Brother's Mate
Chapter 39
"Are any of these rumours true?" Alyona asked as Callum put his phone back into his pocket.
"I'm sorry, I can't answer that question or any other questions concerning these rumours as the police are still investigating and there are others who could be hurt in some way if any information gets out. I know you have promised not to talk, but so have I. As the police are involved you must be able to work out that there have been some things said and done, but I can't say anything further than that. Sorry." Callum told them.
"No. Don't be sorry. I guess we shouldn't have asked in the first place." Alyona said.
"Curiosity is the father of invention and we would not have a lot of the things we do have today if it weren't for people asking and thinking about things. That's all you've done." Callum said.
"See I told you he was a cool guy." Leonid said.
"I knew that already. So what can you tell us? Does Bradley have a boyfriend, or is it a girlfriend?" Alyona asked.
"You'll have to ask Bradley that." Callum evaded telling them the truth.
"The way that your little brother was looking at Bradley in the car park today I think I know the answer. Alex is cute too, by the way." Alyona said.
"What do you mean? I didn't notice anything about Alex." Leonid said.
"That's because you're a boy. Boys don't notice those things." Alyona said. "Callum, or can I call you Cal? You said you've never had a chance to try things with a girl. Does that mean you've never seen a girl naked before?"
"You can call me Cal or Callum, I don't mind either. I've seen pictures and film of naked girls and them having sex, but I've never seen even a topless girl in real life. Some have come close to it. There's that Bromley girl in the year above us who seems to get away with going braless and having her shirt unbuttoned half the way, but I've never been close enough to see more than just the cleavage." Callum admitted.
"And what would you think of a girl if she was willing to get naked so you could look at her and maybe try a bit more?" Leonid asked quickly.
"I think it would depend on who the girl was and what sort of relationship I had with her. The talk is that that Bromley girl will drop her knickers for any cock that was willing to give her something. I don't think I could go with a girl like that. But if it was a friend who I knew was doing it because she wanted to do a favour for her friend and the way it was done was not sluttish, then I think it would be kind of like two guys doing a bit of exploring together and perhaps I would find out a bit more about myself."
"And would you consider Alyona as a friend like that?" Leonid asked.
"Are you offering me your sister to try out to find out if I'm gay or straight?" Callum asked.
"No, he's not offering me. Leo would never do that. What he's doing is trying to see if there is a chance you and I could do some stuff together. Because if you straight out said no, then he would hope he had a better chance of seeing if he could learn some stuff from you." Alyona said.
"So, what you're saying is that both of you want to have sex with me and no matter what I answer, at least one of you is going to be hopeful to score on that point." Callum said.
"I guess that's it in a nutshell. Kind of." Leonid replied.
"Leo told you that we have helped each other with hands and tongues, or in my case mouth more than tongue. What he hasn't told you is that we have only done that with each other. No other boy has seen me naked and I've not done anything with another girl either apart from being naked at the same time when we've had a sleep over or something like that. I don't think Leo has been naked with any other girl and has probably only been naked in front of some other guys when changing. So we're pretty curious too." Alyona said.
"Well firstly there is something that you should know. Even though I'm not sure about my sexuality. I am sure that I want to keep something of me for the person I marry whether that be a girl or a guy. That something is my virginity. I'm not willing to give that up." Callum said.
"But are you willing to do something with a girl or a guy?" Leonid asked.
"Not just any girl or guy. It would depend on who the person is. I don't think I could ever go to a prostitute. I think there has to be something there first before there's any sex." Callum said.
"You mean like being friends like you, Bradley and Dominic are?" Leonid asked.
"I guess that's the sort of thing I'm meaning, or something deeper than even that." Callum answered.
"So, you wouldn't consider doing anything with us?" Alyona asked.
"The way you asked that made me think you were meaning with both of you rather than just one of you." Callum observed.
"Well together or at different times or just one of us. I think I would like to try doing something with you and Leo at the same time." Alyona said.
"And by that she means like right now too." Leonid explained in a tease of his sister which made her blush.
"Well that is a tempting offer that I'll have to think about because I don't think we have time today as my dad will be here soon to pick me up. But I also think we need time to get to know each other a bit more. And that at least I can answer. After our chat today, I believe I want to get to know each of you more and hopefully we can become good friends. Even if we never get to the benefits. I, we appreciate that you two have done right by us with these rumours. I think you'll find that Dom and Brad could also become friends." Callum answered.
"There's something else that got me a little curious. When you introduced Alex to us, you called him your friend and your brother. And Dom did the same with Ben. That's a bit different and I would like to understand why?" Alyona said.
"Okay, that I can answer, too. Until just a few months ago, Alex was just my little brother. I tolerated him but did not pay him much attention. Then my dad bought a new tent and I was going to have a sleepover in it with Brad and Dom. Brad said it wouldn't be fair to not let Alex join us but I wasn't sure as I thought he would just get in the way of us having a good time at our sleepover. Anyway Brad was quite insistent, because he has a kind heart that way, and we ended up having a bit of an argument that ended with a bet which would be nice for the winner but not so nice for the loser. I was trying to suss out things with Alex then and got myself quite worked up. What I hadn't realised is how much sound passes through the walls of our bedrooms and I was upset and talking about it with my dad. Al heard what we were saying and knocked on my door and said that he would pay the debt if I lost because he had caused it. He also was quite upset about it all. I then learned that he knew some secrets about me, Brad and Dom and had kept them a total secret for over a year because he didn't want to make things hard for me. This made me look at him differently and I made myself talk with him about some stuff and discovered that he was not a pesky little nuisance but a loving brother who cared a great deal about me. I also realised that no matter what I had thought of him, I also cared a great deal about him. We talked a lot and learnt that we had been cheating ourselves out of some good stuff. Once we knew we could share things with each other and not have the other laugh at us for it we've become close friends as well as brothers. Al then showed Ben and Dom they could become friends too, and helped to get them to talk to each other and they've now also learnt to support each other and are really working towards becoming as good friends as Al and I are." Callum told them. While he told them this he had kept looking at his hands which were clasped together in his lap. As he looked up he saw that there were tears in both Alyona's and Leonid's eyes.
"That's so special. Leo and I are also friends as well as being brother and sister." Alyona said. Leonid pulled open his bedside cupboard and handed a tissue from it to his sister to dry her eyes while he took a second one for his own eyes.
"You could become friends with your brother because you already knew how to be a good friend from your time with Brad and Dom. That tells me that I can become friends with someone else because I know from my friendship with Aly." Leonid said, putting it rather clumsily and clearly not thought through. This surprised Callum a little because Leonid was so bright. Callum also knew that being that year younger, Leonid did not have any real friends in their year group at school and he felt a little sorry and also guilty for this because he could have befriended Leonid himself.
"What are you guys doing at the weekend? There's a good movie coming out and we were thinking of going to see it. Maybe you'd like to join us?" Callum offered.
"Both of us?" Alyona asked.
"Of course. There will be five or six of us so two more will just make it more fun." Callum said.
"We'll have to check with our parents, can I have your number and I'll call you?" Leonid said.
"Yeah, you both can have my number." Callum said and then told them the number as they punched it into their mobiles.
"Can I take a photo of you to link with your number please?" Alyona said. With his consent she used her phone to take his picture. After tapping away on the screen for a bit she said, "there now when you phone me your picture will come up and I'll know who is calling."
"Can I have your two numbers too?" Callum asked and also got a photo of each of them to link to their numbers on his phone. Callum had known about the facility to link photo's to numbers but had not done it before. Now he decided he was going to do it for as many of the people he had on his phone as he could get a picture of.
They had just finished swapping pictures and phone numbers when Callum's phone rang. The screen told him it was his father who said that he was outside waiting for him. Callum pulled each of them into a hug to say goodbye to them and asked them to let him know about the film at the weekend. Then they walked with him to their door and said good bye a second time before Callum took the path to get to his dad's car. On the way home John told Callum that he was not to say anything to Jennifer Proust about knowing she was the one spreading the rumours. Also he needed to make sure that no one else said anything to warn her off. "That side of it could have some fairly serious repercussions" John told him.
"Like what?" Callum asked.
"Well, her mother could lose her seat on the board of governors and could also end up in court on charges of some description. The girl also could end up in court. This must be left for others to handle so we don't mar their waters." John said.
"I'd better tell Aly and Leo then." Callum said and got his mobile out to start sending them a text message.
"Are they the ones who gave you the girl's name?" John asked.
"Yeah. Alyona is a in the same year group as Jennifer even though she's a year younger. Both Aly and Leo are brain boxes and a year ahead of their own age." Callum said as he tapped out his message on the screen.
When they got home, Callum called Bradley and Dominic one after the other to let them know that he had got a name but had to keep it secret. He also told them he had invited Leonid and Alyona to the cinema with them at the weekend. When he told Alexander about inviting the two Babkins he looked sad and then asked, "Does that mean that I won't be able to hold hands with Brad while we're watching the movie?"
"That's up to you and Brad to decide. Leo is already sure that Brad's got a boyfriend or a girlfriend because of how much happier he's been at school. Aly has guessed that you are Brad's boyfriend because of the way you looked at Brad in the car park today. Even though we don't know them that well, I'm sure they'll not out you two to anyone else if they do see you holding hands. Aly thinks you're cute by the way." Callum told him with a grin. Alexander punched him on the shoulder, but he pulled it so much that it really was just a tap. "You better make sure that you and Brad have decided what you are going to do before you get to the cinema on Saturday."
Later that evening Bradley and Alexander decided to trust Callum's judgement and although they would not make a special show of it, they would not change how they were with each other when out in public just because some of the public would know who they were.
The next couple of days at school were not a whole lot different than the previous ones, except that the rumours going around contained even more fact that had not been made public. By the time they finished school on Friday, still nothing had been seen to be done to Jennifer Proust who now was virtually holding court, regaling her audience with stories, most of which were pure lies and a good bit of which she was making up herself.
John had talked Derwent in allowing David to join the rest of them for the film which gave him an opportunity to invite Derwent to join him for a drink at the local pub. An invitation Derwent gladly accepted. Much to John's relief, Derwent raised the subject of counselling for David seeking John's views on it. When John told him that one of the reasons he had asked Derwent to meet with him was to suggest it, Derwent looked relieved. He was concerned he was reading too much into what he was observing with David.
When they went to find their seats in the cinema, Alyona managed to work it that she was sitting between Alexander and David with Bradley next to Alexander at the end of the row of seats. Leonid had also worked it to be sitting between David and Callum with Ben between Callum and Dominic who was at the opposite end of the row of seats from Bradley. While the lights were still up they talked with each other through which Alyona learned that David's mother was in hospital and likely to be there for a long time. It did not take Alyona long to work out that David was the younger boy in the rumours doing the rounds.
As the lights went down for the start of the film, Alyona took Alexander's hand and put it onto Bradley's leg and whispered to him, "You can, I won't tell anyone." Then she took his other hand and held it in her own for a short while. As she glanced over towards Bradley she saw their fingers entwined with each other and smiled. She had guessed right.
When the film had finished they realised they had a bit of a wait before they would get picked up because the film was a little shorter than they had allowed for. They decided to go into a café and have a drink. This gave them a chance to talk some more and Alyona told Bradley and Alexander they made a great couple. The others all decided they liked Alyona and Leonid and would be happy to have them as friends and get to know them even better. Part of that was a decision that all eight of them would try to get together during the longer lunch break at school each day. They didn't have to say that they understood that there were times when this would not be possible because everyone seemed to be so accepting of all the others.
Alyona would also report on each new bit of rumour that came out. It was now evident that it was all emanating from Jennifer Proust, which clearly meant that her mother was not being discreet with the information she had and was gaining from other sources. With some of it, Alyona would take Callum to the side and tell only him as she felt it might be hard for David to hear. She had worked a lot out and in a private phone call with Callum had been able to confirm her thoughts. It was also during one of these private conversations with Callum that she set up the equivalent of a blind date for Callum. Although they had been friends for a few weeks by this stage, none of the others had met either of the Babkin parents and Callum thought that they wanted him to meet them first and then maybe get the rest of the gang involved. So Callum was to go to their house on a Saturday afternoon to meet the parents and then spend some time with them staying for tea after which Mr. Babkin would take him home.
Thank you to all who have taken the time to comment on my story so far. Your comments are greatly appreciated and are also very encouraging which helps me to carry on and write some more. I appreciate the support many of Nifty's readers give me this way, but please continue to do so. When you write to me I keep what you say confidential and try to respond to every email. You can reach me at: succme@zoho.com