A Crimson Rainbow

Chapter 18

After a night of old-school horrors, beginning with 'An American Werewolf In London' and finishing halfway through 'Count Dracula' (Christopher Lee version) as we were starting to fall asleep, Jared decided it was time to go home. Despite my attempts to convince him he was too tired to drive, he said it was best, otherwise we wouldn't get any sleep (ok, yeah, fair point). I walked him downstairs to leave, as Mum and Dad were already in bed. Before leaving, he gave me a hug, and a gentle kiss, the most tender one he had given me yet.
As I walked back to my room, I thought back to when I let a certain 4-letter word slip, and realised that, while he hasn't said it back yet in the same way I did, he hadn't been scared away either.  Given he made us official, and even came out, after I said it, I decided to not let it bother me.
Strangely, however, when I got back into bed, it felt empty, and I struggled to get to sleep, despite being tired.  Once I eventually fell asleep, it was dreamless, vacant, just like my bed felt.

The next morning, when I got downstairs, Jared was sitting in the kitchen having a coffee with Mum.  I looked at him with a side-eye, mentally recapping last night.  He must have seen the cogs turning in my head, as he smiled at me.
"Yes, I did go home, don't worry," he laughed.
"Am I really that easy to read?" I mumbled as I began pouring my own coffee.
"Yes," came the unanimous response from both Jared and Mum.
I glared at them both.  "Ok, geez, no need to gang up on me."  They both looked at each other and laughed into their drinks.  I took a sip of my own, feeling the caffeine flow through my veins, warming up my blood and turning my brain on.  With synapses firing, my mood began to relax.
I looked at Jared and cracked my first smile, walking over and giving him a kiss. "Good morning," I said.  "Sorry, I'm not pretty until I've had my coffee."
"You got that right," Mum chimed in.  "Trust me, every time I've almost murdered him was before he had his first coffee."
"I mean, she's not wrong," I admitted, taking another sip.  I looked at the clock, and saw it was 7.45.  "Wait, shouldn't you be on your way to work?"  I asked Mum.
She followed my gaze.  "Shit!  Yes, thank you."  She tipped her coffee down the sink, and kissed us both.  "Love you Spence.  Welcome back to the family, Jared.  See you tonight."  Running towards the door, she grabbed her bag and keys, and left.
Jared and I kept looking at the door for a few seconds before we both laughed.  "Yeah.  She gets distracted easily, and you are one hell of a distraction, mister." I said, grabbing his crotch as I walked past him, heading to the sink.
Just as I turned the tap on to rinse my mug, Jared grabbed me around the waist.  "Oh, you think you can grope me and just get away with it?", before he started chewing on my earlobes.  I swear, he's lucky I was at the sink, because the way I dropped that mug ...
As I started getting hard, and pushing my hips into his, we heard the front door open.  Jared quickly let go, as I turned away so my front wasn't in view.
"Forgot my laptop," Mum called out as she ran into her room.  Jared and I looked at each other before bursting out laughing.

After Mum left, and the obligatory quickie (that earlobe thing could not go unpunished), Jared drove us to school.  Something felt off when we arrived though, as there wasn't the usual schoolyard noises.  Ellie found us as we were walking to our lockers.
"There's been another murder," she whispered.  "Some boy from Year 7.  He was only like 13 or something.  Poor kid."
Jared and I looked at each other in shock.  I turned back to Ellie.  "Wait, someone from here?  How was he killed?"
"Same as Stefi, from the looks of it."  Ellie looked like she was going to be sick, or break down crying.  Or both.  "How could someone do that to a kid?"
I was honestly lost for words.  Two students of this school murdered in the same way.  That couldn't be a coincidence.  "Who was it?" I eventually asked.
"I think his name was Milo, or something.  I've never heard of him."  Ellie looked away, wiping her eyes.
I thought for a moment.  I had heard whispers about some kid in Year 7 who had come out as gay a couple of months ago.  I'm sure his name was Milo (I mean, it's not a common name, so there wouldn't be too many), and I had talked to Ellie about it.  I'm sure I mentioned his name (I wasn't outing him as he had done that himself), but maybe not.
"Was he blond and basically a pre-twink?" I asked.  Ellie looked at me weird, unsure what I was getting at, so I quickly recovered myself.  "Not like that.  Do you remember a kid coming out in Year 7 a little while back?  His name was Milo."
Ellie thought about it a moment, then her eyes went wide as she appeared to remember.  "Holy shit!"
"I think I remember the kid you're talking about," Jared said quietly.  "He stuck in my mind, because he reminded me of you when you were younger."
I narrowed my eyes at him, unsure whether that was meant as a compliment or a dig, but the look on his face showed me he meant it in a good way.  I thought back to what I was like when I was Milo's age - definitely pre-twink, my blond fringe hanging over my forehead on an angle, always dressing in clothing that accentuated what little ass I had at that age, thinking I was the bomb, and wanting guys to notice me.
"Ok, was I a bit pretentious back then?" I asked Ellie and Jared.  They both looked at me weirdly, and then I realised I had been alone in my thoughts for a moment.  "Sorry, I was just thinking back to when I was his age.  I wasn't that bad, was I?"
A look passed between Jared and Ellie, suggesting I may have been.  "No, not really," Ellie said in what was probably the least convincing tone I've ever heard from her, and I'm sure the look I gave her showed this.  "I mean, you were a bit up yourself, but ..."
"I wouldn't say 'pretentious', per se," Jared finished.
I let out a groan, suddenly ashamed of what I was like back then.  Jared and Ellie both laughed.  "Hey, it's ok, you're more pretentious now than you were back then," Ellie laughed.
"Gee, thanks, that does wonders for my confidence," I bit back, as the bell chimed for first period.  I gave Jared a quick kiss.  I turned to Ellie.  "Keep me posted about Milo," I told her.
Seriously, two kids at my school, killed in pretty much the same way.  What the fuck was going on?