Right Turn

((Okay... now we\'re to the meat of the story. Can she pull it off? Who knows! We shall see!!!!! *gahrin*

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Thanks for your patience if you dislike these thank you spots. I appreciate it.
A/N: I had to change Chapter 3 because the game had happened on MONDAY.. and I\'d said they went to school the next day. Durr. And I\'m also adding a break for where present and past are delineated. That\'s new as of this chapter. I\'ll go back and fix the older chapters with the same thing. Sorry for the absent mindedness on my part!
And on to the next!
(I do this instead of yo-yo\'ing) )


Right Turn

The rest of the day went swiftly. Jack\'s smile and subsequent introduction had gone so well that Ben was sure they\'d have the poor boy out of the closet by graduation. That would be nice. Maybe they could go to college together. He\'d have to go to a college where Jack could get a teaching degree. Most colleges did that. And as long as he didn\'t go to MIT (did they do teaching degrees? He\'d have to find out) he\'d probably be okay.

Hell, he was ready to be picking out matching bathrobes by the time he said good bye to Claire. She was getting a ride home with Kyler and the murderous look on Ky\'s face told Ben that the other boy wanted his time with her without Ben\'s shit to put up with.

It was a long enough walk to have decided their favorite colors. (Jack would have to change his, since the boy would not look so hot in brown. Maybe green or a dark blue? Orange! Ohh, Jack would look gorgeous in orange!) He also had a name for their dog that they\'d get (a standard poodle that would kick the ass of any pit bull that crossed it) and what they\'d do when Jack\'s dad and step mom kicked him out of the house.

He dragged out his mom\'s essential oils when he got home and dropped a bunch of lavender into a bathtub. It was girly, but he was gay so he allowed himself such extravagances. Or maybe other guys did too and just said it was them being all healthy and shit. He wasn\'t sure and he really didn\'t care. For him, it reminded him most of when he was a young boy and his mom would draw a bath for him after he\'d been outside. It soothed his nerves and when he had toweled off, he was done with the fantasies for the moment.

Homework had to be done right away and he was scared to turn on the computer after dinner because Jack might not be there. Checking didn\'t help much with everyone in his list off line. But then, it wasn\'t like Jack had promised to be there. And Jack hadn\'t been on all weekend either.

By Thursday, he was scared again. That was how it was though, being in love or lust or whatever you wanted to call it. Jack had been sort of standoffish the day before and his chat client had remained off. All manner of fears ran through his head.

Claire was a good friend and gave him space and her newest buddy, Kyler, managed to be annoying enough to keep him busy until band. Ben took great pride in his managing to say shit to Ky and put the other boy into a state of confusion. But it was easy, seeing how stupid Kyler was. The guy had only two things on his brain. Basketball and trying to have sex with Claire.

By the time Band came around, Ben was about ready to break out into hives. He clutched his trumpet case and stared at it. What would he do? Jack hadn\'t really gone out of his way to say hi. He would have loved to have the green eyed boy say hi. He\'d have given just about anything to be able to read the boy\'s mind, find out what was going on in there.

Claire wasn\'t there to help him get to class. She\'d had to leave for a counseling appointment because something was going on with her mom. She didn\'t want to talk about it and Ben didn\'t push. She\'d tell him when she felt it was time.

The lack of Claire didn\'t stop Kyler from pausing at his locker.

\"She\'s not here, Asshat\" Ben interrupted Kyler before the boy could say anything. \"And she isn\'t going to be back so she won\'t need a ride home.\"

Kyler\'s face turned red again and he clenched his jaw. \"She already told me,\" he said quietly and then with a visible effort, leaned on the locker near Ben\'s and stared with his unbearably cold, silver eyes at the trumpet player. \"Actually, I wanted to talk to you without her around.\"

Ben rolled his eyes. \"Look, Ky - I\'m not saying shit to her. She\'s my friend and as long as you leave me alone, I\'ll leave you alone, kay? It\'s not brain science.\"

Kyler\'s jaw broke into an iron grip again and he ground out low, his eyes intense and staring, \"Can\'t you fucking shut up just once, Benjamin?\" the name coming out in a hiss. It was one thing Ben hated, how Kyler insisted on calling him his full name. It was the one thing Kyler did well that managed to keep Ben pissed off.

The jock took in a deep breath and pulled back some, closing his eyes. Somehow it was easier to deal with him with his eyes closed, Ben found. \"Look,\" Ky breathed, \"I like Claire. She\'s a good friend. And she\'s got this shit going on with her mom. I mean, I just thought, cause we both... like her...\"

Ben stared. \"She told you what\'s going on with her mom?\" He was shocked. Claire had hated Kyler. And now she was telling him her innermost secrets?

Kyler shrugged. \"Sure.. I mean, I know you don\'t like that I\'m her friend too, but she can tell anyone she wants, Benjamin. Even me. It\'s not like you\'re going to be the only one she tells her crap to.\" He was stiffened too, glaring now.

Ben felt his stomach drop. Claire had told Kyler. Claire hadn\'t told him. He wanted to say something about that, but he wasn\'t sure what to say.

Kyler obviously took his silence to mean something and so he ploughed forward with a resolute look on his face. \"So she doesn\'t need any more shit. You know that and I know that. So I figured... \" he rubbed his hand on his thigh and then stuck it forward with a nervous look, as if he wasn\'t sure if Ben would reach out and bite it off at the wrist or not, \"Truce?\"

Ben stared.

Nervousness extended on Kyler\'s face to his body and his fidgeted. It was odd, seeing the usually calm athlete turning into a six year old child with a need to go potty. Ben could have laughed only he was still shocked that Kyler was the one Claire had told her secrets to.

\"Okay, no handshake. Look, Benjamin? I\'m not that bad of a guy if you try and get to know me. I mean, I do know more than just how to throw a ball, though you say I\'m too stupid to even know that. I\'m not a brain like you, but I get decent grades and I listen to punk music and I -\"

\"I don\'t want to know what you do with your spare time,\" Ben hissed, hugging his trumpet to his chest. This guy had stolen his best friend! He wanted to lash out and was glad Kyler had withdrawn his hand or Ben might have bit at it. \"I don\'t want to be your friend. I don\'t want to bond over cupcakes or whatever the fuck you do to bond with Claire. I don\'t give a fuck what you think or feel or anything. Got it? And my name is Ben.. not fucking Benjamin.\"

Kyler\'s teeth must have been ground to meal by the time he let a \"sure\" slip through them. It was a visible act of control as he leaned against the locker again, heedless of the quickly clearing hallways. Class was just around the corner. \"So I call you Ben, you and I will have a truce. Not friends, but we won\'t be that shitty any more. Can you do that at least, Ben?\" Those eyes should have been illegal! It was like being pinned to the wall by blocks of ice! \"Not for my sake or for yours, but for Claire. You can do that at least?\"

Ben wanted to say fuck to it all. He wanted to tell Kyler to go and blow himself.

But Kyler had a point. Dammit. The fact that Kyler had a point rankled. Ben\'s response was a grunt of acquiescence before the boy slips past and makes his way to Band.

But the idea of Claire talking to Kyler had ruined his day. He couldn\'t even look at Jack. He sat in misery, his mind caught up in why his best friend had gone to the enemy.

The touch on his arm after class struck him as strange. No one touched the Gay Boy. He looked up and into a pair of emerald glitter. And he almost dropped his instrument.

Jack blushed. \"Hey,\" he said.

The misery of Claire\'s back stabbing ways was momentarily broken. Ben gaped. Then he smiled. \"Hey. I wasn\'t sure you\'d want to talk to me anymore.\"

Jack blinked in shock. \"Oh.\" He looked around and then, \"You okay? You look.. down and all.\"

Ben laughed, bitterly. \"I\'m fine. Just found out Claire is shagging another guy,\" he said, feeling like it was the truth.

Jack took a step back. \"Claire. That\'s your, girlfriend?\" Acute disappointment in his voice.

Waving a hand, Ben pointed at a seat. \"No. Just a friend. Look, it\'s just I\'ve had a bad day. Yours had been good though? I mean, you\'ve got friends and stuff and you\'re here, talking to me. I guess that\'s a good thing. But I\'m not very good company. In fact, I\'m really a downer right now.\"

Jack gave a small smile. \"That\'s okay. Okay then. Well, talk to you later I hope.\" He gave a wave to match the smile and left, only slightly pink.

It was a good color on him.