Cultured Spirit

A/N: Oh man, oh man! I was floored by the reviews for the last chapter. I'm beaming here, crazily so. Thanks much for your responses! I was so inspired and giddy that I started this chapter the next day after work. I'm glad you don't mind the slow pace, I want to work on realistic and human reaction rather than all down dirty in chapter one.

So, because readers are so wonderful, I want to take the time to reply to you:

McAbacus: Okay, I want to cut off my opposable thumbs and gift wrap them to you. You are great. You're one of those loyal reviewers that I try to be but can never pull off. I'm glad you're enjoying my offerings - hah, yeah, I could word that better, but you know - and I hope this one doesn't disappoint.
Gabby: Oh vomit-y mouths. I really didn't mean for it to come off as so sickly, but reading it over makes me really laugh. I am so gross! But still, I'm glad my high school kids are believable... that's always a challenge. Thanks much for your review.
Brilliantbeam: I am going to take up this space to say: YOU are a great writer. Thanks a lot for your encouragement, I'm so glad it's believable!
Lasae_Abyss: Whoa, whoa! You're way ahead of me here. That makes me smile. You will have to wait, unfortunately
, for all the answers but I'm so glad you're liking the humor! I imagine Ian sort of funny-like - I want to get that across to the readers too. And oh MAN, isn't the Audi R8 SO SMOOTH? I'm so envious. I want to cry or sell my sister for one. Kidding! Maybe...
bambi4real: I'm guilty, it's true. The kiss wasn't heaven, but I'll work on that. Dreams are good stimulants for chapter devlopment, it's true, but I try to stay away! Thanks for the review!
cinque: I'm sorry I'm cruel! Here's an update to make up for it?
sstt: Hah! Thank you so much. I'm working hard on devloping my writing skills, so it's really nice to hear encouragement like yours. I'm glad you got a kick out of the kiss too! I'm going to go sappy and virtually hug you here, watch out
drutto: Heh... heh... yeees. Short... still short... I'm horrible with length. My chapters are inconsistent and usually dwarf-like. I'm going to try and work on that! Thank you for your compliments, I am appreciative!
BennyPeace: HAH! My summary is so bad! I always either give out too much or too little in those things. I should hire someone to write them for me. Too bad I'm poor. But thanks for giving this story a chance and I'm happy you're liking it.
Ishtani: Hah! I want to respond to Ian freaking out but I don't want to give anything away. Boo. This is the hard part of review replying (and running out of ways to say thank-you). But, taping my mouth shut, here's the next chapter for you! I hope you like.

--

Ian could hold his liquor. He suspected that was the reason he woke up groggily an hour after passing out on cold bathroom tiles. His head hurt – Oh Hell, did it ever hurt – but he some prodding suggested that was due to the tender dip along his hairline that formed into a bruise because of his less-than-ideal pillow, also known as Jay’s toilet seat.

Although he never admitted it to himself, he knew somewhere in the depths of his throbbing mind, he had only fallen asleep because he was intoxicated with lust more than with alcohol.

When the stench of the bathroom became unbearable, Ian made a small effort to move his limbs. There were a few frightening cracks as he shakily pulled himself up, trying, but failing, to block the smell from entering his nose. He had almost made it, his sleep-crusted eyes forcing open, when his foot got caught on something and he instantly lost his balance. His arms spread out wide, hoping to avoid anything more painful than a small fall, as he crumpled to the floor, but was surprised when his chest piled on top of something warm and cushiony rather than hard and cold.

With a groan, Ian rubbed his eyes with a lazy palm and blinked them open. He wasn’t sated – or scantily clad – which obviously meant he hadn’t gotten laid so he had expected to be alone. In fact, where did the vomit all over his shirt come from anyway? He hadn’t puked out his internal organs for months.

The sight that greeted him literally held his breath. He had to remember to inhale after an agonizing memory surfaced in his resisting brain, his chest seemingly too preoccupied with firing off agitated nerves.

“Fuck!” Ian’s voice reverberated off the windowless room, and Daniel groaned from his curled position between the sink and toilet. His cheeks were no longer glowing an unhealthy and feverish red but were instead pink with warmth and the last buzzing effects of working alcohol. His hoodie was hanging precariously off the toilet and the sleeves sloshed merrily in the polluted water.

The entire scenario had to be a really, really terrible nightmare.

After the bizarre moment where Ian repeatedly pinched himself, repeating “It’s a dream,” to himself, the anger began to well up inside him. It was outlined with bold disgust and for the first time that night, Ian puked his guts out. His and Daniel’s sick mixed together in the toilet bowl as he flushed the mess down.

Then, with a dark look toward the sleeping body which looked way too content, Ian grabbed his shoe – how did that end up in the bathtub anyway? – and slammed the door shut behind him.

--

His cell phone didn’t seem to want to shut the hell up. Ian glared at the small device from his pillow fort on his bed, before he finally reached for it and pressed a random sequence of buttons. The ringing stopped and Ian tossed it near his left foot absent-mindedly.

Before he could continue to brood and curse as he had been doing for the past two hours, a voice emitted from the cell phone. Apparently, Ian had accidentally picked up and he scowled at the tiny voice pleading on the other end.

“…Ian? Are you there? Can you here me? I’m stuck at this absurd place with no ride home. Where did you go? Ian? Hello…”

Daniel’s voice set his stomach into an uncomfortable set of convulsions and he kicked his cell off his bed before flopping onto his stomach and groaning angrily into his pillows.

The voice eventually faded leaving Ian in a silence that evoked the memory of the kiss once more. It was on replay, pausing at terrible moments like when Daniel’s arms clenched around him or when Ian’s hand stretched over a slender back. Everything and anything from school plays to arcade games was forgotten and Ian breathed in heavily.

You did it because he’s Adeline’s twin, he rationalized. You were drunk and you mistook him for her.

It was a pitiful excuse; he definitely knew how different the two were. It was still the only thought that kept him from throwing his portable furniture at his wall.

This does it. You’re not over Adeline. For Fuck’s sake, ask her the fuck out!

Ian had managed to say the last part aloud and he shook his head, coming to a much needed conclusion. Ask her out, that was what he was going to do. Then his excuse would be fool proof.

--

As he had hoped, Adeline was at the pool during practice Monday morning. From what he knew, she and Riley weren’t exclusive and asking her out wouldn’t land him any punches.

Even if she said no, his conscience would be subdued. It would be like proof – a wayward alibi – that he really was hooked on Adeline and that was the only reason for his horrible mistake.

After an entire weekend of avoiding phone calls and parties, Ian had to remind himself how to be sociable again. Even though random flashes of Daniel’s flushed face and smoldering gaze managed to surface throughout all of Sunday, he had devoted himself to his lie. In fact, the more he thought of it, the more sense it made.

Daniel was Adeline that night. He was Adeline – that’s all there was to it.

He smiled less easily than usual when he met Adeline climbing up the stairs to the spectator view. He’d be a few minutes late for practice, so what? He wasn’t really in the mood for school spirit anyway.

Her hair was curled in random sequences and her feminine face greeted him with an enthused expression. The reasons why Ian had liked her – did like her – so much became crystal clear again when she smiled shyly with sparkling eyes.

“Ian!” She was happy to see him. That meant, at the very least, Daniel hadn’t told her about how he’d been abandoned.

“Hey,” he forced another smile, purposely laying a hand against her shoulder as he maneuvered to her left. “It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

Adeline’s eyes trailed back to the pool where Riley was blowing his whistle futilely. The few players who were early ignored him and for some illogical reason, that spurred confidence in Ian. “It has; it’s nice to see you again.”

A comfortable silence lapsed around them as they watched players jump into the pool. It wasn’t until James began to lead the warm up that Adeline spoke.

“You’re late!” She exclaimed, turning to Ian with a bewildered look in her doe-like eyes. The obvious statement made Ian laugh – a real laugh that escaped his lips without giving him a chance to stop it.

“I am.”

Adeline stared through the glass, then, looking confused. There was something else about her exterior that Ian couldn’t place. Hope? Worry…

“Hey, listen, Adeline,” This was it. This was the moment Ian Hadley had been waiting for since the beginning of his senior year. Screw Dautry Sr. He wanted Adeline – who was some balding middle-aged man to keep him away from what he wanted.

“I know you’re a pretty big baseball fan and I scored some tickets –” Lie. He’d have to weasel Ryan into begging his dad for some good seats and the blond wasn’t likely to comply, not after being ditched the entire weekend. “ – to a game on Wednesday. I mean, I know Ryan hates baseball and the only other person I’d like to go with is, well, you obviously.” Ian smiled crookedly, feeling an odd stream of relief chorus through him. He’d done it. He’d asked her. This was it … this was it….

When Adeline’s smile faded, the only word Ian could formulate in his foggy mind was: rejection.

“Oh.” She said in a strange voice, her eyes avoiding Ian’s. “Wednesday? Ian, I’m really sorry, but I have a commitment…” She trailed off. So she was exclusive with Riley after all.

“Ah, right!” Ian grinned a bit, his arm releasing her shoulder and he leaned against the railing that reached his hip. “Yeah, it’s no problem, I get commitments.” He smirked, or tried to, hoping she caught on that he meant the play.

The play. It seemed so far away now. It was lost this time – there were no second chances. Nothing guilt could do to pull him into it again.

Adeline smiled with a brief nod. He was a bit taken aback by the blush on her cheeks, and his heart rate sped up impossibly when she laid her fingers over his larger hand. “But, I’m free tonight. It’s just the paper’s deadline is Wednesday and it’s a lot of work.”

What?

Ian blinked at a loss as she asked him if he wanted to go out later that night. To dinner, to a movie – Ian wasn’t sure what; his mind was pretty much frozen. “Yeah, yeah, definitely.” He managed, his face distorting into a huge grin.

If he had to say, he did exceptionally well that swim practice. Well enough to get him out of trouble for being late, anyway.

He wasn’t late, however, for his and Adeline’s date. He had picked her up, apprehensive of not only Dautry Sr. but Daniel as well, though things had run over smoothly. Daniel was over at a friend’s house – A class Dweeb, Ian had thought maliciously at the time – and her father was at a charity event at the school. In fact, she invited him inside, but he had to refuse. Daniel’s home was not something he wanted to browse through.

The movie they saw ended up being real crap. Ian figured that’s what broke the tension between them, because he and Adeline were laughing freely for the first time that night when the end credits rolled through.

“Movies about Aliens staring Mandy Moore,” Ian began, his hand on the small of Adeline’s back as he led her into a dim lit corner. He decided to take her to some place simple, something that wasn’t French – Riley had taken care of that, and he hated crepes – and something that was vintage-like romantic. “What were we thinking?”

Adeline made an adorable noise into the lip of her glass and she had to withdraw it from her hand to wipe delicately at her chin. Ian smiled like he was in love. “What’s worse is I’m probably going to end up watching the sequel.”

Ian grabbed the opportunity while casually reaching for a breadstick. “Yeah, we’ll definitely have to see the sequel.” A second date was forming in the distance and Ian felt, for once, the kiss with Daniel had been a breakthrough. He’d never had asked out Adeline otherwise.

Of course, breakthrough or not, Ian had to swallow down his entire glass of water to still the nausea in his gut.

The food ended up being great. The service was better and the lighting made Adeline’s usually bright eyes look hazy and dark. It was alluring and Ian smirked as he caught her gaze. Perfect, perfect, perfect.

How perfect? Her hazy and dark eyes were beginning to look fiery and intoxicated. Her bottom lip began to glisten with the remnants of vomit and grew swollen. Ian felt a throbbing sheath his mind and he rubbed absently at his temple. This was perfect and right and incredible. The other night was a drunken mistake, he reasoned. He had to stop beating himself up over it.

The perfection ended when the play came up, Adeline making friendly conversation but not realizing the implications of what she was saying. “The new ideas look great,” she smiled. “I’d love to help out, if you ever need anything.”

For some reason, that seemed to irritate Ian. She didn’t want to help out when it was her brother alone, striving for excellence. He forced a smile, suddenly feeling the walls of the restaurant to be less classic and stuffier. “Nah, you’re busy. We’re,” he swallowed unevenly. We? He and Daniel weren’t a “We” anymore. “Fine.” He finished thickly. He refilled his water glass, drowning it.

She grinned. “Seems like it. It’s great he’s hanging out with you more now, too. Away from all those games and his computer,” she worked on cutting some of her pasta as Ian grimaced. “And away from Warren,” she added absently.

Ian frowned. He didn’t want to ask, he shouldn’t be curious about Daniel; not anymore. But still, he couldn’t help it. “Warren?”

“They met online. We’ve never seen him, and dad was outrageously mad when he found out he sent out our address over the net. He lives near here, so they meet every so often.” She shrugged nonchalantly. “It’s not really a big deal, but it’s just common sense to be apprehensive of people you’ve met online.”

Ian nodded numbly. Warren? This night was getting to be too Daniel oriented. Storing his semi-new information away, he forced a smile. They talked a bit more, finally coming around to topics about his next competition. When he mentioned Vick’s and how he hoped Adeline would come, she blushed softly.

“I’ll be there; I always am.”

Ian thoughts moved to Riley and his smile dropped. This was too confusing – everything was turning out to be too confusing and too messed up. He twirled his fork around his noodles and avoided looking at Adeline as he braced himself to ask The Question. “For Riley?”

Comprehension that had been threatening to wash over Adeline’s face for the past few weeks finally came. She quirked a smile and shook her head. “You’re so silly.”

Ian’s face broke out into a broad grin. She went on to explain how she wasn’t seeing Riley but they were at a restaurant not too long ago to meet up with his parents – they were helping out with the same charity event Dautry Sr. was. Everything clicked into place and Ian couldn’t contain himself any longer.

He leaned over the table, settling his weight onto his forearms, and his awkwardly placed tie grazed the soup bowl messily. She looked surprised but tentatively tilted her head forward, lips soft and pink with gloss and eyelashes falling closed.

Something was definitely wrong. Angels didn’t sing when he kissed her, and his previously ecstatic mind drowned into a dull reminder that his tie was continuously being drenched with wontons. Her lips were soft, opening and compliant, but all the longing he had suppressed for all those months seemed to just knot deeper within his lungs, making him gasp for air immaturely and settle back into his seat.

He had made out with her brother just a few days beforehand – that’s why he was feeling sick to his stomach. Not because the kiss wasn’t every bit of magic he had thought it would be and not because he wanted nothing more than to retreat back to his pillow fort and throw his alarm clock out his bedroom window.

But most of all, not because the kiss with Adeline was even more bitter than the taste of vomit.

--

Although the date had taken a painstakingly horrible turn, Adeline didn’t seem to notice that he was not in high spirits. She talked during the entire ride home in his 2001 Honda Prelude, and he smiled in response.

They kissed again. He wanted it to be good, to be the world. He grazed her lips with his tongue so softly and gently and coaxed her mouth open, but nothing. Even when she laughed intimately at the sensation and Ian smiled against her mouth, there was only panic. Panic not only because they were outside her house where Dautry Sr. could find them, but because he didn’t like her. He didn’t like her, and his alibi was ruined.

His epiphany was coming too fast. It was pouring on him in waves that could drown a surfer. He finally pried his lips apart, but it was too late. A car had already pulled up into their expansive driveway and with his hands still on her waist, he swore.

Adeline looked worried too and he became aware she knew of her father’s opinion of him as well. But her eyes crinkled in relief as she grinned and shook her head. Ian turned around and gaped.

Daniel stared back at him in front of a foreign car. A taller, lankier, figure had an arm around his shoulder in a way that suggested it wasn’t romantic but Ian still made a face in disgust.

The four of them awkwardly stared for another moment longer, before Daniel shoved past his and Adeline’s close form and scuttled into the front door. He slammed it pretty hard and Adeline’s eyes widened.

“I should go see what’s up.” She sent the wrong boy, Warren, a warning gaze and kissed Ian goodbye chastely on the cheek.

Not bothering to digest the accusing glare of the blond whose eyes were masked by glasses, Ian flipped him off and walked back to his car. With a nice finish, he slammed his own door shut and drove away from the towering, rich houses of Daniel’s neighbourhood.

--