well, here's the fic that i've been dangling around for a while now. i've still only got about 30 pages written altogether so far, and that's only the very first bit of it. i'm constantly writing up on it, albiet slowly, so i hope that i won't suffer from a writer's updating lag with this one.
this chapter is a bit long, but a lot of stuff is being introduced and whatnot, and i simply couldn't find a suitable stopping point. so bear with me if none of this makes any sense. i have the want to jump right into a story, without any preambe of any kind. but then again, isn't that the best kind, really?
and, just so that i don't anger anybody about some misrepresentations...this is all made-up, right? not everyone acts or dresses like this. although, a lot of what i've used in this story is based upon real-life workings (the details in the background so to speak, not necassarily the people themselves. although, i've taken quite a few artisitc liscenses with some of my characters)
this is a slash fic, which becomes apparent fairly quickly. if this sort of thing offends you, you know what to do, right? oh, and forgive me about the amount of cursing that may go on, but this is how i perceive most people to talk. or is that just me who does that fairly often.....?
anyway, i'm through confusing the masses with my incessant drabblings. so i'll let you get on with it then, shall i?
Monday, August 8, 2005 2:05 pm
"Oi, Black Guy!" I turned towards the call with a quizzical/mildly-annoyed look on my face.
Black guy? That's it, that's the best that they can come up with? Jesus.
A grinning redhead approached me, and I was momentarily taken back by the amount of metal that was adorning his face. There were three in his right eyebrow, one in the left, a stud in the center of his lower lip, and hoops on the left upper and lower right. Thank god he didn't have a nasal piercing, as those things are so gross.
All in all, he should have looked tacky or something, but he actually managed to pull it all off.
My gaze finally left his face after taking in the fact that his ears were pierced just twice in each lobe, and slid down to his clothes. I know what you're thinking…black or punk clothing, right? Wrong. What he was wearing; however, was a plain purple tee with a decent looking pair of jeans. That actually fit him. Of course, the sneakers on his feet were atrocious looking; what might have started out as white canvas was now a pukey brown sort of color, with swatches of duct tape the only thing actually holding them to his feet.
My perusal now completed, my gaze drifted back up to his face, where his grin seemed to have widened even further because of my bemused expression.
"You go to Lakeview, right?" he asked brightly, and I nodded slightly.
"Ah, thought so, seen ya around before. Look, I seen you just now, sittin' all by yerself, and wondered if you might want to come sit with me and some fella's."
He pointed vaguely over a shoulder, and my gaze drifted in that direction. I immediately saw a table with three guys and a girl, all dressed in what could be termed gothic or punk clothing. The girl was dressed like the typical gothic stereotype; you know what I'm talking about, I'm sure. No color on any place of her body; her hair was obviously dyed black, and her face was smeared with white makeup with the black lipstick. Her shirt was an Elvira looking thing, with the arms long and spidery-like. But she was wearing guy's black shorts that hugged her slim hips and fell to just below her knees, and she had those huge-ass boots with the metal-detector-happy buckles everywhere.
She was willowy in a boyish sort of way, and extremely pretty…for a girl. And now she was sending clearly flirtatious looks in my direction. My eyebrow raised, and the guy in front of me glanced behind him to see what I was looking at.
"Ah, that's Jen. She's really the one made me come over here; I was tempted to just let you live in peace with your book…It by Stephen King. Anyway, so yeah, she's as subtle as a flying pig, 'ent she?" His voice was fond, his grin now just a smile.
"I'd say so." I admitted, and tiring of holding my page in my book, I replaced my finger with a napkin and let the book slide shut.
"Oh, and my name's Erin by the way. Is there something I can call you besides Black Guy?" he asked, fingers tenting on the table as he now leaned onto it a bit.
"Reggie." I replied, mentally debating if I should just go over there with him or not. I don't have to stay, and it's not like I have anything better to do for the next hour and a half, as I wait for my movie to start over in the AMC theater.
"Well Reggie, what do you say? If it makes any difference, I bet Jen would give you her number, at least." He asked, more serious now, but still amused. I ignored that last comment, still contemplating until I finally shrugged.
"Why not, I suppose." I commented before standing up and picking up my plate of oriental food and book. He grinned broadly again and led me back over to the table, his steps light.
"All right, me boyos and compadres, this is Reggie. And Jake, you owe me five bucks man." Erin announced, flopping down onto the only unoccupied chair.
I set my things down onto a space between him and this other guy, and then pulled a chair over from another table and sat down. The guy on my right was dressed as a skater punk; he had the right shoes, outfit, haircut, and skullcap…the works. The girl was on Erin's left, Jen I think her name was, and she leaned forward a bit to look at me.
"Wow, I've never seen a black guy dressed like you before."
I looked down at my clothing for a split second, but only saw what I'd randomly thrown on this morning; my Stonesour band shirt with a pair of jeans.
"I'm half Samoan." I offered, as if that would explain why I am the way I am, but only saw her blank look.
"My Dad's from Samoa, my mum was black." I explained, but her look stayed the same. Oh well, don't blame me for trying.
"Don't mind her man, she just can't see past the skin to the heritage beneath." Erin quipped, smirking.
I shrugged, and she suddenly asked, "Is that like being Jamaican or something? That why you wear your hair like that?"
I unconsciously reached up and brushed one of my chin-length Rasta curls from my face, "No, it's not at all the same. And I wear my hair like this 'cause I hate cornrows."
The curl I'd pressed back fell forward again, brushing my cheek and jaw before resting just against the curve of my right eye.
"Anyway, like I said, that's Jen, and you know my name." Erin spoke, and the guy next to the girl spoke up, "I'm Ben, and this is Ten." He jerked his head towards the guy sitting next to him, directing my gaze in that direction.
The guy was wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves shoved up to his elbows, and while it was once formally black, it had now faded to a charcoal gray. His skin was a dusky color, almost a Hispanic hue really, and his hair was either black or a very dark brown. And he was chubby, to say the least really, but it suited him with his build. All in all, I found him to be fairly attractive, but could tell that he was uncomfortable in his own skin just by the way he was hunched forward a bit as his elbows rested upon the table.
My lips curved into a friendly smile, but his eyes drifted down to the table, apparently nervous under my subtle scrutinization. So I obligingly turned my attention down to my lunch, deftly picking up a chunk of sesame chicken with my chopsticks, while grabbing a clump of white rice as well. I'm telling you that there is nothing better than sesame chicken with white rice on the entire face of this whole damn planet.
"Damn, you're pretty good with those." The Ben-boy stated, clearly impressed.
"My step-mom's Japanese." I explained, smiling slightly at seeing their surprise. My mom died when I was seven, and Dad remarried again when I was ten. It took me a while to get the knack of using sticks to eat, but now I hardly ever use a fork, unless it's absolutely necessary. I even carry around my own pair of sticks, my favorite ones with the delicate vine designs adorning the handles; I'm strange like that.
"So, you like, get all that awesome oriental food at home?" Erin asked eagerly, and I nodded, mouth full. I prefer traditional Japanese dishes to the stuff you find at oriental restaurants most of the time, but nothing tops sesame chicken. I think I've mentioned that, haven't I? (a/n: a truer sentiment, i've yet to find....)
"Man, that's awesome! And you listen to rock?" the skater punk I assumed was named Jake, simply by process of elimination, asked.
"Yeah…." I replied, as if seeing my band shirt wasn't enough for him.
"Reggie, you're so cool! Do you have a girlfriend?" Jen asked, eyes excited, and I mentally groaned. Jesus, why do I always attract the girls? Well, there's always the perfect solution to this dilemma…the truth.
"I'm gay." I announced calmly, eating another bite of rice as her face fell.
"Well damn, that's fucked." She said morosely, but not venomously.
"Aw Ten, you got a buddy to talk to now." Jake cooed a bit meanly, elbowing the boy in the side. Ten flushed and stared hard at the table, apparently wishing to disappear.
"Is that really your name?" I asked curiously, and saw his flush darken.
"Nah, it's just short for Ten-Ton." Jake explained with a laugh, and a small frown appeared on my face as I realized that it was a reference to his size.
He's not even chubby enough to be termed fat, and they call him Ten-Ton? That's just fucked up and cruel, and he clearly doesn't like it all that much.
However, an enthusiastic yelling of my name from behind me soon interrupted my thoughts.
I turned at hearing the familiar voice, shocked to see 'Xander waving at me enthusiastically some distance away. A grin split my face as I stood, watching him weaving rapidly through the food-court tables before he launched himself at me.
I laughed merrily, even as I had to take a step backwards to accommodate his lunge, my arms wrapping tightly around his slender and petite frame. I squeezed the adorable Asian in my arms once more before extracting myself from his grip.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" I questioned lightly, and he babbled out, "Finally wore Dad down to allowing a Playstation, after months and months of ruthless whining, and I…oh, heh, hello."
He apparently finally realized that there were others staring at us, and toned down his excitement as he offered them a small wave and smile.
"Eh, sorry. This is Erin, Jen, Ben, Ten, and Jake. Lot of 'en's, aren't there? And guys, this is Alexander." I introduced, pointing each person out in turn.
He flashed them a bright smile before his hawk-like gaze fell upon my food; I swear the boy has a homing beacon installed in his stomach.
"Sesame chicken!" he crowed fanatically, plopping his ass in my seat and proceeding to stuff a whole piece of my precious chicken into his cavernous pie-hole.
I frowned with amused irritation before pulling another chair over and sitting next to him, snatching my plate away before he could steal anymore. But I forgot how long his reach is, and he managed to lean around me and snake another piece before I could stop him.
I snatched a chopstick from his grip and stabbed him with it in the ribs, demanding harshly, "Behave!"
His cheek bulging with my lunch, he nodded and demurely gave me back the other stick. I glared at him, and he offered me an apologetic smile even as his teeth chewed up my second-to-last piece of chicken.
I rolled my eyes, and asked, "Where's John?" before stuffing the last piece into my mouth before he could steal that one as well. There is no way I'd trust that boy; I never have, and I never will when it comes to my food.
He waved a hand as he chewed, swallowing before saying, "Heh, drooling in that bookstore he likes…Waldenbooks."
His gaze flickered to the others, who were staring right back at him and myself. I know it's rude to be having a conversation like we are, right in front of them, but no one else was talking at all.
"And that ditz of yours?" I asked curiously, smirking at seeing his pulled face.
"Don't ever let him hear you call him that, you know how scary he gets when angry. Besides, Shen's a sweetheart, not a ditz."
I rolled my eyes, "I know that 'Xander, he was my boyfriend before yours. I'm the one that set you two up, 'member?"
"Heh, yeah, I forgot. He was meaner then…you made him mean." He accused, frowning jokingly.
"I did not! He's the one that left me stranded out in the boonies at that Vixen show, 5 hours from home! I had to hitch a ride with some fucking stoners because he got pissed at me, like always!" I protested, everything I said the truth.
Two years ago, he'd taken me to see Vixen in concert, and we'd practically fought the entire time. And he drove off and left me, the fucker. I'd hitched a ride with a van of junkies that were high on everything from weed to acid, to heroine. I swear I got high on the fumes emanating from their van alone. It was a fucking long 5 hours, let me tell you. (a/n: any reference to a real band was purely unintentional)
But despite the mess we made of dating, Shen and I had parted on semi-good terms, and I later set him up with my stepbrother, 'Xander. Whose actually bi, though he tends to stick with men, as he says that they appreciate his 'charms' more. It's more like he just likes to have his ass messed with, and girls tend to shy away from that sort of thing.
Well, he also claims that he's a bit afraid that he'd end up getting a girl pregnant; he's a bit of a man whore really.
Well, ok, so he's not that bad. I know that he's a horndog, but at least he has some sense of propriety. I mean, I can think of only one person, that I know of anyway, that he slept with before dating them first. And that was Shen. Those two were fucking like bunnies before they ever went on their first real date, but luckily for them, they quickly amended their lack of a real relationship. I swear, I would have killed them both if they hadn't.
As much as I hate to hear about my stepbrother and my ex's sex lives, 'Xander tells me everything, and vice-versa. I know everything about him; I know that he lost his virginity at the age of 14…which I seriously chewed him out for. He hadn't even dated the guy for very long; the bastard was his first boyfriend, and he'd pressured 'Xander into sex after only 2 days.
My lectures on his promiscuity have failed to stop his rapid perusal through men and lovers, very few of them girls, but Shen appears to be good for him. They've been dating for just under a year really, only 9 months or so, but it's the longest relationship 'Xander's had. So, I have high hopes that my brother won't turn out to be a whore after all.
And yes, I worry about my stepbrother, who's like blood to me, all right? He's my best friend; has been since his mom married my dad, and I hope we'll always be tight.
"Hey, are you coming this weekend?" I asked suddenly, dismayed when he shook his head.
"But Sumi's got that party on Saturday, I need you!" I exclaimed truthfully, devastated.
"Sorry Reg, but I'm going camping with Shen's family this weekend, 'member?" he pointed out.
"Well fuck." I was disappointed, but winced when he replied, "Probably will, you know me."
"Fuck Alex, I don't need to know!" I cried, dimly seeing the widened eyes of the others and mentally wincing again.
"Yeah, yeah, so you say. Anyway, Dad's probably apoplectic by now, so I'll call ya later, yeah?"
I gave him a nod, and he gave me a one-armed hug before waving a cheerful farewell at the other occupants of the table and dashed off.
A/N: okay, that was an information overload, wasn't it? but i rather like it for that reason. (shrugs)
and like i said, if i've used anything in the wrong sort of sense, just let me know. but his rasta hair...yes, i am aware that it's another term for dreadlocks. but the use of the word is different in my story...his hair is in some ways like dreadlocks, but far softer and un...well...dreadlocky. sorry, i can't explain it all that much, and i'm terrible about the descriptions of african american hair styles. so if there's a better word for it, just let me know.
please review, so i can tell if i'm getting any better at my writing. this is, quite possibly, my best piece as of yet.
little side note: the 6th of august was my birthday!! yay me! ok, i'm done with that, let's go on, shall we?