What The Heart Wants

 

Chapter IX

 

     Things slowly returned to normal, or at least as normal as they could get. Seth and Jason’s feelings for each other were out in the open now; things would never quite be the same as they once were. If anything the two teens had become closer and friendlier with each other. They weren’t dating yet, and hadn’t decided on a relationship, much to Melinda’s displeasure.

     Jason had brought Seth over to his brother’s house with him a bit more regularly, but continued to try and keep him away from his own house. He wanted Seth to stay in the dark about his home life for as long as possible; the less he knew, the better. He’d sworn his friends and brother to secrecy; they’d all objected but reluctantly agreed. Like them, part of Jason objected as well. He didn’t like keeping his friend in the dark about a part of his life, but a much larger part told him that it was for the best.

     Of course Seth’s parents hadn’t helped matters much. Naturally, they wanted to meet his parents, and every time, Jason had some lame ass excuse. He could tell they were getting suspicious, so he began to wonder how much longer he could keep up this charade. Of course he got his answer a little sooner than he had expected.

     It was a Sunday afternoon and Jason was sitting at the kitchen table, earplugs in his ears and tapping his foot to the beat of the music. His mother was doing the dishes in the kitchen, and his father was in the living room watching the football game. And he wasn’t drunk for a change.

     There was a knock at the door; Jason had barely heard it as he cracked open one eye to glance in the direction of the front door.

     “Jason honey, can you get that for me?” Angela asked as she began scrubbing another plate. Jason sighed and rose to his feet to answer the door. He glanced in the living room at his father who seemed enthralled in the football game. He swung open the door and a look of surprise spread across his face at the figure standing before him; Seth.

     “Hey Jason! Thought I’d drop by on my way home!” the other male said in his usual cheerful tone. Jason was silent for a few moments, still staring at the brunet, whose smile had slowly faded.

     “Er…is this a bad time? I can come back-“ Seth started to say. Jason interrupted, hesitantly tugging the other teen inside.

     “No, don’t be silly! I was just surprised to see you!” He slowed slightly as he passed the living room, glancing back in at his father. The man had switched to the news, probably during commercials. He turned back and continued for the stairs. It was then that things went south, and fast. There was a story on about gays protesting the gay marriage bans. Jason sped up a bit, ignoring the puzzled looks he was sure the other teen was giving him. Unfortunately, he didn’t quite make it in time.

     “Look at these fags, demanding marriage rights! Beasts all of them!” his father snarled. Though not drunk, he was catholic, and homosexuality was a big no-no in the Catholic Church. Jason’s face paled as he paused at the bottom of the steps. He could feel Seth’s eyes on him, and knew that he was just as shocked as he was, without even looking at him. The black-haired teen continued up the stairs, dragging Seth into his bedroom and closing the door behind himself.

     He was staring at the floor as he leaned back against his door, keenly aware of the green eyes trained onto him. Jason sighed deeply, and hesitantly looked up to meet the other’s gaze.

     “You weren’t supposed to hear that,” he said, surprisingly calm. Seth frowned, crossing his arms over his chest.

     “Ya dad’s a total homophobe. I can only assume he doesn’t know that you’re bi,” Seth answered. Jason shook his head.

     “He doesn’t, and he won’t.” Jason approached his bed slowly, seating himself beside the brunet.

     “There’s more to it than that though, isn’t there?” Seth asked. Jason winced at the question. He knew he couldn’t hide his father’s abuse from him forever. He sighed deeply and got up from the bed, stopping halfway toward the door.

     “Yeah,” came his one-worded reply. Seth waited patiently for the other to continue, and when he didn’t, he pressed forward.

     “Jason, you can talk ta me y’know,” the other male said softly. Jason nodded but kept his back to the other.

     “Seth, please. Don’t push this. I don’t want to talk about it right now,” Jason said tiredly. Seth simply nodded in response. The black haired teen sat back down beside his friend and an awkward silence stretched out between them. Finally, Jason spoke again.

     “Seth,” he bit his lip, a blush spreading across his face as he slowly continued forward “I’ve been thinking about it. Carefully. And I…” He paused again, blush deepening. He licked his lips before going on.

     “I think I want to give…us...a chance. I-if you want to…” Jason trailed off as he turned his gaze toward the floor. Seth smiled as he reached over to gently touch the other’s face, slowly turning the other to face him.

     “Of course, or have you forgotten already that I like you?” he teased. Jason smirked and shoved his friend-no, boyfriend-playfully. Boyfriend. He liked the sound of that.

     “So, can I kiss you?” Seth asked with a small smile. Jason’s face flushed and all he could manage was a slight nod. Seth chuckled to himself and made a mental note to tease his boyfriend about it later. He leaned in a placed a gentle kiss to his boyfriend’s lips. The other reacted almost instantly as a hand slowly snaked its way up to the brunet’s face, cupping his cheek softly. As much as both boys wanted to continue, the sound of Jason’s father interrupted the two of them. Jason grumbled in annoyance, pulling a chuckle out of the other.

    Jason rose to his feet and headed out of the room, making his way downstairs to see what it was his father wanted.

     “Yes father?” he asked automatically. His father glared at him, as he held up what appeared to be a pentagram amulet. Jason cursed himself mentally for having left it on the kitchen table. He reached out to take it, only to have it shoved against his chest with such force that he himself almost stumbled backwards.

     “Keep your pagan bullshit out of my sight,” his father snarled. Jason growled lowly as he put the amulet around his neck.

     “Fine,” he snapped back, before he could stop himself. His father backhanded him and glared at him. Jason held back of growl of annoyance. His father always got in a foul mood whenever he was reminded of his son’s faith. The bright side was that at least he wasn’t drunk at the moment, so if he could manage to keep his mouth shut and his temper in check, he wouldn’t be as nasty when he inevitably got drunk later.

     “Sorry father,” he answered, making his way back up to his room. He slowly pushed the door open to see Seth, still sitting in the same spot. He sighed deeply and pinched the bridge of his nose.

     “You saw that, didn’t you?” he asked. Seth’s head snapped up in his boyfriend’s direction, a look of surprise on his face. He merely nodded in response; he wasn’t going to lie to the other about that.

     “You weren’t supposed to…never mind.” Jason sighed once more as he sat down heavily beside the other. He glanced over at Seth and then nodded as if confirming something to himself.

     “Dad is Catholic. So…he kinda can’t stand that I’m Wiccan. We made an agreement never to mention it, but he gets…upset if he happens to find anything of mine that reminds him of it.” Seth snorted, but said nothing as the raven-haired teen continued.

     “He has a drinking problem, and when he gets drunk…he gets violent. He rarely ever leaves marks though. My brother moved out before it started getting bad. And my mother…well, it’s complicated.” There was a silence between them, as Seth gently laid his arm around the other’s shoulders and pulled him close.

     “I’m sorry,” he said softly. Jason managed a weak smile and shook his head.

     “It’s not your fault. Fate just has a sick sense of humor,” he replied. He rose to his feet and made his way over to his dresser where he fished out his Book of Shadows. The book in hand, he made his way back over to the bed to sit beside his boyfriend, carefully laying the book in his lap.

     “Practicing my faith gives me some peace at least, and visiting my brother always makes me feel better. I also have my friends and” Jason leaned his head against the brunet’s shoulder, closing his eyes taking in the other’s scent “now I have you.” Seth smiled at the other as he opened the book, reading through some of the pages.

     “So this is like a journal?” he asked as he continued skimming and flipping through pages. Jason moved so he was leaning against Seth, supporting himself with his arm on the other’s shoulder as he looked down at the book.

     “For me, yeah. I keep a record of spells, rituals, the outcomes, and so on and so forth,” he said coolly, pushing himself up off the other’s shoulder. The other teen smirked at him then and asked “so any love spells then? Is that how you got me? Snared me in one of your little charms?” he purred. Jason chuckled and shook his head.

     “’Fraid not. It’s against the rules to cast spells for personal gain. Besides, I don’t need spells to be…charming,” he replied, a smirk on his lips as he stared at his boyfriend through half-lidded eyes. Seth sniggered, and playfully shoved the other.

     “Of course you don’t. Your smolder has people fawning over you left and right,” he teased with as much sarcasm as he could muster, earning himself a laugh from the other.

     “Mocking me now, hmm?” he asked with a rather suggestive grin on his face as he leaned closer toward his boyfriend. Seth stared at the other for a few moments through half-lidded eyes as he leaned backward, away from the other.

     “I wouldn’t dream of it,” he replied with a smirk. Jason snickered, brushing a lock of black hair out of his eyes.

     “Damn, I really should get that cut,” he muttered. Seth made a sound of protest as he took advantage of the other’s unguarded state to push him down onto the bed and pin his arms above his head by his wrists.

     “I don’t know, I rather like it,” he said softly, placing a gentle kiss to the other’s neck. Jason bit his lip, stifling a moan. As much as he’d like to let the other continue, the last thing he wanted to do was explain any marks to his father.

     “Seth, please don’t,” he said softly, his tone betraying his desires. Seth pulled away and simply nodded in understanding, releasing the other male’s hands. His cell phone rang, so he fished it out of his pocket. The Australian frowned as he pocketed it again.

     “Looks like I gotta go. I’ll see ya later, a’right?” Jason sat up and nodded, placing a quick kiss on the other’s lips.

     “Sure thing. Just don’t tell Melinda about us, or we’ll never hear the end of it!” Seth grinned as he got to his feet, shaking his head slightly.

     “I shudder to imagine what goes on in that girl’s mind half the time.”

     “I don’t. I just wonder how it’s screwed together,” Jason answered. Seth laughed, kissing his boyfriend on the lips once more and making his way out. Jason sighed deeply and let himself fall back onto the bed. A smile crept onto his face as he thought to himself maybe this love crap isn’t so bad after all…