The Hills (boyxboy)

Chapter 27

Fast forward to saturday.

My fist comes into rough contact with the punching bag. Jason shouts encouragements as he holds it in place for me. I'm sweating so much today my shirt is drenched. So I take a step back and take it off. Then I continue the punch and kick combo I've been doing for twenty minutes already.

"Where do you get your motivation from? I could use some of that." Jason suddenly says. I laugh dryly. "Some people messed with my brother. I want to protect him. Things seem to have calmed down for now but I'm not taking any chances." I explain. Jason remains quiet for a while. "Why did they mess with him?"

I'm not sure it's okay to just talk to this guy about this. But as the words leave my mouth it feels as though an invisible weight is slowly being lifted off of my shoulders. "He wasn't sure about his sexuality and wanted to experiment for a bit. They made use of that."

Jason whistles. "There are some shitty people out there." he says. I nod.

After the... Class? Lesson? I'm actually not sure how to call this. Anyway I take a shower at the gym again. I'm glad I brought an extra pair of clothes since both my shirt and shorts are drenched in sweat. I sling my bag over my shoulder and am about to leave when I spot Jason leaning against the doorframe, studying me. I frown at him.

"Be careful with those bullies, okay? And don't throw the first punch, you need to make sure it's self defence. Especially when you're taking kickboxing classes." he says. I find myself pouting like a child. "Their ringleader owes me a free punch though." I say. Jason raises his eyebrows in question. "How so?"

My pout turns into a grin as I raise my hand, my thumb and pointer finger in a circle with the other fingers stretched out. Jason lets out a loud bark of a laugh and clutches his stomach. "Oh my God. I saw a video of that on facebook earlier this week of some high school kids... Wait. Was that you?"

I nod and grin. Jason continues laughing as I walk away. My earphones already in my ears and music tuning out the world around me. About halfway home my phone vibrates. I pull it out of my pocket. It's a text message from Colton. 'Can you help me go buy a present for Terry since you guys birthday is coming up?'

'Only if I get a present as well'

'Of course but I'll be kidnapping Terry somewhere next week to help me with that'

'Okay' 'I'll be at the mall entrance in about thirty'

'YAY'

I put my phone away and change course. Of course I could take the bus somewhere and be there in five minutes. But I feel like walking. Buses have this flaw where there are other people on them and I don't really like those.

Turns out that finding my brother a present is easier than expected. He's rather easy when you know him. He just wants food. So we got him a lot of M&M's. And a sweater with a pizza on it. We're way too proud of ourselves for finding that sweater.

Once home we decide to hide the presents in my room. I look at the small space behind my door and smile fondly at the memory of me hiding Terrence his shoes there when Colton told me to hold onto them for him. That seems so long ago.

The sound of a picture being taken pulls me out of my revelry. Colton grins brightly at me. "What were you thinking about?" he asks. My smile widens. "That time you made me hide Terrence his shoes." I say. He lets out his giggle-snort. I'm full-on grinning now. "How'd he end up finding them back?" I wonder. Colton shrugs. "I actually have no idea. I'm very sure I didn't give them back nor told him where to look."

We go quiet for a moment, both getting lost in the memory. "I guess some mysteries aren't meant to be solved." I say eventually. Colton nods. We spend the rest of the evening cuddling until he leaves to go pick up his sister. I make a mental note to try and get him to talk about his family again.