The Cat on the Balcony

17- Don't Leave Me, Please

UNEDITED

Patrick stopped by Jack's house first to let him out before going on to Brendon's house. When we pulled up, the first thing I noticed was the size of the house; it was huge! I got out of the car and said a quick thanks to Patrick before shutting the door.

As we walked up the front door, I looked over the fence and saw a pool in the back yard. Brendon unlocked the door and welcomed me to his "humble abode". I let out a low whistle which seemed to echo throughout the place. We set our bags down on his couch before going into his kitchen to get some food.

Brendon's parents were very business savvy; explaining the huge house and expensive appliances, but that also meant that they weren't home very much. Brendon told me he didn't mind, but I knew he had to get lonely. He tossed me a soda while digging through the fridge for some food. Finally, he settled on making some grilled cheese sandwiches, he admitted that was the only thing he could cook, and his mom hadn't gone shopping in awhile so they didn't have anything already made.

After we ate, we grabbed our bags and went up to Brendon's room to start working on homework. Brendon's room was twice the size of mine, and he had a flat screen TV and an Xbox in his room; I'm jealous. We sat on his bed (king size I might add) to do our work.

We made small talk here and there while we worked, and I was surprised to find out how much he loved Frank Sinatra. When I said I had never heard any of Sinatra's songs before; Brendon pulled out his record player and played Sinatra in the background. Two hours later and three Sinatra records, we were almost done and decided to take a break.

We sat and talked about random things for a bit before Brendon's face turned serious. "Ok, so I was trying to think of a subtle way to bring this up, but as you know subtle isn't exactly my specialty. So let's get straight to the point," on the word point he clapped his hands together and shifted so he was facing me straight on. He meant business.

"I saw you get pulled into the classroom earlier, so I went over and was getting ready to bust through the door and do some major ass kicking. But, I heard you guys talking. So I, being the nosey little shit that I am, listened through the door. So what the hell did you mean by 'volunteering to get beat up'?"

I stiffened. Damn it, Brendon...

"Uh, nothing?" My response came out as a question, and Brendon's less-than-impressed facial expression told me he didn't believe me for a second.

"Well, you see, that's a funny story actually..." I paused and scratched the back of my neck, something I do anytime I feel awkward or nervous.

"I can't wait. I need a good laugh." Brendon's face was blank and his tone monotonous. Not a good sign. He crossed his arms and leaned back against the headboard of his bed and gave me the 'I'm waiting' look.

I debated about telling him the truth, or telling him a lie. If I lied, Brendon would eventually find out because he is indeed a nosey little shit, and then after he beat up the other three, he'd beat me up.

But then again, his isn't good about keeping his mouth shut, and then Kellin would find out I told and the others would start getting beat too. There was no easy choice here. Honestly though, the thought of a pissed off Brendon was scary, but the thought of him being pissed off at me was paralyzing. And I have only seen him slightly ticked.

"It happened on the day Jack was gone because he was hung-over. Max and Kellin have study hall the same period I do, so when Mr. Perry left to 'make copies' they came over to talk to me. Long story short, they hate gay people, and I'm too flaming homo for them. So they told me either I had to let them beat me up without fighting back, or they'd start beating you guys up and...I couldn't let that happen..."