< Chapter 9

Chapter 10

"So, they’re putting on a wicked haunted house over on Old Palmer road and I was thinking that would be something cool to do tonight," AJ suggested with a wicked grin. "I love haunted houses, and we can grab something to eat at the Shake Shack afterwards. Make a whole night of it."

Nick popped a piece of taffy into his mouth before shaking his head and frowning. "Can’t, sorry." His words were slurred by the sticky candy cementing his teeth together.

AJ’s face fell and he stuck his tongue out at Nick. "Why not? It’s supposed to be awesome, not at all like those other cheesy haunted houses. I mean, like totally gonna make you pee your pants scary."

It was Nick who frowned this time. He would have loved to go to the haunted house and have them all scare themselves silly, but he couldn’t. He tried to speak but found it hard with the taffy that was still sticking his teeth together. Justin started to snicker at Nick’s predicament and answered for him. "We can’t because we’ve got to take my brothers and his brother and sisters trick or treating. We promised them ages ago that we’d take them, and now we’re stuck baby sitting them while our parents go out to a Halloween party."

Lance gave a nod of agreement. "Yeah, my parents are going too I think. I heard them talking about it this morning."

Nick mumbled something that no one understood, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

"That sucks," AJ grumbled.

"I... I’m not doing anything." Lance announced quietly. "I was just gonna stay home and hand out candy while I watched scary movies by myself, so ... I can go to the haunted house with you if you want." His pulse was racing and he hoped to god that AJ wouldn’t turn him down in front of everyone, laughing at his suggestion.

AJ raised one eyebrow. "Really? You wanna come?" His eyes were dancing and there was a grin playing on his lips. The more people that went, the more fun the haunted house would be. Plus AJ was excited at the prospect of getting to spend time with Lance outside of school. "I mean ...you don’t have to come.."

"Or you can always come trick or treating with us," Justin suggested. Nick saw the way AJ’s face fell at Justin’s invitation and he gave his best friend a subtle kick under the table. Justin silently questioned what the kick was for and Nick shook his head.

"I could," Lance pretended to think about it. As much fun as that would have been, hanging out with AJ was what he would rather be doing.

"Nah, you don’t want to come with us Lance. Our brothers and sisters are annoying on their own, but when you get them all together they’re downright demonic. Plus, I know if I wasn’t stuck babysitting the little snots, I’d definitely be going to the haunted house," Nick said as he flashed both Lance and AJ smiles. Justin must have caught on to what Nick was trying to do because he instantly blushed and tried to recover damage he’d unknowingly done.

"Oh yeah. I just thought I’d offer, you know ...but totally go to the haunted house."

AJ turned to Josh. "How ‘bout you?"

"You can have me after eight. The school is having a dance tonight, and Kyle, Billy and I are chaperoning. It’s from like five to seven, and then we have to hang around and clean everything up. So I should be out by then. And yeah, I so want to have the piss scared out of me. I’ve been waiting for this haunted house all year."

AJ was nearly bouncing out of his seat. "Your friends can come too!"

Josh nodded, "Great, I’ll ask them when I go back after school."

The rest of their lunch was filled with discussions of how cool the haunted house was going to be and how Justin and Nick wished they didn’t have to miss it. Since there were fewer of them, Lynn was going to drive her three boys over to the Carters’ where Jane was ordering pizza. The kids were going to go trick or treating, while Nick and Justin supervised. It had been decided that Justin and Nick would not trick or treat, because they were in high school now and only kids actually did the trick or treating, but Jane and Lynn knew that they were also bummed at having no candy, so a few extra bags of treats had been bought by both mothers and were going to be waiting at the house for them when they got home.

They were to trick or treat until it got too dark and then go back to Jane’s to eat the pizza for their dinner. The kids were going to go to bed, and Nick and Justin were allowed to have a sleep over party in the basement, loaded with sleeping bags, scary movies and they could stay up as late as they wanted.

"That sounds like fun though too," Lance admitted. Had he not been going out with AJ and Josh that night, he definitely would have loved to do that. AJ and Josh had to agree. The bell ringing alerted them that lunch was over and everyone headed to their lockers to get their books for their next class.

~*~*~*~

Nick knew that he could trust his best friend with anything, his life even, so he didn’t think twice about telling Justin what he and AJ had spoken about the other day after school. "So, AJ likes Lance?" Justin asked softly so that no one else around them could hear. The kids had gone up a long driveway to another house on Nick’s street, the six of them laughing and joking loudly.

"Totally," Nick answered as he unwrapped a bite sized candy bar. "And ...you know, I kinda think that Lance likes AJ too."

Justin’s eyes widened and he grinned. "Are you serious? He told you that?"

"Nah, he won’t talk to me about who he has a crush on. Which is weird because he knows I’m totally in love with Kevin Richardson, so I don’t think it would be weird if he told me he likes AJ."

Justin gave a shrug as the kids came running down the driveway, screaming something about the candy they had just gotten.

"They gave us chocolate bars. Like... BIG ones!" Angel, Nick’s sister squealed. She dug into her bag to extract the full sized kit kat bar that had been thrown into her bag.

"Cool," Nick said making a grab for hers. She swatted his hand away and buried the chocolate deep inside her bag.

"You can have mine Nicky," Steven, Justin’s brother said holding his full sized Oh Henry up proudly. Justin snickered and Nick kneeled down to the younger boy’s level so he could talk to him face to face. It was always a running joke between both families how much Steven idolized Nick and was always hanging around him whenever he was visiting their house.

"Thanks little guy, but how about when we get to my house, I’ll trade you a whole bunch of my little chocolates for that big one?" If Steven remembered their deal when they got back to his house, Nick was going to give him at least two or three handfuls of chocolate and candy for the big chocolate bar, so that in the end, Steven got the better end of the deal. Nick smiled as Steven grinned and wrapped his short arms around his neck in gratitude.

"You’re the best Nicky, thanks."

They continued walking down the street towards the next house when Nick heard Justin snickering. "He worships you, Nick."

"What can I say. Your brother loves me, my sisters love you." Nick knew that would shut Justin up instantly and laughed when it did.

"Shut up," Justin blushed and looked behind them, not surprised when he caught both BJ and Leslie looking at him dreamily. "Shut up," he whined which only caused Nick to laugh harder. When they were alone again, Justin continued their conversation. "So you really think they like each other?"

Nick nodded. "I do. So that’s why I’m glad that they’re going to the haunted house together tonight. It’ll be nice if they actually get a chance to tell each other they like each other." As happy as he was for his two friends, it also made him just as sad. He wished that he had the opportunity to even be friends with Kevin, let alone be in the position to tell him how he felt and hear the same in return. He knew he shouldn’t be jealous of his two friends, but it was hard. Justin hugged him sympathetically.

"I’m sorry Nicky," Justin whispered.

"Why?"

"Because you’re hurting. You won’t admit it, but it hurts you to see Kevin with those cheerleaders all the time. That it’s them and not you, and you don’t know if he even likes boys. That has to be hard and I wish I could do something to make it stop hurting."

Nick was grateful for his friend’s willingness to help and he forced himself to put it out of his mind for the night. By seven thirty they were heading back to Nick’s house, the kids all admitting they were tired of trick or treating and wanted to get home for pizza and pop.

By nine the kids were all passed out, Nick’s siblings in their beds and Justin’s asleep in Nick’s room where Lynn and Paul would find them upon returning from the party. Where they would take the two younger boys home with them, as promised, Justin would be staying over.

"What movie do you want to start with?" Nick asked as he laid out the pile of scary movies they had.

"Halloween!" Justin yelped from underneath his sleeping bag. They had foam mattress on the basement floor and had set up their sleeping bags side by side on top of it. Once Justin had crawled in and was laying on his stomach with bowls of candy, popcorn and chips between them, Nick started the movie. He turned off the lights and crawled into his own sleeping bag to watch along side his best friend. It was there that the Carters’ and Timberlakes found them fast asleep and the second movie still playing when they arrived home after twelve thirty.

Upon trying to pick Steven up from Nick’s bed, Paul jostled the young boy, awakening him. "How was your night sport?" Paul asked with a kiss to his son’s forehead.

"It was the best night ever," Steven yawned. He tightened his grip around his daddy’s neck and smiled sleepily. "Nick held my hand as we crossed the streets and made me look both ways. And then he let us have pop with our pizza. And I got so much candy, suckers and gum and chips and chocolate, but this one house gave us whole chocolate bars. Like you buy in a store, and Nick wanted Angel’s, but she wouldn’t give it to him so I gave him mine."

The four parents exchanged amused glances at Steven’s ramblings. "Oh yeah? He took your chocolate?" Jane asked with a raised eyebrow. The boys were under strict orders not to take any of the childrens’ candy as they were given more than enough of their own.

"He did, but then he gave me like a million little chocolate bars instead." Steven reached into his bag and opened it up. True enough, a large portion of it was filled with the chocolates she had bought her son earlier that day. Jane couldn’t help but smile at how wonderful her oldest child was and how much Steven adored him.

"Well, I think you got the better end of that deal sweetheart," Lynn said as she wiped the hair from Steven’s forehead. "You ready to go home?"

Steven nodded and yawned again as his eyes started to droop. "Can I go say good night to Nicky and Juju first?" He was asleep before his parents could give him any sort of answer.

"Well, they’ve had an eventful evening," Lynn said as she scooped Jonathan up and carried him to the front door. "Thank you for having Justin over and having the boys watch the kids. Next sleep over should be at my house, next weekend."

Jane and Bob nodded, laughing quietly. "Will do. And no problem. See you sometime this week for coffee."

~*~*~*~

Lance was surprised when he arrived at his locker after final period and found AJ standing there, waiting for him. "Hey," AJ said with a grin, causing Lance’s stomach to flutter.

"Hey, what’s up?"

"Not much. Josh has gone back to the school already, so he said he’d meet us at around eight thirty at my house. The haunted house probably won’t get too good until nine anyways so that’s awesome."

"What about Cody and Jay?" Lance asked nervously. He was torn between wanting a lot of people to join them and having it be just them. AJ only shook his head.

"Can’t, they’re going to some Halloween party. It’s just you, me, Josh and his friends from co-op. That cool?"

"Totally," Lance answered quickly. He blushed as he grabbed his things from the locker. He stopped breathing as AJ took a hold of his arm and squeezed. "Huh?" Lance let out a strange noise which caused them both to giggle.

"Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you," AJ apologized. Lance shrugged and rolled his eyes at his own stupidity. "You don’t have to come in costume tonight if you don’t want. I’m sure you would rather be in something more comfortable.

Lance was relieved and showed it with a huge sigh. "Thank you!" He exclaimed. "I would have if everyone else was dressing up, but I just want to put on a pair of jeans and a sweat shirt or something."

"Yeah, Josh is gonna just be wearing jeans and stuff. So..." AJ looked around nervously. "So we were thinking, just have something light to eat and then we’ll pick you up..."

"Do you want me to meet you at your house? I can have my mom drop me off at your house when they go to their party. I think they’re leaving at like six thirty- seven o’clock."

"Oh... You don’t have to..." AJ’s mind started to wander and he felt a jolt of electricity flow through his body. He would have suggested Lance come home with him right after school if he didn’t think that the freshman would want to go home and change and just relax for a bit after school. "I mean, it’s cool because yeah ..you can totally come over any time you want, but you don’t have to if you don’t want."

Lance shook his head quickly. "No, it’s cool. I don’t mind. I’ll go home, and change and do some of my homework, and then when they leave to go to their party, I’ll have them drop me off at your house. Is that okay?"

"Better than okay. We can hang out and play video games until Josh finally comes over." AJ wrote his address down on a scrap piece of Lance’s paper and both teens grinned at one another. If nothing else, they were starting to develop a comfortable friendship with each other that didn’t require Nick or Justin’s presence. For the first time, Lance felt like AJ was now becoming HIS friend, rather than one of Nick’s friends.

Before Lance knew it, his parents were dropping him off at AJ’s house. "You have your keys right?"

"Yes mama, I’ve got my keys."

"And how are you getting home?"

"Joshua’s going to drive me home. You remember him from the game right?" Lance said sweetly. He knew very well his mother remembered Joshua from the night of the game. When Josh had dropped him off, Diane had gone out and chatted with the boys for a few minutes to find out who her baby boy’s new friends were. Josh had made quite an impression and Diane had instantly liked the older boy.

"Oh, well if Joshua is driving then I’m sure you’ll be okay. Jane informs me that Justin and Nick will not be going tonight, who else will be there." At that exact moment, AJ appeared at the front door and waved at them.

"It will be Josh, AJ," Lance pointed at AJ who was standing on his porch. "And two of Josh’s friends that do their co-op at the same school that he does. They go to St. Peters."

His parents exchanged a few glances before his mother turned in her seat to press a kiss to Lance’s cheek. "Be good honey, we will probably be home pretty late."

"Okay mama, I’ll be careful."

"I want you home by midnight young man. At the latest." Jim Bass ordered kindly. Lance was surprised at his extended curfew. As if he’d heard Lance’s thoughts, his father chuckled. "It’s Halloween, what is it for if we can’t raise a little heck once in a while."

Diane scoffed and shook her head at her husband. "There will be no heck raising." She then turned to her son and repeated herself. "There will be NO heck raising, do you hear me James Lance?"

"Yes ma’am," both father and son said in unison. The whole car broke into laughter and Lance said one more good-bye before jumping out of the car and dashing up the front steps. AJ gave Lance’s parents one last wave before the car pulled out of the driveway and headed down the street in the opposite direction.

"So.." Lance said nervously.

"Come on in," AJ tugged on the sleeve of Lance’s hoodie. "Mom made us snacks to tide us over until dinner."

They sat in the living room, TV trays in front of them while they proceeded to play video games and eat the snacks that AJ’s mother had prepared for them. They took turns getting up to hand out candy to trick or treaters, laughing at the different costumes that they saw. At no point in the evening was there any amount of tension between them, as both teens managed to relax and feel comfortable around the other.

"Thanks for coming tonight," AJ said shyly as they brought their dishes into the kitchen. It was just after eight and Josh would be there at any moment.

"Are you kidding?" Lance asked in disbelief. "A haunted house? I am so excited. And thanks for letting me come over. Since I sorta did invite myself." His cheeks flushed pink and AJ shook his head.

"No worries, I was gonna ask anyways." AJ led them back into the living room where he turned the game system off. "Lets see what’s on TV."

They sat in silence watching Halloween episodes of the shows on TV until finally the doorbell rang. "That’s him," AJ yelped as the bell startled him. Lance broke into hysterical laughter, he nearly fell off of the couch which caused him to laugh harder. Lance’s laughter caused AJ to burst into laughter and finally Denise McLean, AJ’s mother, was forced to answer the door.

"I think you’ve both had enough candy already," she scolded playfully as she opened the door. "Joshua, how are you darling?"

"Fine mom, how are you?" Josh stepped in and hugged AJ’s mom, whom he’d begun calling mom when they were both young kids. Behind Josh were the two teens that Lance recognized from the Shake Shack that first night. They gave casual smiles and brief waves.

"Good, and who are these young men?"

"This is Kyle and Billy, they go to St. Peters, we met at Holy Cross Elementary School. I work in a third grade class there. Kyle works with the grade eights and Billy is working in the library."

Denise gave both of the new teens a grin and waved them all inside. "Come on in boys, would you like something to eat or drink?"

"Ma," AJ groaned. "You know we can’t. We’re going to the haunted house on Old Palmer." He slipped into his jean jacket and gave her a peck on the cheek. "I’ll be home later."

"Fine, be careful boys. And don’t get into too much trouble. I don’t want to be bailing all of your behinds out of jail or anything."

All of the boys laughed, except for AJ who groaned in embarrassment. "Moooom!"

"Go, just go.." Denise shooed them out of the house. They all climbed into Josh’s car and AJ handed him over ten bucks. "You’re always driving us, so mom gave me this to give you next time we went out."

Josh smiled and rolled his eyes as he stuffed the bill into the ash tray which he used as a change box. "She didn’t have to do that. Now that I’m working on weekends my gas money is totally paid for." His car had been a gift from his grandmother on his sixteenth birthday. His parents had informed him that if he wanted a car, he was going to have to help pay for it. One day when he’d been at his grandmother’s house, they had gotten to talking about his driver’s license and when he was going to go for it. When Josh had informed her that he was going the day he turned sixteen, she decided to let him in on a little secret. It would be her that would be taking him to the DMV for his test, and then afterwards, she was planning on having him drive her to the car dealership so that he could pick out his birthday present, a new car.

Nothing his parents said or did could dissuade her from buying her grandson a car for his birthday and so, on August 8th, two months earlier, Josh had gotten a new car. One stipulation that she had made was that he was to pay for his own gas, the first year of insurance payments would be made by her. That piece of information had been kept a secret from his parents, as they were under the impression that he was going to be making his own payments. To show his grandmother how thankful he was for her more than generous gift, Josh had gone out and found a part time job that wouldn’t interfere with his school, but would give him the money he needed to pay for gas and other incidentals that the car would need. Now, two months later Josh couldn’t believe that he almost hadn’t had a car. He couldn’t imagine not having a means to get around.

"Well, she doesn’t care. She said that you deserve at least that for being our chauffeur as often as you are."

Josh was driving, Kyle had called shotgun, and AJ, Lance and Billy were seated snugly in the back seat. "So the plan is the haunted house first and then the Shake Shack, right?" Josh asked as he turned down the main road that would take them towards Old Palmer Road.


"Yeah, is that okay? I mean, if you guys wanted to do something else afterwards.." AJ tried not to let himself think too much about his body that was pressed tightly against Lance’s, how he could smell the faint cologne that the younger boy was wearing or the heat that emanated from the both of them.

"No, that’s fine," Josh assured him. "I just wanted to make sure that was it." Kyle started playing with the radio, stopping it at a popular song. Everyone in the car started to sing along, ending all conversation until Josh pulled up to the already half full parking lot.

The cost to enter was ten dollars each, which was five more than AJ had told him at lunch. Lance felt his cheeks burn knowing that he hadn’t exactly brought enough. Thinking that it would only be five to get in, he had grabbed the five for entrance and a ten for their snack at the Shake Shack. He pasted a smile on his face, hoping that no one else had noticed. Unfortunately, AJ lagged behind and nudged him gently with his shoulder. "Is everything okay?"

Lance smiled weakly at him and nodded, "yeah, of course."

AJ looked at the sign and cursed himself as he saw the price to get in had changed since the year before. He hadn’t even thought to call and ask, as it had always been five dollars. "I’m sorry, I told you five. Is that going to be okay?"

Lance gave an embarrassed smile. "Yeah. I kinda just..."

"What?" AJ asked softly. He hated how embarrassed and awkward Lance looked at that moment and wanted to just pull him close and hug him. Josh had already gone inside with Kyle and Billy and were most likely waiting for them through the doors. "Did you bring enough?"

"I’m so dumb. I had more money in my jar, but I grabbed the ten and the five. I thought it would be enough..." Lance’s face was a brilliant shade of red and he looked down at his shoes so he wouldn’t have to look at AJ. He was surprised when AJ grabbed his hand and pulled him to the front door. "What are you doing?" Lance asked.

"Two please!" AJ handed the girl at the ticket booth a twenty and held his hand out for her stamp. When Lance didn’t extend his hand, AJ grabbed it and held it out for her, smiling and thanking the girl when they were both ready.

"Why did you do that?" Lance asked. He thought he couldn’t feel any more stupid, but having AJ pay for him like he was a kid proved him wrong.

"You can buy dinner," AJ shrugged. When Lance didn’t react, he only smiled and winked.

Lance couldn’t help but smile as AJ flashed him a toothy grin. His stomach turned inside out a few times and he could feel his hand trembling as it was still in AJ’s grasp. Lance quickly did the math and realized that his fifteen dollars would be enough to pay for both of them to have a drink, hamburger and fries at the Shake Shack. He looked at AJ shyly. "Thanks. And I will ...buy your dinner."

AJ wiggled his eyebrows. "Oooh, so it’s officially a date then."

His heart stopped and Lance’s eyes opened wide. He could tell by the way AJ’s face and neck turned bright red, he hadn’t expected that to come out sounding the way it had. Lance gave a soft smile and nodded. "Cool."

"C..cool." AJ answered back as he carefully dropped Lance’s hand and wiped it on his jeans. Suddenly his palms were sweating like mad. There was no explanation as to why he’d made that comment about it being a date and he’d been about to smack himself in the forehead, but seeing the way Lance’s eyes lit up, and the way with which he reacted, told him that Lance wasn’t as freaked out about the thought as he probably should have been. In that moment, a new hope was born in AJ’s heart and he thought that maybe he did have a chance with Lance.

"It’s about freaking time you guys got in here." Josh greeted them around the corner, nearly scaring AJ and Lance to death. "Come on, I’ve been hearing screaming since we got in here."

Lance chuckled and shook his head. "It’s probably just a recording of people screaming." Just as he had made the claim, three distinct and very real screams pierced the air, causing for goose bumps to cover the skin of all five boys.

"Or not," Billy said with wide eyes and a grin on his face. "Let’s go, I want to see how loud I can scream."

Kyle shook his head and moaned softly. "How did I get myself into this. I am such a baby.. I scare so easily." As if to prove his point, Billy grabbed Kyle’s hand, scaring him so much he screamed and jumped a foot in the air. The rest of them howled with laughter.

"This is gonna be so freakin’ cool," AJ promised as they stepped through the vapour mist into the unknown.

Lance’s voice was hoarse and he had tears running down his face as they stepped out at the end of the haunted house. He was laughing so hard that he had a stitch in his side and he was sure that he and AJ would have matching scars on their arms the next day from where they had been grabbing onto one another and holding tight. They had all gone into the house skeptical of how scary the house could possibly be, but before they had already gone halfway through, Kyle, Josh and Billy were all holding hands and walking in baby steps through the halls, and AJ and Lance were clutching onto each other desperately. Both of them would have enjoyed the physical contact more if they hadn’t been so worried about what would be thrown at them next, literally ...as every turn promised another frightening surprise.

Kyle’s face was sheet white and his eyes were open so wide that Lance thought he might not be able to close his eyes any time soon. "You okay Kyle?" AJ asked with a laugh. He tapped Kyle on the shoulder and unintentionally scared him again.

"Fine ...just fine. I think I need to relax a little before going home..." Kyle finally let out the breath he’d been holding and felt how exhausted his body had been from being tensed up for so long.

"That was the best haunted house ever," Billy admitted. He hadn’t wanted to confess to Josh earlier when he’d been invited that he thought haunted houses were usually lame and he could think of a million other things, including watching paint dry, that he would have rather been doing. But only steps after entering the house, Billy’s theory on lame haunted houses had been disproved. He didn’t want any of the others to know, but had it not been for them being with him, he probably would have gone running after the first scream.

"Definitely worth the ten bucks," Josh agreed with a grin. Lance gave AJ another look of thanks for paying for his entrance fee. He felt AJ’s hand on his leg and as he squeezed gently, Lance gasped.

"Ticklish," he whispered in explanation as his cheeks flushed. AJ only smiled and winked which made Lance blush darker.

"So, I hear you’ve joined the Report," Josh said to Lance. Their eyes met in the rearview mirror and Lance was surprised that he was being addressed directly. He’d been so focused on AJ that he had missed everything going on around them.

"Pardon?" Lance leaned in so he could hear Josh over the loud music booming in the car.

"Sorry," Josh turned the music down a few notches and repeated himself. "I hear you’ve joined the Report. Aje tells me that you’re on the paper now."

Lance nodded. "Yeah, I was in computers a few weeks ago and Howie Dorough and Kevin Richardson had suggested I go in and check it out. I did and decided I really like it. I just helped with printing and finalization and stuff on this issue. But with the next one, I might actually write something."

"That’s awesome," Kyle said with a smile. "And you’re what? A freshman?" Lance gave a nod and Kyle’s smile got wider. "I wish I had have gotten more involved when I was a freshman. I was just so afraid of everyone and didn’t really do anything. Good for you, Lance."

"Yeah, it’s been fun so far, so we’ll see. And Justin and Nick are trying out for basketball next week."

"Oh, that’s right. I doubt they’ll make it, but it’s good for them to see you trying out. They’ll remember them next year," Josh said as he put the car in park. "Freshmen usually don’t make varsity. So if they don’t, they can still be on the freshman team."

Lance only shook his head. "Justin’s convinced that they’re going to make Varsity. He’s pretty confident."

"Yeah, he’s that type," AJ laughed. "And if anyone will do it, it’s him.

The Shake Shack was nearly full, but thankfully Kyle noticed a booth in the back. The same booth that Kevin and his friends had been at the last time they had all been there together two weeks earlier. The football team had played three games since that night, all being away games so there hadn’t been a reason for them to all go. The five friends all slid in, smiling as the waitress set down menus for them all.

"Do you want to share a basket of fries?" AJ asked softly. He’d leaned in so close that he could feel Lance’s hair tickle his nose. AJ was in heaven. Little did he know, so was Lance.

"It’s okay you know, I can afford two baskets," Lance informed him just as quietly.

"I know, but I don’t want that many fries ...so I thought we’d share."

Lance looked directly into AJ’s eyes to make sure he was being honest. He saw nothing but pure honesty in AJ’s eyes. "Okay."

"Good." Again, AJ squeezed Lance’s leg, causing them both to smile.

AJ had to tell Lance how he felt. It might not have to be that night, but at some point, in the near future, he was going to have to tell him. If not just to explain why he kept touching him, why he would lean in closer than necessary to talk to him and why every time Lance looked at him, AJ was watching him with a dreamy expression on his face. Also, he was planning on turning in his painting for his next assignment, which meant that it would definitely be displayed in the Sophomore Hall display cabinet, which meant that all of the school, at one point or another, would walk by an see a painting of a pair of stunning green eyes, labeled ‘Captivate Me’.


AJ was captivated. Utterly. Wholly. Undeniably.

It was hard not to read more into AJ’s actions that night, but Lance forced himself to stay grounded. He’d watched on many occasions, AJ touchy feely with Josh, or even Nick. He was just a very physical person and despite his constant touching, it meant nothing. It had to mean nothing, because if it did mean something, Lance wasn't sure what that was or if he was actually ready to deal with it. He wanted so badly to lean over and ask AJ what was going on, but at the same time he didn’t want to for fear of it actually just being his imagination, and not something more. For now, Lance was just going to enjoy himself and not question AJ’s hand that had seemed to linger on his leg for a few seconds longer than was necessary.

"I have to be back by midnight," Lance announced as they were finishing their snacks. With a glance at the clock, they saw that it was just after eleven. "You don’t have to end the night or anything, it’s just that I promised that I’d be home by midnight and even though they’re not going to be home until after that, I don’t want to break that promise."

Josh shook his head, a kind smile on his face. "No problem Lance. I understand. You’re lucky to have a midnight curfew, when I was a freshman, I had to be in by ten."


Lance rolled his eyes. "I think they’re up to something. It’s usually ten thirty, eleven if I’ve been really good."

The table laughed as they all threw down their money. Lance felt a jolt of excitement for putting in enough money for both himself and AJ. He was paying for AJ’s meal, and AJ had paid for his ticket. He knew it wasn’t really a date, but he decided to let himself think of it like that. Just for tonight.

"Well, that’s really cool that they trust you like that. And you’re right, you don’t want to break their trust. At least not this early," Billy agreed. "I mean, build it now so when you need to sneak in or be late, you can say ‘remember that time in grade nine when you told me to be home by midnight, and even though you weren’t home, I still made sure to be on time. You can trust me mom and dad..."

"Exactly," Lance said as he stood up and stretched his legs. Although he had been a little anxious hanging out with Josh and Alex without Nick and Justin there, he found he had a fabulous time. Conversation hadn’t been as awkward as he might have thought and they didn’t treat him like he was fresh meat. He couldn’t help but thank them again for letting him tag along.

"You don’t have to thank us Lance." Josh patted Lance’s shoulder. "I’m glad you came with us."

"Me too," AJ seconded.

"Me too." Lance repeated.

He bid everyone a good night, as they decided to drop him off first. He was the closest to the Shake Shack and rather than have Josh double back, it was easiest to just go straight to Lance’s house. They waited until he had gotten safely into his house before driving off. Lance immediately ran to the phone, checking the messages that had accumulated throughout the night. There were a few for his parents, which he saved and noted on the wipe board next to the phone. Just as he’d expected, there had been a message from Nick and Justin, informing him that he was invited to hang out with them the next day at the basketball courts while they practiced for try outs. He didn’t have to play, but he could watch and they could all catch up on what they’d missed that night at the haunted house.

Lance then ran to his room, changed, brushed his teeth and crawled into bed with the phone next to his bed. Just before he had slipped out of the car when Josh had dropped him off, he’d told AJ that if he wanted to call when he got home, it would be okay since his parents still wouldn’t be home. AJ had given him a private smile and a short nod, which Lance wasn’t sure if it meant he would call, or wouldn’t but liked the idea of being asked to call. It wasn’t until his phone started to ring that Lance could breathe properly, although that started a whole other round of abnormal breathing.

"Hello?" Lance asked in a whisper.

"Hello," A voice whispered back. "Why are you whispering?" It asked. Lance instantly knew it was AJ.

"I don’t know. I just feel like I should." Lance started to laugh as he made himself comfortable under his blankets.


"Well, it’s creepy." AJ said, his voice not at full volume, but not whispering either. "I’m glad that you said I could call. I just wanted to make sure that you got in okay and weren’t too scared being alone in the house."


"I’ve stayed home alone before," Lance said. His voice was hard and AJ was afraid he’d offended him.

"I didn’t mean because of that, I meant because the haunted house earlier was scary and I wasn’t sure if you’d be freaked out..."

Lance let out a deep breath and chuckled. "Oh ...sorry ...I just thought you meant..."

"I didn’t," AJ assured him.

"No. It’s okay. I’m not too freaked out. I didn’t turn the light on when I walked into my room and my leg brushed against one of my furry slippers and I screamed like a little girl. Then when I did turn on my light, I laughed so hard I was nearly crying."

AJ laughed at the mental image, which caused for Lance to laugh even harder. "That’s hilarious."

"I know. I’m just glad no one was here to witness it." Lance yawned, which in turn caused for AJ to yawn.

"You sound tired," AJ said as his own eyes had started to droop.

"Yeah, I am. You too?"

"Dead tired."

"Okay, well I guess I’ll see you Monday then right?" Lance said. Although he knew he would see AJ on Monday, it was just nice to hear him say it.

"Definitely. And, I had a great time tonight Lance. Thanks again for coming, and thanks for the snack."

Lance grinned. "Me too, thanks for the ticket. And thanks for letting me come along."

"No problem," AJ yawned one more time and grinned as he pictured Lance curled up in his own bed, probably looking more adorable than ever. "Good night Lance."

"Night Aje."


End Chapter 10


Chapter 11 >