood for a minute against the door, catching their breath, Bright’s face buried in Ephram’s neck. Then he stood up straight and stepped back. Their eyes met. Ephram had no idea what to say. But Bright seemed to be waiting for him to go first.

Ephram looked around and a small smile turned up his mouth. “So, we just did it in your parents’ foyer.”

Bright blinked and then glanced around at their surroundings, as if noticing where they were for the first time. After a few moments, he said, “Well, I guess it’s better than doing it outside on their driveway.” He smiled uncertainly.

Ephram laughed. “Yeah, I guess so.” Bright’s smile grew and they grinned at each other, but then the moment passed, and Ephram was at a loss for words once more. He stood up off the door and tucked himself back into his pants. Bright did the same and they picked their discarded clothes up off the floor. They regarded each other awkwardly.

“Um, you want to wash your hands and…stuff?” Bright shifted his weight from leg to leg.

“Yeah, good idea.” Ephram squeezed his jacket and shirt into a ball as Bright led the way to the bathroom, just down the hall. They stood shoulder to shoulder at the sink and rinsed their hands and chests off. Bright passed Ephram a towel and they looked everywhere but at each other.

When they both had their shirts back on, Ephram rolled and unrolled his jacket in his hands. “So, I guess I should get going,” he said.

“Uh, yeah, I guess so.”

They went back out into the hall and Ephram put his jacket back on. He was at the door when Bright lightly grasped his arm. Ephram stopped, his heart pounding. “Yeah?”

“You still like me?” Bright’s voice was soft.

Ephram smiled and drew Bright close. He kissed him gently. “Yeah, I still like you. You still like me, right?”

Bright ran his hand through Ephram’s hair. “Yeah.” He kissed Ephram back.

“So, what are you doing tomorrow?”

Bright kissed him again. “Nothing.”

“Wanna hang out?” Ephram ran his fingers up Bright’s spine, below his t-shirt.

“How about we go for a drive?”

“Yeah, sounds like a plan.” Ephram kissed Bright once more and then headed out into the night, the door shutting quietly behind him. It looked like they were heading back into their routine.

With a few minor adjustments, of course.

Ephram’s happiness faltered when he thought about what it meant, the fact that what had happened between them could no longer be passed off as boys being boys. He touched his tender lips with his fingers and smiled faintly.

His foot crunched on something and he looked down. The Ticketmaster envelope lay on the driveway and Ephram bent to retrieve it. He smoothed the crumpled paper with his hand and put it back in his pocket, grinning stupidly to himself. He strolled down the driveway, a bounce in his step that he hadn’t felt in a long, long time.

He’d worry about what it all meant tomorrow.

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