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Landslide
by bigboobedcanuck

Chapter Five

Thanks to everyone who's been giving feedback, I've said it a million times but it really does make me ridiculously happy.

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Ephram shuffled into the kitchen, yawning widely. His father sat at the table, reading The Pinecone.

“Morning, Ephram.”

Ephram grunted in response, grabbing some orange juice out of the fridge.

“You were out late last night, did you go to a party?”

“Um, yeah. It was fun.” Ephram gulped down some juice and pulled out the milk, putting it on the table. He’d really just walked around for a while after leaving Bright’s. It was a nice night, and he’d been reluctant to go back to his empty house. Back to reality. By the time he got home, his father and Delia were home and asleep.

“Good, I’m glad to hear it.”

“Uh huh.” Ephram pulled a box of Lucky Charms down off the shelf and grabbed a bowl and spoon. He sat at the table and poured the cereal into his bowl. He’d just finished pouring the milk when his father spoke again.

“Ephram, I think we should talk. I’m pretty sure I know what’s been bothering you.”

Ephram sloshed milk all over the table. His heart pounded rapidly. Did his father know? How did he know?

“You…you do?” Ephram held his breath.

“Now, I wasn’t snooping, but I went in your room last night to talk to you when I got home, and…I found this.” Andy reached under a pile of papers he had on the table and pulled out the Playboy.

Ephram stared at it, frozen in horror. He’d thrown it against the wall and…left it on the floor. He’d forgotten all about it. He swallowed and tried to think of something to say.

Nothing was forthcoming.

“Ephram, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about, it’s completely natural to feel curious and maybe a bit…frustrated. It’s all part of being a teenager.” His father looked at him with an earnest expression that made Ephram groan.

“Dad, really, I don’t need The Talk, okay? You tried once before, remember? I think you already covered everything. Really, I’m fine.” Ephram tried to soak up the spilt milk with a napkin.

“Ephram, I think it’s good to talk about these things. You’ve been so moody, and like I said, it’s natural—”

“Dad! Please, stop. I’m fine. I don’t need to talk about anything, okay? I was looking at a Playboy, there’s really not much to say about that.” He pushed his chair back and went to dump his uneaten cereal in the garbage, his appetite suddenly gone. His father kept saying how “natural” it all was. What would he say if he knew the truth?

“Ephram, I’m just trying to communicate with you—”

Ephram dropped his bowl in the sink. “Dad, everything’s fine. I know you just want to help, but this? Isn’t helping, okay? I’m good. I know I’ve been a pain lately, but I went out last night, and I had a great time. Everything’s cool, okay?”

Andy sighed. “Okay, Ephram. But you know you can talk to me if you want to, right?”

“Yeah, Dad. I know. Thanks.” Ephram wanted to run from the kitchen, but he made sure to walk calmly. He certainly didn’t need his father chasing after him.

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

Bright stretched out on the rock, his eyes closed. He dozed lightly and basked in the warmth of the sun, high in the sky. Summer would be ending soon, and he wanted to get as much of a tan as he could. Then he was going to go see if Ephram wanted to go for a drive. Or something.

He’d been there for about an hour when he heard the faint tinkle of bells in the distance. They steadily became louder and louder, accompanied by the crunching noise of someone moving through the woods towards him. The person stopped at the base of the rock.

“Bright?”

Bright chuckled at the sound of Ephram’s voice. He’d known that only Ephram could possibly have made that much noise going through the woods.

“Yeah. I’m here.” Bright sat up and waited for Ephram to clamber up the back of the boulder, bells jangling. Ephram appeared and sat down next to him.

“I thought you might be here. Hey.”

“Hey,” Bright replied.

They looked at each other and an awkward silence settled in. Finally Bright cleared his throat.

“So, that’s a nice bear bell you got there.”

“Yeah, my dad says it’s a good idea to have one up in the woods, it scares them away. Personally, I’m not convinced this thing isn’t just acting like a dinner bell,” Ephram said, looking accusingly at the jangling contraption attached to his backpack.

Bright laughed, “Come and get it, come and get it! Fresh city slicker!”

“Exactly.” Ephram said emphatically, smiling crookedly at him. He looked at Bright for a few seconds and then he was leaning towards him. Their lips met softly. “Hey.”

“Hey,” Bright said. He raised his hand to the back of Ephram’s head and brought him closer for another kiss. Ephram sucked Bright’s lower lip into his mouth and Bright felt a shiver run up his spine. They kissed languidly, their tongues slowly twisting around each other, tasting and stroking.

The night before, their kisses had been hard and hurried and desperate, but now they were in no rush. Ephram’s hand moved to Bright’s bare chest, where he lightly moved his fingers over Bright’s skin. Finally, Ephram broke away and lightly pushed Bright onto his back.

His hand trailed over Bright’s stomach and he licked and kissed his neck. Bright sighed contentedly, his fingers moving through Ephram’s hair. Ephram sucked on Bright’s nipple and Bright felt his dick get hard in his jeans. Ephram slowly swirled his tongue and Bright decided that as great as jerking each other off had been, it was all so much better with kissing and tongues.

Bright pulled Ephram’s head up and kissed him again, and also tried to pull Ephram’s shirt over his head. They got hopelessly tangled, and dissolved into giggles as Ephram extricated himself from his t-shirt. Then he moved on top of Bright, pumping his hips slowly into Bright’s, both of their cocks straining against the fabric of their jeans.

Bright quickly reached down and undid his pants, then pulled his cock out of his boxers. Ephram was also shifting his now-open jeans down onto his hips and he leaned back into Bright, his knee between Bright’s leg and their cocks slippery together.

Bright ran his hands down Ephram’s back and squeezed his ass, pulling him closer. They kissed again as their hips rocked back and forth, their cocks rubbing together between their bodies. Bright loved the feel of Ephram’s ass and his fingers tightened as he pulled him even closer. They began moving faster, their kisses becoming more frenzied.

Then Ephram was coming with a loud groan. He shuddered and Bright felt wetness on his stomach. Ephram rolled off him a bit, onto his hip, his leg still entangled with Bright’s. He grasped Bright’s cock, pumping it steadily. Bright panted and moaned, his eyes falling shut.

Then he felt the most incredible sensation he ever had in his entire life.

His eyes popped open and he saw that Ephram had taken the head of his cock in his mouth and he was sucking and licking it like a popsicle.

“Oh, god!” Bright bucked his hips up into Ephram’s hot mouth. After a few more seconds he came hard, his cum shooting into Ephram’s mouth and onto his face as he tried to move away. Bright closed his eyes as the pleasure washed over his body. He tried to catch his breath, his chest rising and falling rapidly.

When he opened his eyes again, Ephram was digging into his backpack. He pulled out a small towel and wiped his face with it. He moved it over his chest and then offered it to Bright, who did the same.

“Jesus, Ephram, that was….” Even though he’d fooled around a lot with Gemma, she’d never been willing to do anything more than touch him with her hand.

“I…I don’t know why I did that.” Ephram finished doing up his pants and then fiddled with the bear bell on his pack. He didn’t look at Bright.

“That was like….” Bright trailed off.

“I know, it was weird.” Ephram still wouldn’t look at him.

“Dude, that was the most amazing thing I’ve ever felt.” Bright sat up and put his hand on Ephram’s shoulder. “It wasn’t weird.”

Ephram looked at him shyly. “Really?”

“Really,” Bright said with a grin. He finished cleaning himself off and did up his jeans.

“But…don’t you think it’s kinda…I mean, I never thought I’d want to do that. But all of a sudden I did. That’s something…I mean, what are we doing?”

Bright was silent for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. All I know is that…I like it.”

“Yeah, me too.” Ephram chewed his lip. “But does it mean…you know.” Ephram waved his hands around, trying to summon the right word.

Bright took a deep breath. “Does it mean we’re…like that?”

“Yeah. I don’t know what to think. I don’t know how this happened.” Ephram shook his head in bewilderment.

“Me neither.” It was true; Bright had no idea how it had all happened. Or what it meant. All he knew was that things had always been awkward with Gemma and other girls, and that things with Ephram felt right.

“But can you imagine if people found out? Jesus.”

“Shit, that would be…bad.” Bright’s gut twisted at the thought of anyone knowing. They would never understand. “But we can keep a secret, right?”

“Totally. We can tell everyone we’re friends. It’ll make it easier to see each other. We are, like, friends, right? Unless you’re going to hang out with all the loser jocks again when school starts.” Ephram looked down and fiddled with the bell again.

“Fuck those guys, they’re not my friends any more.”

“Really?” Ephram looked uncertain.

“Really. We’re friends, and I don’t care what those idiots at school think. They’ll be the leopards.” Bright leaned in and kissed Ephram soundly.

“Okay, just don’t do that at school, or I think the jig will be up pretty fast,” Ephram said with a grin.

They laughed and the tension dissipated. Bright didn't want to think about all that stuff. What did it matter, as long as they were happy? He was about to settle back down and tan some more when his stomach rumbled.

“Hey, you got any food in that bag?”

“Yeah, I figured I could give it to the bears as a peace offering.” Ephram pulled out a couple of Saran-wrapped sandwiches and a can of Pringles, along with a couple of cans of Coke that he’d wrapped in ice packs.

“You’re quite the prepared Boy Scout, aren’t you?” Bright looked at the ice packs with a raised eyebrow and then took a sandwich.

“I like it cold, okay? Shut up.” Ephram took a bite of his own sandwich and punched Bright lightly on the arm.

“Hey, it works for me. But bears really love the scent of cold soda. We could have an interesting afternoon.” Bright chewed his sandwich thoughtfully and glanced at Ephram, who was frozen, after having just popped open one of the cans.

“Are you serious?” He looked over both shoulders at the forest stretching out behind them. Bright tried to stifle a giggle, and Ephram clenched his jaw and smacked him. “You are such a jerk, you know that?”

“Yeah, I know,” Bright said with a grin.

Ephram shook his head, trying to hide his smile. He took a long gulp of Coke and said, “Ahhhhh.”

They smiled at each other and ate their lunch, their laughter echoing in the valley below.

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

The next day, Bright walked through the park after dropping off his truck at the garage for service. He had at least an hour to kill, so he wandered around town, enjoying the warm weather. He neared the playground near Ephram’s house and the shrieks and yells of playing children filled his ears. He had thought about knocking on Ephram’s door, but he wasn’t sure if he’d be there, and he didn’t want to meet up with Ephram’s dad. He wasn’t sure if Doctor Brown knew that he and Ephram were friends yet.

On the jungle gym, there appeared to be some kind of cutthroat game in progress. One group of kids tried to climb onto the jungle gym, while the others tried to push them off. Bright noticed Delia scampering up the side of the apparatus. Her invasion attempt was thwarted quickly and she landed in the sand with a soft thud.

Bright sat down on a bench and continued watching. Delia was persistent and after a few more tries, managed to get to the very top of the jungle gym, which Bright assumed was the goal. As she shouted in triumph, a tough-looking little boy shoved her hard. Bright leapt up and ran towards her as she fell.

“Delia!” Bright crouched beside her where she’d landed. He noticed that her left arm seemed to be jutting out at an alarming angle from her body. She’d had the wind knocked out of her and only made wheezing noises. But when Bright tried to move her arm, suddenly she screamed in agony and tears began streaming down her face.

“Dad! Daddy!” Delia screeched loudly.

“It’s okay, I’ll take you to him. He’s home, right? It’s Saturday.”

Delia nodded feebly and Bright gathered her up in his arms. She sobbed loudly and Bright tried to reassure her as he sped out of the park and towards Ephram’s house.

“Don’t worry, everything’s going to be okay, Delia.” Bright tried to keep his voice calm. Delia only whimpered in response.

Bright ran up the front steps and maneuvered himself and Delia through the screen door, which wasn’t an easy feat.

“Dr. Brown?” Bright’s voice was loud in the stillness of the house.

“Daaaaaaddy!” Delia screamed, her voice fraught with fear. Bright walked into the kitchen, Delia beginning to grow very heavy in his arms. There was no sign of anyone.

Then he heard footsteps pounding down the stairs and Ephram skidded around the corner.

“Delia! What happened?” When he saw Bright, Ephram blinked in confusion, but his attention went immediately back to his sister. “What happened? Are you hurt?”

“I think she broke her arm, she got pushed off the jungle gym. Where’s your dad?”

“He’s helping Nina with some plumbing thing in her basement. Here, let’s put her on the couch.” Ephram led the way into the living room and Bright tried to put Delia down as gently as he could.

She whimpered pitifully, “Ephram, it hurts, it hurts!”

Ephram smoothed her hair back from her forehead. “I know, I’m going to get Dad. I’ll be right back, okay?”

“No, don’t leave me!” Delia clung to Ephram with her right hand.

“It’s okay, I’ll go,” Bright said, and he ran outside and over to Nina’s. He opened the screen door and ran inside, calling out for Andy, who rushed upstairs with Nina and Sam trailing behind him.

“Dr. Brown, Delia broke her arm, you’ve gotta come quick.”

“What? Where is she?”

“At your place, come on.” Bright lead the way and they all ran back next door.

“Daddy!” Delia sobbed in relief.

“Sweetheart, what happened?” Ephram moved out of the way and Andy kneeled beside Delia. He gently looked at her arm and she cried out. “Sorry, honey. We’re going to get to the hospital, don’t worry, you’re going to be fine.”

“I’ll drive, I’ll go grab my keys. Sam, come on, you ride up front with me.” Nina ran back outside, followed quickly by Andy, who had scooped Delia up in his arms.

“Ephram, don’t worry, she’ll be fine. I’ll call you from the hospital.” With that, they were gone.

Bright felt as if a hurricane had just passed through. After all of Delia’s screaming, the silence was deafening. He looked at Ephram, who was ashen.

“Don’t worry, she’ll be okay. Stuff like this happens all the time to kids.”

“I just…” Ephram shook his head, as if he was trying to shake off bad thoughts. “I just hate seeing her in pain. She’s my baby sister, I’m supposed to be there so she doesn’t get hurt.”

“Dude, you can’t be with her twenty-four-seven. It’s not your fault.” Bright put his hand on Ephram’s shoulder and squeezed.

“I just don’t know what I’d do if anything ever happened to her.”

Ephram had a haunted look in his eyes and Bright knew he was thinking of his mother. After a few seconds of debate, Bright pulled Ephram into his arms and hugged him tightly. Ephram wrapped his arms around him, and took deep, shuddering breaths. After a few moments, Ephram pulled away and smiled tremulously.

“Thanks. Don’t worry, I’m not going to have another nervous breakdown.”

“I wasn’t worried.” Bright smiled in a way he hoped was reassuring.

“So, you wanna hang out while I wait for them to get back? It could be hours, though, so if you have somewhere else to be…”

“I don’t. Come on, let’s see what’s on TV.”

They sat on the couch and Ephram clicked the remote. He surfed around for a while until they found a stupid old movie about two geeks trying to create a perfect woman. After a minute, Bright felt Ephram’s fingers intertwining with his own. Not taking his eyes from the screen, Bright squeezed gently and Ephram squeezed back.

After a bit, Ephram fell asleep, his head falling onto Bright’s shoulder. Bright settled a little deeper into the couch and couldn’t help but hope that they’d take their time at the hospital.

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