Velvet Rope

A/N: Thank you so much to my reviewers. You three seriously made my day. :D Yes asdf, I authored Velvet Rope in it's original form. As I'm redoing it I'm finding the idea was good but I was way too rushed, so the story has been modified and slowed a bit. I was too eager, it seemed. Rain and Sabaku, Chris is a recent add to my story and he makes it make it bit more sense than what I had originally. He's a necessary evil, plus he's great for smutty material. <3  I think it's funny you wanted a bit more on him, because this newest chapter is definitely an explanation. I'm hoping the flow in this chapter and between the last and the next is smooth but if you find it choppy my apologies!!! If there are any complaints about the flow I can always try to fix it.

Cheers, and enjoy.

Velvet Rope

Chapter 2

By: Terrany

Heart Shaped Box

This was a small town. Everyone knew everyone. Family’s had histories and feuds, best friends had been best friends since they were toddlers, by high school everyone knew Jenny kissed Taylor under the swing set when they were five. It was close knit; you could let your ten year old walk downtown with five dollars for ice cream. It was also self-contained. There was fast food, a decent mall, several grocery stores and all the general stores you could want for. They were not populated enough to be a city, but being a town was just fine with everyone. As such, it was difficult to avoid rumors.

The Kenni’s had moved into the Grifford’s old home. It was a four bedroom ranch home, but when they divorced it was decided they would sell the home and split the selling cost. The community was small, and they were wary about the new family. Jeffery Grifford had purchased the house when he first married Tonia and they’d been in the home for twenty years. He’d done several remodeling jobs over the years, the wrap around porch was something he’d built himself and there was an enclosed in ground pool, a project he’d worked on for five years. Zeek and Jeffery had gotten along when they first met, and Zeek had easily qualified for the home. They’d moved in that summer and Zeek had with him two teenagers, both red heads. At first their neighbors believed the teens to be sisters, but they had learned the smaller of the two was a boy and had shaken their head at Zeek allowing such behaviors. He didn’t seem the type, really.

Zeek had immediately caught attention from the single women in the neighborhood, he was a tall, muscular man with dark hair and cold calculating eyes that they described as ‘mysterious’. His olive skin tanned easily and he had the large calloused hand that belonged to a working man. From his posture and physique it was a simple give away that he was ex-military, but he had a warm personality and a contagious laugh. He was over fifty and one of the fortunate men that just seemed to get better with age. The grey in his hair and beard gave him a wise look and the slight wrinkles in the corner of his eyes and at the corner of his mouth just seemed to compliment him, somehow. He looked strange with his children. Aiden and Desiree, his twins, both had dark red hair and green eyes. His daughter was considerably taller than the boy but they both had the same oval face and wide expressive eyes. There were few differences between the two. Des dressed in pink and had lace on almost everything she wore, she liked tight jeans and tights and dresses and half shirts to show off her body. Zeek would often argue with her in the driveway, sending her back into the home to change her outfit to something that covered her large chest or long legs more than she had originally attempted. Aiden was her opposite in that. His wardrobe was all black and wore chains, chokers, collars, cuffs and belts. His shirts were never obscene, in fact he usually wore band shirts, and he always wore a long sleeved something under them, in the warmer days it was fishnet or mesh tops. Occasionally, he was seen with his hair braided, streaked, or the tips colored.

Their first few months there it seemed Aiden was never alone. Desiree or Zeek would never be more than five feet from him, and he’d sit quietly on the porch staring into nothing for hours. They were shocked when the girl left when the school year started, and neighbors said that Aiden stood on the driveway staring down the street where her Beetle had driven for hours until his father had finally come out and put an arm around him to lead him away. Rumors spread quickly, Aiden was a mental patient released just recently, Aiden’s mother had tried to poison him so the family had fled, there was even a theory that they were in a safe house guarded by the FBI in some high profile murder case under the witness protection program. With every theory there was a hundred more questions; everyone in town seemed to agree that their move was more suspicious than anything else.

There was fear with the unknown, and soon after Aiden was registered for the local high school Zeek was pulled into a dispute with the neighbors. Some parents actually protested Aiden going to the high school calling him a danger. That was quickly shot down; there was no evidence Aiden was a danger to anyone in the community, even if he listened to metal and wore all black. Still, the insult was remembered by the new family.

There was gossip in the teacher’s lounge about the red head. This was his first year in this school, he was sixteen and behind in a lot of subjects but  his father had insisted on a normalcy for him so he was tossed into the classes he should be in, as if he hadn’t missed two years of schooling. He was enrolled in professional tutoring to help him in his classes and now the free one on one kind with his teachers. They thought it was cruel to expect so much from a teenager who was obviously so behind, but Zeek had insisted and somehow won the case against the school board.

When he first walked through the front doors of the school everyone stared, but he watched his feet and his slow pace eventually took him to the homeroom he belonged in and he sat silently. Students didn’t sit near him, they avoided him, and some of the teachers separated him from the group, just escalating the issue. He began to sit outside his homeroom, some book usually perched in his hand, his ear buds blasting obscenities into his ears, and people gathered slowly to stare at the anomaly that was this new boy.  A few months into his school year some punks and Goths had started waiting in the area Aiden sat, but he had never bothered to introduce himself and when spoke to he was polite but short. Jake was the only one he would sit and speak to and usually it was in a whispered tone when in public.

The new student had gathered frowns from his teachers and gossip from his classmates his first day walking in. He watched the ground when he walked and for his first few months didn’t so much as speak to another student. The word freak was tossed around more than he cared to admit. He had some condition that forced him to avoid gym class, but it also kept him too small. He was skinny, in their quiet moments together Chris would sometimes lay next to him and put his hand on his stomach and the width of his hand was wider than Aiden’s abdomen, he was short, as well, not quite five six. He visited dietitians due to an eating disorder and visited the nurse during lunch to verify he ate and took a handful of pills. Once a month his father would pick him up from school and they’d leave town not arriving home until ten that night. Few people knew why, though the ones that were told understood that he was regularly seeing a psychiatrist.

It was his first week there when Chris had noticed him and he’d watched him from a distance. He had noticed this demeanor quickly and had discovered how easy it was to order him around. Aiden simply supposed he attracted this type of boy and didn’t bother to fight it. When Chris barked orders he listened, though he was never quite as obedient as Chris would like. He never did say no, but he would try to simply walk away, which was infuriating to the blond. First, it bothered him that he simply grew quiet and actually thought he could turn his back on Chris. Second, it was how he did it. He never really struggled; he just simply put out enough effort to alert Chris that he wanted nothing to do with the act and then submitted quietly. He only cried out when hurt. He would lay there for hours letting Chris have his way, which was just splendid when Chris was shit faced drunk, but on days he wanted something, some sort of participation he’d slap Aiden or bite him to make his struggle to force some sort of movement. If he didn’t Aiden’s eyes would get a far off look and he’d simply allow it. There was an instance or two when Aiden had actually been a willing participant, and in those moments Chris could swear he fell in love. Between his fondness of scratching and the skill he moved his body he actually left Chris begging for more. He didn’t know what sort of experience Aiden had but it was extraordinary the way he knew how to tease him and exactly where to touch. When asked about it Aiden had merely given a half smile and rolled over, falling quiet.  

Chris was on the baseball team and one of the better. He had military cut blond hair and brown eyes and an all about arrogant personality. He was openly gay and if anyone had something against it they could go die for all he cared, he was a few inches less than six feet with huge hands. He wasn’t pale, but he wasn’t tan and he had anything he could want for, as well as a baseball scholarship in the bag. His father had died when he was young and his mother worked and went to school and cared for the boy in an absent manner. Chris was left in charge of the house most days, and as long as it was kept neat and grades were good she provided him with cars and money. Aiden liked the woman she was sweet and carefree and loved her son entirely. He wouldn’t break the illusion that her son had put forth for her purely out of his like for her. She treated Aiden sweetly constantly complaining he was too skinny and when Chris was around his mother Aiden actually liked him. Chris had the ability to be sweet and funny but that personality simply wasn’t for Aiden.

When he was on  the sidelines Chris had wondered what sort of a personality he did have, so he had made it a point to be the first to get something out of him. The first time Aiden had gone home with Chris he’d had a different car, a jeep. He pulled up along Aiden as he walked home alone and offered a ride. Aiden had declined and Chris had jerked the car in front of him almost hitting him.

“Get in.” Was what he said, but the tone sent shivers down his spine and Aiden listened. They rode in silence and Aiden didn’t bother telling him he was headed the wrong way to get to his home because that didn’t seem to be where Chris wanted to go. Instead he was heading for a wooded path and down it and Aiden wrung his hands nervously. He’d put the car in park adjusted his seat so it sat back and watched Aiden a moment, who stared ahead vacantly.

“What? Are you retarded?” Aiden had looked his way for a moment, parting his lips as if to respond, but then he shifted back and away from the other boy, “You going to blow me?”

Aiden had jumped over the door, glad he had the top down and started the walk home not entirely sure where he was but Chris had pursued and knocked his bag away. His hair was grabbed and he was forced onto his knees and Chris had undone his zipped to force his sex in Aiden’s mouth. It was at that point he realized he could either fight him or allow this to happen and Aiden hesitantly ran his tongue on the underside of the other male’s shaft, giving up the fight. He wanted off his knees. The position was uncomfortable and a stick was digging into his shin. It was less a blow job and more a mouth fuck after Aiden became compliant and Chris rammed into his mouth, moaning loudly and Aiden simply allowed it. Aiden was forced to swallow and Chris had fixed his pants and climbed in the car leaving Aiden there to walk. He wasn’t sure how to get home so he simply picked a direction and hoped for the best.

He was home by midnight that night and his father was furious but at the sight of his son’s tears had tried to drag the story out. Aiden had turned hysterical, though, screaming and falling on the floor grabbing his hair and begging to go home. Fury had turned to worry and Zeek struggled to calm him, wrapping him in an electric blanket and handing him a warm drink. Aiden shook violently, tears falling heavily but not a single sob fell once the hot cup was placed in his hands. He fell unresponsive for hours, staring ahead and Zeek had pleaded with him to speak to him. In a protective gesture he'd carried Aiden to his own bed and laid with him, until his breathing was heavy and even. Zeek had whispered what mattered, "Did someone hurt you?"

Aiden shook his head and held his dad's hand laying there like a child scared of a nightmare, "I got lost." Zeek  had nodded and held  him close, out of ideas.

The story was different for Chris. He’d felt guilty, he thought, but there was something creepy about the way Aiden reacted to almost everything. He hardly spoke, and he always walked with that same pace, staring ahead vacantly. Chris had pulled over and debated going back for the red head and had, in fact,turned the car around to find him. But Aiden was long gone and Chris had paced in the cleared area for a few moments before climbing back in the vehicle and going home. He hadn’t even managed to pull a reaction out of Aiden. Not after grabbing his hair, ramming his face or leaving him behind. Aiden simply went with it.

It set the pattern for how he and Chris interacted; Chris blew him off in school and stalked him in his free time. Aiden had never really liked the boy, but he wasn’t sure how to get rid of him. Jake had shown up shortly afterwards after an encounter with Chris only a few weeks later. The lighthearted brunette had been biking down a trail with some friends and smoking pot and they had stumbled on a path Aiden was lost in. He was limping and alone and Jake wasn’t entirely sure how he had gotten there. Months later Aiden had admitted Chris had had sex with him there, but Aiden had bled and he wouldn’t allow the blood on his precious new truck so he told Aiden to walk home. He had no service and his father wasn’t home to know he wasn’t home for a few hours so he’d started a long walk home. There was some taunting and Aiden just waited, but Jake had stepped forward and walked him home, waiting for Aiden’s father to arrive and only leaving him after there was someone with him. He sought him out the next day in school.. He never forced Aiden to talk to him, he was too simply pushed away. Their friendship was as fragile as glass, though if tempered right they could stop bullets. Jake always sat near and never once did Aiden push him away. His constant presence and protective nature was what allowed them their friendship

It killed Jake to watch from the sidelines as his friend was raped and abused. He felt wrong about it, but Aiden had insisted he keep his mouth shut and Jake hesitantly agreed. He loved Aiden like a brother and he liked being the person Aiden turned to and trusted. Aiden insisted he’d never speak to him again if he breathed so much as a word and Jake believed him, so he sat there seething at the blond when he saw the bruises on his friend’s torso watching as Chris controlled him from the sidelines. He hated him for the way he treated Nick, doting over him and handing him gifts, he’d let Nick tease him then find Aiden and turn the attention on him with a viciousness that terrified him. Aiden wasn’t at all large and he took a beating often and walked it off with ease. It was a disturbing sight to the skater, he waited patiently for the day Aiden had enough, Jake wouldn’t wait for him to change his mind he was calling everyone that needed to know and hoping to lock Chris up in some sort of detention center.

Jake and Aiden’s relationship was also sort of a mystery. No one really understood why the popular and way too hyper brunette was actually permitted a glimpse into the new kid’s life. They didn’t seem a match; Aiden would sit watching Jake as he tried kicking flips with a distant appreciation and quietly reading. They didn’t like the same music; really, though Jake started listening to more metal and less alternative the more he was around his new friend. He also had quickly dropped a lot of longtime friends to be around Aiden. They never really seemed to talk but Jake never tired of being around Aiden and Aiden actually seemed to watch Jake from his position in the halls and seek him out when they had mutual classes.

Another strange piece to the puzzle was that Aiden was a straight A student. He had problems learning, diagnosed when he was only in middle school, but he was opportunistic so he used this disability to excel. While the kids that understood things packed up to leave Aiden would sit behind three days a week and study with teachers, using the opportunity to grasp the subject better than his classmates. He'd missed the past two years of schooling, so he tried to catch up. Occasionally, he's sit in for a freshmen or sophomore class, just not familiar enough with whatever subject it was that had him stumped. The odd method of learning worked for Aiden well. He had a great relationship with his teachers. Aiden knew who was married, who had kids, who made mistakes in high school and most of their stories and in turn they knew a bit about Aiden, though most understood he hid more than he spoke about.

The mystery just seemed to get weirder. As the school year progressed Aiden just seemed to fade into the high school hierarchy. He was considered a loner, not necessarily picked on but not necessarily accepted, though Aiden never really sought acceptance. One by one his teachers warmed up to him. He stood quietly at their desks and placed his carefully taken notes down, asking genuinely intriguing questions. His history teacher had liked him for his ability to see the larger picture and understand history as a large assumption, taking into consideration it was a documentation of a people by people who didn’t necessarily have an ability to be unbiased. It was only a few months in that Aiden had them completely enthralled, and they would ask him thought provoking questions in class that he would consider quietly, never answering immediately. His words were always so carefully chosen and his considerations showed a politeness towards his teachers and his classmates.

Rumors still ran rampant, given no one really answered any questions. Even the teacher he considered himself closest to, Mr. Jamison his homeroom and English teacher, couldn’t draw much from Aiden. He suspected that Aiden had reason to fear the blond boy who was always in the group just outside his classroom, but Aiden barely showed any fear, just a few moments of reluctance it seemed. He asked about Aiden’s past but the student was careful the way he danced around his words. He’d gathered he lived with his father and he had a twin who went to an all girl’s private school in the town his mother lived in, but that was all. He wondered why Aiden wasn’t in private school if his sister was, but Aiden had shyly said he couldn’t, though what that meant he wasn’t entirely certain. 

The more they dug the more questions that seemed to pop up, so after a few months the hype died down and they were just the Kenni family. They were strange and a mystery unto themselves, but accepted and around.

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