Highs and Lows
by David Heulfryn

 

Mum and Dad were getting nervous, Max had been out all evening, and it was getting close to his curfew. Mum wanted to ring him to make sure he was on his way home. I told them that he’d be alright and that he had never missed his curfew before, and if he did, there would be a damn good reason. They were never this nervous when Max was out with Jane, but now he was out with his boyfriend, they became more possessive.

They seemed to brush me aside and told me to go to bed. I restrained myself from telling them that it wasn’t my agreed bedtime and just left them to worry. It was only half past eight, and our designated bedtime was nine o’clock on school days.

I stripped naked and went to the bathroom to clean my teeth. My little prick was hard, and I suddenly felt quite horny. I didn’t care if Dad saw me anymore, they had just treated me like a baby, so this was my little rebellion at being dismissed and sent to bed.

Before going back into my bedroom, I listened at the top of the stairs. My fingers absent-mindedly played with my prick. I could hear Mum and Dad talking. I just wished they’d leave Max alone. They shouldn’t be more protective of him just because he had a boyfriend instead of a girlfriend. I tutted and went to bed.

Instead of getting into bed, I lay on top of my duvet. Max should be home in about ten minutes, so I took this opportunity to play with myself. It didn’t take long before I came. I felt my cum between my fingers. It seemed thicker and less watery. I smiled to myself, proud my cum was maturing.

As I got up to get a tissue from Max’s bedside table, I heard the front door close and an urgent shuffling of feet as Mum and Dad went to see Max.

It was nearly nine o’clock, but they talked to him like he’d missed his curfew. They spoke in the hallway, and their voices carried through the bedroom door. Max seemed annoyed. They wanted to know what he’d been doing. I became nervous as I got into bed, this time under the duvet. Max now seemed upset. He raised his voice and ran upstairs.

Max burst into our bedroom, threw his bag down and sat on his bed, his head in his hands. I left him a moment. He was crying.

“Are you alright, Max?” I asked gently.

Max sniffed away his tears. “Why do they have to be like that,” Max whispered. “I had a brilliant evening, and I come home to an interrogation. Wanting to know what James and I have been up to and were his parents around. And then they said that they wished I wouldn’t stay out so late. I mean, things are going backwards. They said they wanted me in by eight from now on.”

“That’s fucking stupid!” I shocked Max by swearing.

“I know!” Max snivelled. “It’ll give me and James no time to be together. It’s like they want to break us up.”

“I’m sure they don’t” Max glared at me. “This is all new to them.” I tried to be reasonable. “Let’s talk to them in the morning or when we get back from school.”

“What’s the fucking point.” Max seemed broken.

We heard footsteps. Someone was coming up the stairs. Dad burst into our room. He didn’t look over at me. He just glared at Max.

“Don’t you ever talk to your mother like that again. You’ve upset her.” Dad was mad at Max.

“She’s upset!” Max was incredulous. “She changes the rules. She’s trying to stop me from seeing my boyfriend. It wasn’t like this with Jane. Just because it’s a boy, she’s freaking out that we’d be alone and getting up to god knows what she thinks. He’s not fucking me!” Max raised his voice.

I saw Dad’s face go red. “Don’t you dare talk to me like that. We’re not standing for it. You’d better change your attitude, Max, or else that curfew will not be an issue because we won’t let you out.”

“Just leave me alone, Dad.” Max cried and lay face down on his bed.

“We’ll talk tomorrow when you get back from school, so don’t make any plans for the evening.”

Dad left, and all I heard was Max crying.

I felt useless. I didn’t know what I could do to make things better.

I went over to his bed and sat down. I stroked the back of his head as his tears dampened his pillow. “I’m sorry, Max. It’s so unfair.”

Max snivelled and mumbled something into his pillow I couldn’t understand.

“Do you want me to miss swimming practice after school to be with you? I can tell them it’s been cancelled, or I’m not feeling too well.”

Max turned his head, and I saw his wet, puffy eyes. “No, don’t. I don’t want them blaming me for you not going.”

I wiped a tear from Max’s cheek and brought it to my lips. His pain was my pain. And by taking his tear away, I hoped I could take some of his pain away. Max saw me do this, and his face lit up. He sat up on his bed and brought me into a tight hug.

Our hug was disturbed by our Dad shouting up the stairs, “Max, are you in bed yet?”

Max released me and went to open the door.

Before he could respond, Dad shouted up the stairs again, “I can see your light on.”

Max snatched open the door, “Give me a chance, Dad. I’m just going to brush my teeth.”

I then heard the bathroom door slam, and an unhealthy quiet descended in the house.

I got back into bed and waited.

Max returned. I could tell that he’d washed his face and could smell his minty breath. He quickly stripped naked, turned off the light and got into bed.

“I’m sorry, Min.” Max apologised, “you shouldn’t be caught in the middle of this.”

“You have nothing to apologise for,” I told him. “None of this is your fault. I don’t know what they’re thinking.”

“Mum is afraid I’m taking it up the arse!” Max spat out.

“Don’t be so crude. You’ll make love with James when you’re both ready.”

Max seemed to relax as I talked about making love to James, and I heard him sigh. “I’m looking forward to it. But I’m not ready yet. I think he’s ready.”

“He’s not pressuring you, is he?” I asked.

“No, nothing like that.”

“I think that’s what they’re afraid of. Mum and Dad don’t want to see you forced into doing things you don’t want to do. They see gay men, and it’s all about sex. I think they’re afraid he’ll make you do things.”

“If they knew him, they’d know he’s not like that. And if they knew me better, they’d know I don’t succumb to peer pressure. I’ve never followed the crowd.”

I heard voices from downstairs, “I think they’re arguing.” I said.

“This is fucking ridiculous, Min. I’ve not changed. I’m not doing anything I wasn’t doing last month. Just because I tell them I’m gay, they start restricting what I do, and they start arguing.” Max sniffed back some tears. “I wish I’d never come out.”

“Don’t say that, Max.” I was firm, “It’s not you’re fault, and you need to be who you are and not pretend to be someone you aren’t. Since you’ve been with James, you’ve been the happiest I’ve ever seen you. If Mum and Dad can’t accept that he makes you happy, then it’s their problem. Don’t ever apologise for that. And I’ve got enough love for you to make up for them.”

“Thanks, Min. You always know what to say to make me feel better.”

“And on that subject, you said you’d had a great evening with James, I take it. So what happened?” I asked, and I could feel Max get excited.

“You wouldn’t believe it, Min. But it was hilarious.” Max told me that he and James showed up to rugby practice as usual, but they were last back in the changing room. All the team were in the showers, which they thought strange, but James and Max stripped and joined them. The moment they entered the showers, all the guys turned to the wall and bent over, showing their arses to the boyfriends. The captain asked which one they wanted to fuck first, and the team burst out laughing. Max was shocked and uncertain of what to do, but James laughed, and the captain went over and hugged him.

“You bastards!” James laughed. “Who told you.”

Marc, James’ younger brother, had got to the captain and told them about his brother and new boyfriend.

The guys surrounded James and Max, the laughter echoing around the tiled room. Max felt uncomfortable being hugged by his naked teammates. But soon started laughing as they pinched his bare arse. Max was elated that the team didn’t care, and he stayed behind in the clubhouse after changing to be with them. They dared him to kiss James, which he did, but they weren’t satisfied with a peck on the lips. James held onto Max, and they snogged, mouths open and tongues toying with each other. The cheers around them were deafening, and Max couldn’t help but smile. His broad smile stopped them from kissing, and they broke apart and hugged. They sat beside each other, occasionally holding hands, drinking and chatting with the under-sixteens team.

“It was brilliant, Min. We could be boyfriends, and no one cared. It was truly a magical moment.” Max suddenly became depressed. “And then I come home to this crap.”

“I know it’s not fair, Max. You shouldn’t have to cope with this shit. Mum and Dad are bound to get used to it. They know they can trust you. I think they’re scared.”

“What have they got to be scared about? I’m the one who’s gay.”

“I know. I think they’re scared for you. Scared about gay bashing, sex, AIDS, discrimination, all that crap.”

“I’m scared about those things, too,” Max admitted. “I’m not naïve enough to go round kissing James in front of everyone and having sex with every gay guy I meet. You’ve seen me and James. We’re not flamboyant. We’re just normal boys who can blend into the background.”

“Perhaps you should tell them tomorrow when they talk to you. Be honest about your fears and be honest about James.” I said.

“I might if I get the chance. I just hope they don’t start laying into me again. I’ll talk if they want to talk, but what’s the point if they just yell at me and ground me for the rest of my life.”

I laughed, “You are so melodramatic. Stop thinking the worse and think the best.”

I glanced at the alarm clock, it was nearly ten o’clock, and I heard noise from downstairs. The loud voices had stopped some time ago. Now they were speaking in hushed voices and coming up the stairs.

Max and I turned over and were silent. Our Mum opened our door and poked her head in. “Are you boys asleep?” She asked.

We remained silent, pretending to be asleep. She silently closed our door.

It was unusual for her to check in on us when she went to bed. She’d stopped doing it a couple of years ago when I was ten. I could only think that she was worried about Max.

After they closed their bedroom door and went to bed, I could still hear their muffled voices as they carried on talking.

“It’s good that they’re talking,” I whispered.

“As long as they don’t have sex. I don’t want to listen to that, and I don’t want another little brother. One is enough!” Max whispered, holding back a laugh.

“Well, we don’t have room for another baby. It’s only a two-bedroomed house, and I don’t think they can afford anything bigger.”

“I’m happy as we are.” Max yawned.

“So am I,” I said. “I love you, Max.”

“I love you too, Min.”

 

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