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smackenzieLaurie ended up having to work the lunch shift on Tuesday, which meant he might be a little tired for his and Danny's excursion to the Blind Pig, but he wasn't working until dinner on Wednesday, which meant he could sleep late. He had to shower when he got home from lunch - his last table had included an annoying and badly-behaved small child who had jogged his arm and made him spill coffee all over himself. He'd changed his shirt at the restaurant and tried to clean himself off, but he thought he still smelled like decaf. Which was fine if you worked at Starbucks, but not so great if you were going to a club to find your half brother a boyfriend.
He showed up at his parents' house a little after seven with his extra motorcycle helmet. His mom had enough problems with his bike without him aggravating things by hinting that once or twice he and Danny had done the stupid thing and taken a walk on the wild side by riding without their helmets.
"Be back by midnight," his mom reminded Danny. "Tomorrow's school."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny said. "Bye Dad."
"Hey Jeremy," Laurie called into the house. His stepdad was probably watching the news and reading the paper in the den. Wherever he was, he he didn't give any indication that he'd heard either of his sons, probably because he was so deep in the house or had the TV turned up so loud that he hadn't heard them. "I'll bring him back in one piece, Mom."
"You do that," she said. "Have fun. Study hard." She kissed them both on the cheek and waited in the doorway until Danny was properly helmeted and Laurie was cruising them down the street.
The boys stopped for pizza because Danny hadn't eaten because their mom thought Laurie was going to feed him, and because the Pig didn't really serve food. They had snacks, mostly uncomplicated bar food, and you could conceivably make a meal out of them, but Laurie at least wanted to sit at a table and eat a reasonably normal dinner like a reasonably normal person.
"So what'd you tell her?" he asked Danny, as his half brother picked the mushrooms off their pizza. Laurie had forgotten that the kid didn't like fungus. "She said to study hard?"
"Yeah, I told her you were going to help me with my history homework."
"For five hours?"
"You were gonna feed me, too." Danny folded a slice of pizza in half and stuffed it in his mouth, as if to prove his point.
"Does Mom know you broke up with Briana?" Laurie sipped his Coke. Danny chewed his pizza, swallowed, then grabbed a mozzarella stick, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it in his mouth.
"Nope," he said around a mouthful of fried cheese. "Everyone at school knows, though. Kinda hard to hide it - Bri's been crying on her friends and bitching to everyone else." He shrugged. "I didn't think we were, like, in love or anything. I told her I still kinda liked her and I thought she was cute." He sounded like a combination of baffled and complacent, as if he was confused by his ex-girlfriend's behavior but didn't think it was a big deal. Laurie really couldn't help him there - he didn't have a clue as to how girls think.
"What'd you tell her when you broke up?" he asked instead.
"Just that I didn't think we should be seeing each other any more. It's just what you say." Another shrug. "I wasn't gonna tell her that she doesn't really get me all excited any more."
"You weren't gonna tell her you thought you liked the goalie on the soccer team better." Laurie couldn't resist a smirk. In a way it was kind of funny, that Danny threw over his girlfriend for another boy. It was like every straight woman's nightmare. But Laurie had liked Briana and now he felt a little sorry for her. She'd think it was her fault, when the real problem was simply that she didn't have a dick.
Danny threw half a mozzarella stick at Laurie. He evidently wasn't as amused by the whole thing.
"Sorry," Laurie said, trying to sound genuinely apologetic. "She probably thinks it's something she did, or she's just gonna think you're an asshole. You told her you still think she's cute?"
"Yeah. She is cute. She's got this spaghetti-strap top, you know, like a tank top? It's this really light pink, and she wears it with those baggy cargo pants and she looks kind of like a skater chick and she's just really cute. But we're sitting on the couch kissing and I'm... not thinking about her. And it just didn't seem fair, you know?"
Laurie just nodded. This was the most Danny had talked about, well, anything in a long time. And it was a big something, and he probably had to get it out of his system now, before they continued on the road to sorting out his head. If he was still stuck on Briana, if he still wanted to go out with her, there wasn't much point in going to the Blind Pig.
Well, no, there still was a point - Book of Fish was a good band, and as much as Laurie would probably like helping Danny with his homework, there was no substitute for good music and a hopping club and a cold beer and a lot of eye candy. But if Danny wasn't interested any longer in finding a boy to kiss so he'd know if he was gay or not, their main reason for going out would just change.
"Are you still interested in her?" Laurie asked, just to make sure. "I mean, do you still think you'd want to date her?"
"After we broke up and I was kind of a dick about it? She wouldn't take me back." Danny fished an ice cube out of his cup and crunched into it. Shivers crawled up Laurie's spine. He hated that. "But no, I'm not really upset. I mean, maybe I could've said it differently and not, like, hurt her so much, because yeah, I still like her, but she doesn't get me hot. She's all over me, you know? And I'm, like, 'Whatever.'" He waved his hand dismissively to demonstrate how arounds Briana didn't make him.
"Just checking. So you haven't changed your mind. You still want to try this."
"Yeah. How else am I gonna know? If I knew Marcus was gay I'd just go up to him after school and say something, but he's always talking about girls and he had a girlfriend, so I'm pretty sure he's straight."
"You never know. That doesn't mean anything." Danny looked skeptical. "Ok. Bran used to have a roommate, this guy named Harry. He had a girlfriend. He came on to Lea once or twice, until Bran told him she had a boyfriend. He'd make comments about girls and you'd think he never looked at guys, he couldn't tell you if you looked good in something or if some actor was attractive or something."
"Ok."
"So you'd say he was straight, right?"
"Sounds like it to me."
"Well, the first time I met him I knew he was queer. I said to Bran ''Your roommate's gay,' and Bran thought I was nuts. Harry talked about chicks, he couldn't be gay. I said trust me. So Harry moves out, Bran gets his own place, and then we hear that he broke up with his girlfriend, came out of the closet, and moved to South Carolina with a guy. Turns out he'd been cheating on his girlfriend with this guy for almost a year. He was just really good a hiding it."
"So you're telling me Marcus is gay?"
"No, just that you can't assume he's straight because he's always talking about girls." Laurie reached across the table and picked the discarded mushrooms off Danny's plate. Danny looked thoughtful, and Laurie was pretty pleased with himself for having given what was apparently really good advice. Sometimes he knew what to say.
"How do you know?" Danny asked.
"That someone's gay?" Danny nodded. "I don't know. I just do." Now Danny made a "that's not an answer" face, so Laurie thought about it a second and continued. "I think it's the way a guy looks at you. Sort of, sometimes. I know how I look at boys I'm interested in, so I can usually recognize it if someone's looking at me that way. Sometimes it's really subtle and you can't be sure. Sometimes it's just the way a boy stands, or how he talks, or how he uses his hands, or where he touches you when he leans over you to get a drink at the bar, or how he bumps your hip when he walks past you. If you smile at him and he smiles back, that's usually a good sign." He winked. Danny rolled his eyes.
"You're talking about guys you wanna fuck," he said. "I mean in general."
"I can try and teach you, if you want, but first things first, ok? Let's go to the Pig and make sure you're interested in learning. There'll be enough hot boys there for anyone. If you want, I'll start you off in the right direction and point out a couple of likely subjects. Or you can just go out and dance and see if they come up to you." He finished off his Coke. "I guess the only thing is that you have to kind of project that you're interested."
"How the hell am I gonna do that?"
"I don't know. It's a vibe. Forget it." Maybe that hadn't been such good advice. "Just be yourself, you know? Have a good time. Talk to people, dance, sing along if you know the song, whatever. Someone's gonna think you're cute and want to talk to you. Just let it happen."
"Ok." Danny looked a little dubious, but he hadn't so much as hinted that he didn't want to do this. Laurie took that as a good sign.
They paid for their dinner, climbed back on Laurie's bike, and continued on to the Blind Pig. There was a line, but not much of one, and Danny flashed his ID at the door and was ushered right in. Laurie tried not to look impressed at his half brother's convincing fake ID, although it was always possible that the guy at the door knew it was fake and guessed Danny was underage and just didn't care. He got an "under 21" stamp on his hand, so he couldn't drink, and if there was one seventeen-year-old in a club that was supposed to be eighteen and over, who cared? Danny could always find someone to buy him a beer, if he really wanted one.
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total words: 16,509
He showed up at his parents' house a little after seven with his extra motorcycle helmet. His mom had enough problems with his bike without him aggravating things by hinting that once or twice he and Danny had done the stupid thing and taken a walk on the wild side by riding without their helmets.
"Be back by midnight," his mom reminded Danny. "Tomorrow's school."
"Yeah, yeah," Danny said. "Bye Dad."
"Hey Jeremy," Laurie called into the house. His stepdad was probably watching the news and reading the paper in the den. Wherever he was, he he didn't give any indication that he'd heard either of his sons, probably because he was so deep in the house or had the TV turned up so loud that he hadn't heard them. "I'll bring him back in one piece, Mom."
"You do that," she said. "Have fun. Study hard." She kissed them both on the cheek and waited in the doorway until Danny was properly helmeted and Laurie was cruising them down the street.
The boys stopped for pizza because Danny hadn't eaten because their mom thought Laurie was going to feed him, and because the Pig didn't really serve food. They had snacks, mostly uncomplicated bar food, and you could conceivably make a meal out of them, but Laurie at least wanted to sit at a table and eat a reasonably normal dinner like a reasonably normal person.
"So what'd you tell her?" he asked Danny, as his half brother picked the mushrooms off their pizza. Laurie had forgotten that the kid didn't like fungus. "She said to study hard?"
"Yeah, I told her you were going to help me with my history homework."
"For five hours?"
"You were gonna feed me, too." Danny folded a slice of pizza in half and stuffed it in his mouth, as if to prove his point.
"Does Mom know you broke up with Briana?" Laurie sipped his Coke. Danny chewed his pizza, swallowed, then grabbed a mozzarella stick, dipped it in the sauce, and popped it in his mouth.
"Nope," he said around a mouthful of fried cheese. "Everyone at school knows, though. Kinda hard to hide it - Bri's been crying on her friends and bitching to everyone else." He shrugged. "I didn't think we were, like, in love or anything. I told her I still kinda liked her and I thought she was cute." He sounded like a combination of baffled and complacent, as if he was confused by his ex-girlfriend's behavior but didn't think it was a big deal. Laurie really couldn't help him there - he didn't have a clue as to how girls think.
"What'd you tell her when you broke up?" he asked instead.
"Just that I didn't think we should be seeing each other any more. It's just what you say." Another shrug. "I wasn't gonna tell her that she doesn't really get me all excited any more."
"You weren't gonna tell her you thought you liked the goalie on the soccer team better." Laurie couldn't resist a smirk. In a way it was kind of funny, that Danny threw over his girlfriend for another boy. It was like every straight woman's nightmare. But Laurie had liked Briana and now he felt a little sorry for her. She'd think it was her fault, when the real problem was simply that she didn't have a dick.
Danny threw half a mozzarella stick at Laurie. He evidently wasn't as amused by the whole thing.
"Sorry," Laurie said, trying to sound genuinely apologetic. "She probably thinks it's something she did, or she's just gonna think you're an asshole. You told her you still think she's cute?"
"Yeah. She is cute. She's got this spaghetti-strap top, you know, like a tank top? It's this really light pink, and she wears it with those baggy cargo pants and she looks kind of like a skater chick and she's just really cute. But we're sitting on the couch kissing and I'm... not thinking about her. And it just didn't seem fair, you know?"
Laurie just nodded. This was the most Danny had talked about, well, anything in a long time. And it was a big something, and he probably had to get it out of his system now, before they continued on the road to sorting out his head. If he was still stuck on Briana, if he still wanted to go out with her, there wasn't much point in going to the Blind Pig.
Well, no, there still was a point - Book of Fish was a good band, and as much as Laurie would probably like helping Danny with his homework, there was no substitute for good music and a hopping club and a cold beer and a lot of eye candy. But if Danny wasn't interested any longer in finding a boy to kiss so he'd know if he was gay or not, their main reason for going out would just change.
"Are you still interested in her?" Laurie asked, just to make sure. "I mean, do you still think you'd want to date her?"
"After we broke up and I was kind of a dick about it? She wouldn't take me back." Danny fished an ice cube out of his cup and crunched into it. Shivers crawled up Laurie's spine. He hated that. "But no, I'm not really upset. I mean, maybe I could've said it differently and not, like, hurt her so much, because yeah, I still like her, but she doesn't get me hot. She's all over me, you know? And I'm, like, 'Whatever.'" He waved his hand dismissively to demonstrate how arounds Briana didn't make him.
"Just checking. So you haven't changed your mind. You still want to try this."
"Yeah. How else am I gonna know? If I knew Marcus was gay I'd just go up to him after school and say something, but he's always talking about girls and he had a girlfriend, so I'm pretty sure he's straight."
"You never know. That doesn't mean anything." Danny looked skeptical. "Ok. Bran used to have a roommate, this guy named Harry. He had a girlfriend. He came on to Lea once or twice, until Bran told him she had a boyfriend. He'd make comments about girls and you'd think he never looked at guys, he couldn't tell you if you looked good in something or if some actor was attractive or something."
"Ok."
"So you'd say he was straight, right?"
"Sounds like it to me."
"Well, the first time I met him I knew he was queer. I said to Bran ''Your roommate's gay,' and Bran thought I was nuts. Harry talked about chicks, he couldn't be gay. I said trust me. So Harry moves out, Bran gets his own place, and then we hear that he broke up with his girlfriend, came out of the closet, and moved to South Carolina with a guy. Turns out he'd been cheating on his girlfriend with this guy for almost a year. He was just really good a hiding it."
"So you're telling me Marcus is gay?"
"No, just that you can't assume he's straight because he's always talking about girls." Laurie reached across the table and picked the discarded mushrooms off Danny's plate. Danny looked thoughtful, and Laurie was pretty pleased with himself for having given what was apparently really good advice. Sometimes he knew what to say.
"How do you know?" Danny asked.
"That someone's gay?" Danny nodded. "I don't know. I just do." Now Danny made a "that's not an answer" face, so Laurie thought about it a second and continued. "I think it's the way a guy looks at you. Sort of, sometimes. I know how I look at boys I'm interested in, so I can usually recognize it if someone's looking at me that way. Sometimes it's really subtle and you can't be sure. Sometimes it's just the way a boy stands, or how he talks, or how he uses his hands, or where he touches you when he leans over you to get a drink at the bar, or how he bumps your hip when he walks past you. If you smile at him and he smiles back, that's usually a good sign." He winked. Danny rolled his eyes.
"You're talking about guys you wanna fuck," he said. "I mean in general."
"I can try and teach you, if you want, but first things first, ok? Let's go to the Pig and make sure you're interested in learning. There'll be enough hot boys there for anyone. If you want, I'll start you off in the right direction and point out a couple of likely subjects. Or you can just go out and dance and see if they come up to you." He finished off his Coke. "I guess the only thing is that you have to kind of project that you're interested."
"How the hell am I gonna do that?"
"I don't know. It's a vibe. Forget it." Maybe that hadn't been such good advice. "Just be yourself, you know? Have a good time. Talk to people, dance, sing along if you know the song, whatever. Someone's gonna think you're cute and want to talk to you. Just let it happen."
"Ok." Danny looked a little dubious, but he hadn't so much as hinted that he didn't want to do this. Laurie took that as a good sign.
They paid for their dinner, climbed back on Laurie's bike, and continued on to the Blind Pig. There was a line, but not much of one, and Danny flashed his ID at the door and was ushered right in. Laurie tried not to look impressed at his half brother's convincing fake ID, although it was always possible that the guy at the door knew it was fake and guessed Danny was underage and just didn't care. He got an "under 21" stamp on his hand, so he couldn't drink, and if there was one seventeen-year-old in a club that was supposed to be eighteen and over, who cared? Danny could always find someone to buy him a beer, if he really wanted one.
words: 1824
total words: 16,509
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Date: 2003-11-09 02:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2003-11-09 03:36 pm (UTC)So. Yes. It is difficult.