Chapter Twenty: You're Dead!
Aiden P.O.V
I never thought that Vulcan and I would have something. We didn't put a label on it but it made sense to us. I didn't think I could feel this good with someone else. I mean, I always felt close to Vulcan, now it's even more than that. Like I could just crawl into his skin and see through his eyes. But I can't think about him right now. Because right now, I'm about to see the person who put me in hell and left me there to burn. "Mom..." I walked in her classroom and found her grading papers. I waited until everyone was gone to talk to her, just in case there's a scene or we start yelling. I felt for Vulcan's phone in my pocket and took deep breaths. Even when he's so far away from me he still feels so close. It made me feel better knowing I'd see him once this was all over.
"Mom..." I said again. She looked up from her papers and went wide eyed when she saw me. "Aiden." She put her pen down and stood up. "I heard you wanted to talk to me." I was surprised at the calm in my voice. "Yes, please." She motioned to the desk in front of her. I noticed it was the same desk Vulcan was pushed onto by Mr. Ross. I almost laughed at that. "Have a seat." My mom said in her smooth gentle voice. I was surprised that I wasn't as angry as I was before. I took a seat and waited for her to say something. She sighed and twiddled her thumbs. She leaned against her desk and faced me. "Okay so, um, I'm pretty sure your friends filled you in." She began slowly. I nodded. "Yes they told me why you left. How is your new, um...what is he, your boyfriend? Husband? What?" "Fiancé..." She replied. I nodded slowly. "Okay then. So um...what is it you wanted to talk about exactly?" "When I was ready to leave your father for this man, he tried to convince me to take you with us. He pleaded with me and I was too stubborn and scared to really listen. I didn't think of you at all." She looked at me, probably expecting some form of sympathy. "Gee mom, thanks." The sarcasm in my voice was practically caked on. "He finally conceded to leaving when I agreed I'd come find you later. However, later turned into twelve years and I was too afraid to come back. Every time I thought of you I saw your father." Okay my mom is crazy. "Mom, in case you haven't noticed...I'm the spitting image of you! How the fuck can you see dad!?" She just looked at me. "Who taught you how to speak!?" She was scolding me? Really? "Well mom, I've been called a little shit and have been cussed out by your husband so many times the language just kind of stuck." I knew I should have been nicer, but she was making it hard.
"So who is this fiancé of yours?" I asked, trying to divert the subject to something else. "His name is Evan. He'd really like to meet you." She replied. I shook my head. "Baby steps mom." She nodded. "Right...so um, what changed your mind?" "About talking to you? Vulcan...he said that he was glad you didn't take me with you." I replied. She was silent for a few seconds. "That's the boy with the grey eyes right?" I nodded. "He was very angry with me." I shrugged. "I'm sorry Aiden. I should've listened to Evan and taken you with me. I just didn't want to be reminded of the past." She was on the verge of tears. "So you thought you could be selfish because you earned it, right?" She looked away. "Then you decided to leave your 5 year old kid with your abusive husband who then turned every fucking day of his life into a living nightmare. You know I actually look forward to coming to school? It's the only place where I don't have to see him, where I can be me for a while before I have to go home and get the absolute shit beaten outta me. Then I met Vulcan and I realized I had choices. So I ran, and I am NEVER going back. So the next time you see the old man tell him it's been fun but I have a new home now." She looked at me with something I couldn't read in her eyes. "You've really grown up." She said and a gentle smile formed on her face. "You really have." She took my hands in hers and squeezed them. "I'm sorry I left you but I can now stop regretting it." I just looked at her. "This Vulcan boy, I'm so glad you met him." Then I realized where she was going with this. "If you hadn't left me, I wouldn't have met Vulcan." She nodded. "I know it may sound harsh but I believe Vulcan has made you become the best version of yourself." I finally sighed. Staying mad at this woman was proving to be exhausting. "Fine mom, I get it. It's okay." "You forgive me?" She asked. "I'm way too young for frown lines so yes I forgive you." The tears were instant. She hugged me and sobbed against my shoulder. I had no idea what to do. I slowly put my arms around her and awkwardly patted her on the back.
"Thank you." I have to admit, both she and Vulcan had a point. "Okay mom, your choking me." I said as I felt her grip on me grow tighter. She let go and wiped away her tears. I gently pushed her back. "Okay mom, no more waterworks." She chuckled and nodded. "Now tell me more about this fiancé of yours." She leaned against her desk and sighed. "He's such a kind man. I never thought I'd find someone like him." She looked up at me carefully. I just smiled a little. If she was happy then I couldn't bring myself to deny her that. "He really wants to meet you." I sighed. "Fine, all right. Whenever you're ready just let me know." She smiled. "You mean it?" No, but if it means that much to her then who am I to deny her this? "Yeah mom. I'll meet him." She hugged me. "Thanks for meeting with me." I nodded and wrapped my arms around her. She let me go and dried her eyes. "Again with the tears..." I smirked. She playfully hit me. "Oh yeah mom, one more thing." I said. "What is it?" She asked. "I'm gay." I figured she should know. She just looked at me. "You're sure?" I nodded. "Pretty sure..." She nodded slowly. "Okay then." "You're not mad?" I asked. She shook her head. "No, it's fine." Then her eyes widened. "So wait, this Vulcan boy is..." She pointed at me, unable to finish her sentence. I just nodded, knowing where this was going. Then the goofiest grin broke out on her face. "I don't blame you. He's hot." "Mom!" She laughed and I found myself laughing too. She started tickling me and I laughed harder.
"Okay okay, I give up!" I said as I tried to wriggle away from her. She laughed and stopped tormenting me. We then had a sappy silent moment of just smiling and looking at each other. "It's getting late sweetheart." She said. I nodded. "Better get back before Vulcan misses you." She winked. I rolled my eyes and hugged her. "Bye mom, see you tomorrow." I walked out feeling pretty good. I fully expected to come out feeling like shit, but I didn't. I actually felt happy. I walked out and decided to walk home. I just kind of floated. When I looked up ahead I saw Eli and Brett. Brett looked way better than before. "Hey!" I called. They looked my way and I waved. "Aiden!" Eli called as he jumped up and down, waving at me. Then suddenly the look on their faces changed. "Aiden!" Brett yelled as he ran towards me. I didn't know what was going on until something hit me on the back of the neck. Then...the darkness came.
Seth P.O.V
"Oh peanut butter, how I love you so!" I sang as I danced around the kitchen with a jar of peanut butter. "Seth, what are you doing?" I turned to find my father walking into the kitchen. "Dancing with peanut butter, what's it look like?" "Yeah that's what it looks like." He said as he walked over to the fridge and grabbed a beer. "Going to Vulcan's later?" I shrugged. "Dunno yet, why?" "Just asking. Hey who's that kid that you guys hang with?" He asked as he took a drink of his beer. "What kid?" I asked. "Dark haired kid, small, pale, kind of delicate looking." "Pale...uh...that would be Aiden." "Yeah is he like, Vulcan's boyfriend?" I raised an eyebrow. "Why do you ask?" "Because your mother keeps talking about the cute boy that Vulcan's gaga over." He replied with a shrug. "Mom said that?" I had no idea my mom noticed. "Yeah she said Maia mentioned it." Ah, so that's it. "What do you think?" I asked. He shrugged again. "It doesn't bother me. I mean, if he likes guys then he likes guys. Who am I to judge?" See this is what I like about my dad. He's accepting and laid back. "I like them together." I said, not really confirming anything but not denying it either. "It's weird though." My dad said. "Why?" I asked. "Because I always thought that you and Vulcan would get together." He replied and gulped down his beer. "What!?" I cannot believe he said that! "Yeah I kinda thought you were gay with the whole bromance you had going and the fact that you're always there. I mean, there is no right time for two dudes to have sleepovers." I shook my head and looked at him incredulously. "What the hell dad?" "What? You're not gay?" He asked that like he was surprised. "NO!" I replied. "Whoops, my bad."He laughed then left. "What the fuck dad?"
The phone rang then. "GOT IT!" I yelled before answering it. I looked down at the caller ID and saw Vulcan's cell number. "Huh..." I answered it. "What up dude?"
"Seth!" That voice was definitely not Vulcan's.
"Who is this?"
"It's Brett! Dude, you gotta get Vulcan."
"Whoa wait, why? What's wrong?"
"Aiden got jumped! I'll explain later just go fucking get Vulcan and meet us as the hospital!"
"What? Oh, okay. We'll see you there." I hung up and ran for the door. "I'm going out and I'm taking the car." I said as I grabbed the keys off the hook by the door. "Sure, be careful." My dad said absently while watching TV. I ran out the door and got in the car. I gunned it and sped off. I'm pretty sure I was going over the speed limit but fuck it. I pulled up in front of Vulcan's house and honked the car horn. "VULCAN!" He opened the front door and looked at me incredulously. "Just get in!" I yelled. He looked at me then looked over his shoulder. Maia then came running to his side. He carried her and then got in the car. "Can we leave her at your house?" He asked. I nodded. "Yeah, my parents are home." I said as I backed out. We sped off back to my house and I called my mother out to take Maia. She didn't ask any questions, she just lifted Maia into her arms. "Be careful." She said to us as she went back into the house. With that, I drove off.
"If you were going any faster, you'd be traveling back in time." Vulcan said. "Aiden got jumped." He went wide eyed. "What!?" Then he turned pissed. "Who?" I shrugged. "Fuck I dunno, Brett didn't tell me anything. He just said to meet them at the hospital." "Wait, Brett?" I could tell this was going to take some explaining. "Ask Brett when we get there!" I said in frustration. He turned and kept his eyes on the road. I could feel the anger radiating off of him. "I'm going to kill whoever did it." He muttered as balled his hands into fists. His knuckles turned white and his eyes showed just how much he meant that threat. "Right there with you." I said as I stepped on the gas. When we finally got to the hospital, we found Eli pacing outside. "Where's Aiden!?" Vulcan asked, grabbing him by the shoulders and shaking him. "Whoa, whoa dude calm down." I said as I pried him away from Eli. Eli straightened his shirt and motioned for us to follow him. "Sorry..." Vulcan apologized. Eli smiled over his shoulder. "It's okay...I totally get it." When we got to Aiden's room, we found Brett sitting by him and holding his hand. "Come on dude." He whispered. "Brett." Vulcan called. Brett turned and shot up. "Dude...I..." He looked like he was at a loss for words.
"What happened?" Vulcan asked. "Aiden saw us while he was walking home. Before he made it to us he got hit with a two-by-four. He's been unconscious since." Brett replied. "What did the doctor say?" Vulcan touched the bandages around Aiden's head. "Well he has a concussion and he'll be nauseous when he wakes up but other than that he'll be fine. I stopped the guy before he did anymore damage." Vulcan looked up at him, all the anger back in his eyes. "Who is he?" Brett looked at Eli and gulped. "Well?" He waited. Brett looked back at him. "My dad." Vulcan's gaze turned blank. There was no emotion in his eyes. "I see, and where is he now?" "I kind of went bat shit crazy on him then used your phone to call my mom. She came with the police so they should be at the station." Vulcan's expression didn't change. "Would you hate me if I went over there and beat the living hell out of your dad?" Brett smirked. "Nah, he's a homophobic asshole anyway." Vulcan smirked back and nodded. "Well guys I'll be right back. Seth can I borrow your car?" I just looked at him. "You're gonna go over to a police station to beat the hell out of Brett's dad?" He just nodded. "You freak fuck." I sighed as I tossed him my keys. "Call if you're going to jail." Vulcan nodded then left. "Well your dad is fucked I hope you know that." I said to Brett. He just looked pitiful.
He went back to sitting beside Aiden and held his hand. "Please wake up." He mumbled. Eli tapped me on the shoulder and motioned for me to step out with him. We gently closed the door and leaned against the wall. "What's wrong?" I asked. Eli sighed. "He feels bad. He thinks it's his fault." "Why?" I asked. "Because he came out to his dad Aiden and I happened to be there. He might've gotten the wrong idea." I raised a brow. "His dad thinks he's fucking Aiden?" "And me..." He replied. "Oh he's so dead." I said. I knew Vulcan was going to go nuts. "So his dad really is a homophobic asshole." Eli nodded. "What are we gonna do?" I looked at him questioningly. "Well we can't just let Vulcan go there and start kicking ass!" Eli said. I had to agree with that. Vulcan might actually go to jail. "Fine, go ask Brett for his car then we'll go." Eli nodded and went back in the room. A few minutes later he emerged with the car keys. "All right lets go." He said as we broke out into a run. A couple of nurses yelled at us but we ignored them. When we got to the parking lot, Eli led me to Brett's car and tossed me the keys. "Don't you drive?" I asked. "Not my car." He replied. "So if you total it, it's your fault." I just gave him a dry look. "Haha, funny." We got in and sped off. This was the second time I was breaking all the speed limits.
Vulcan P.O.V
As I walked into the police station I looked around for either of Brett's parents. Granted I didn't know what they looked like, but I was too angry to care. I walked around looking for someone with features similar to Brett. I finally gave up and decided to ask somebody. I walked up to a cop and put on my best face. "Excuse me." I said. He turned from the folder he was holding and looked at me. He was actually pretty good looking. "I'm looking for someone who was brought in earlier. His last name should be Carmichael." The cop lifted an eye brow. "You mean the guy that beat up that kid?" I almost jumped him for saying that. "Yeah, should be him." I replied. "What's your relationship to him?" He asked, suspicious. This is when I turned mad. "The kid he beat up is someone I love." The cop looked me up and down then smirked. "This way then." I began to question this policeman. For all he knew I could be planning to kill Brett's dad but he was leading me to him anyway. "Call me Bob." He said suddenly. "Huh?" I jumped. "Bob..." I nodded. "Okay...Bob. My name is Vulcan." "That's a strange name." "Yeah well my dad's side of the family is descended from Roman generals who were big on the Gods. Plus my dad was a Roman historian." Bob the cop nodded. "That makes sense." We turned into a hallway and he opened the first door on the right. There was a gruff looking man sitting behind a desk and a beautiful woman sitting next to a handcuffed man.
"Hey, this kid says he's involved with the kid that guy beat up." Bob said as he pointed to the handcuffed man. The guy sitting behind the desk arched a brow. "And why's he here?" I ignored him. "You're Brett's parents right?" I asked. The woman nodded. "Yes, who are you?" "Vulcan..." I replied. Her face lit up. "Oh, Brett's friend!" She stood up, grabbing my hands and squeezing them. Her husband just grumbled and said something under his breath I couldn't understand. "I'm so sorry!" Her tears came in a rush. "Aiden...is he all right?" I nodded. "Sure he is. However I'm not happy right now." I let go of her hands and moved towards her husband. "Now, why did you attack Aiden?" He turned to me, obviously about to say something smart but something stopped him. The gruff looking man stood up slowly. "Kid, calm down." He said. He motioned for Bob to come closer to him. As he did, Bob whistled when he looked at me. "Wow, this is kid is pissed." I think he nodded in appreciation. Then he turned to Brett's father. "You're dead." My anger was rising and about to reach its boiling point.
"Answer me old man." I said, my voice dangerously low. He gulped. "Glen you better say something." Brett's mom said, worry in her voice. Then he decided to get brave. "Oh please, I was doing that little faggot a favor. It'll toughen him up and maybe steer him in the right path. That little queer turned my boy into a homo ass lover." I clenched my fists. "May I have permission to hit him?" I asked the gruff looking man. Bob laughed. "Please let the kid hit him." The gruff man shook his head. "We're in a police station son. If you touch him I'll consider it assault." I rolled my eyes. "Fine, I won't touch him." I turned my attention back to Brett's father. I spun his chair around and pushed it against the wall. I grabbed the chair that Mrs. Carmichael sat on and placed it against the wall across from him. I grabbed the pens and pencils that were on the gruff man's desk. "I'm going to borrow these." I said. I sat down on the chair and just glared at him.
"I'm not happy old man." I said as I spun a pencil around with my fingers. "That kid you beat up is my boyfriend." He scrunched up his face. "You're a faggot too!?" I threw a pencil at him and it embedded itself in the wall by his ear. He gasped. "Who I fall in love with is none of your concern. However the kid you touched, Aiden, he's mine." This time I tossed a pen and it pinned itself by his neck. Bob whistled in amazement. "So you better give me a good answer old man. Why did you jump him?" Brett's father looked pitiful. "He turned my boy gay! Him and that other one! That kid he's always with!" I figured he meant Eli. "They didn't turn your son gay asshole!" I yelled as I threw another pen. This time it caught his shirt and it was now stuck in the chair. "Aren't you glad this room is made of wood?" I asked, smirking. "Given enough force anything can become a weapon." The gruff man looked at me. "What? I'm not touching him. What's a few pens and pencils gonna do?" I started laughing, and I couldn't stop myself. The look on my face must've changed because Bob and Brett's mother gasped, and Brett's dad went wide eyed. I could tell he was scared.
"You're a homophobic asshole." I said as I twirled a pencil in the air. "Your son fell in love with a beautiful boy who is kind and gentle. You should be proud." "Why should I be proud of that little butt pirate!?" I tossed the pencil at him and it hit right above his head. "Do you know how much courage it takes to come out!? He thought he could trust you, but you go and do this!" I threw two more pens at him, which dug into wall by his throat. I stood up and walked over to him. I pulled all the pens and pencils out and put them back on the desk. "The next time you go near Aiden...or even Brett, I won't miss." I turned to Bob. "Did that sound like a threat to you?" He shook his head. "I didn't hear a thing. Did you?" He turned to the gruff looking man. He shrugged. "What kind of policemen are you!?" Brett's dad shouted. "I'm gay." Bob said like it was nothing. "So I'm not too big on homophobes, especially homophobic fathers. You're suppose to love your kid asshole not treat them like shit!" I could tell there was some meaning to that but I didn't ask. "I'm done here. If I stay here any longer I might beat the hell out of him, and I don't think people in prison are ready for me." I was about to walk out when I felt someone tug on my shirt. I turned and it was Brett's dad reaching for my throat. He grabbed hold and tried to strangle me. I broke out of his grip and slammed him against the floor. He grunted but didn't let up. He tried punching me, scratching me, really anything at this point and it was becoming pitiful.
Since I was in a police station I saw no point in fighting back. I didn't want to go to jail and leave Aiden alone so I tried as best as I could to push him away. "GET THE FUCK OFF HIM!" I heard a familiar voice yell. Brett's asshole father was pried off me and slammed against the wall by Seth. I almost smiled at the sight of him. I cleared my throat and tried to take in breaths. I straightened out my clothes and looked at the pitiful old man in front of me. "I can't believe you're Brett's sperm donor." I said as I walked to him. "Get off me!" He yelled as he tried to wriggle away from Seth. "Oh don't worry. Seth's completely straight so you don't have to worry about catching gay." Eli said in disgust. "You!" Brett's dad turned his gaze to Eli. "I should have gone after you instead! You contaminated my boy! You turned him into something disgusting!" "I wouldn't struggle so much if I were you." I warned. "Seth is way more dangerous than I am." I turned to Eli who looked hurt. "Seth, turn him around." I said. Seth spun him around and held him by the throat. "I wouldn't move if I were you old man. See my thumb is right at the point where your brain stem and spinal cord meet. Right now you're paralyzed from the neck down. Don't worry though, once I let go you'll get all feeling back...that's if I let go though."
I turned to Brett's mom. "Sorry you had to see this Mrs. Carmichael." I apologized. She dried her eyes then looked at her husband. "You're pitiful Glen." She said. She had no emotion in her voice now. I turned to Eli. "May I request a punch?" I asked the gruff man. He just sighed. "I think you've scarred him enough kid." He replied. "Not for me...for my friend here." I pointed at Eli. The gruff man sighed again. "Fine, you've come this far without being arrested...what's one punch?" Eli didn't even wait. He lined up and nodded towards Seth who let him go the second Eli's fist collided with Glen's jaw. I heard a cracking noise and then Glen fell, groaning in pain. "Nice..." I nodded in appreciation. Eli rubbed his knuckles and smirked. "I've always wanted to do that." Bob came then and picked Glen up off the floor. "Let's go asshole." He said. Before he left he looked over his shoulder. "You kids are psychotic." I shook my head. "No, we're like wolves. We're territorial...and we protect our own." I shot one last glare at Glen before he was taken away.
"How's Aiden?" I asked Seth. He nodded. "He's good. Brett's with him." I sighed in relief. "Good, I don't want him to wake up alone." I turned to the gruff man. "Sorry about the holes in your wall sir." "You know I should arrest you kids." He said in his gravelly voice. I held out my hand. "My name is Vulcan. Sorry about the trouble." He stared at it like it was some weird object then shook my hand. "Jonathan..." I turned to Seth as I let go of his hand. "How did you know where to find me?" Seth shrugged. "I dunno...I just knew." I laughed and shook my head. "Well thanks. I didn't really wanna go to jail." "Yeah well, I kinda don't want you to end up in there either." "Let's go back to Brett and Aiden." Eli said. He went over to Brett's mom and hugged her. "I'm so sorry Karen." She waved him off. "No need for apologies. Now, you little darlings go back to that friend of yours...and tell Brett about what happened. I'm sure he could use the laugh." She started giggling. "My, the way you threw those writing utensils...and the look on your face!" She hugged me. "You must come over for dinner sometime." I nodded. "Yes, Mrs. Carmichael." "Call me Karen sweetheart. Soon I won't be married to that man anymore." She said that like it was no big deal. I gently pulled away from her and smiled. "I'm sorry I was so scary earlier." She shook her head. "That was quite entertaining." I gave her one last smile before I walked over to Seth. "Let's go?" I asked. He nodded. "Sure buddy. Aiden is waiting." We waved goodbye to the gruff man and Karen, and even ran into Bob in the hallways. I felt slightly better. Now all that's left is for Aiden to wake up.