Forbidden | BxB

09

Brayden left Nick's house. Nicholas didn't bother making him stay. Brayden got into his truck and drove off into the night. Nick watched from his bedroom window.

Once Brayden reached his driveway he turned his truck off and leaned his head against the steering wheel. A few tears left his eyes and he closed them.

"It was a gay club, Brayden."

"Why?"

"Because...I'm gay."

He thought maybe it was a phase. People always like their best friends, right? Brayden believed that knowing that Nicholas was straight would make him forget about his little crush. But when Nick said those two words, Brayden just wanted him more and he got scared.

Brayden started to cry. He grew up in a house where being gay was bad, where it was wrong. What if his father ever found out that he liked Nicholas?

He sniffled and unbuckled himself. Brayden wiped his tears and got out of his truck. He slammed his door shut and walked up to his house.

Brayden opened the door and stepped inside. He was hit with an aroma that smelled like pasta and sauce. He curiously walked into the kitchen to see his father at the dinner table and an unknown boy making him food.

Jordan looked up from his paper and looked at his son. "Where were you?" he grumbled.

The boy looked over his shoulder at Brayden and Brayden looked at him as he spoke. "At Nick's. Who's this?"

Mr. Archer looked back at his paper and moved his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "This is Tyler, your brother."

Brayden's eyes widened. "What?" he said, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Half," Tyler corrected, "Your half brother." He quickly put his hands under the running water and wiped them on his pants before holding out his hand for Brayden to shake.

"H-How?" Brayden asked, looking at his father and ignoring Tyler's outstretched hand.

"I met his mother, Kerry, in ninety-nine. Best summer of my life," Archer explained, his eyes never leaving his newspaper. "God, she was somethin'."

"Wait, wait, wait, ninety-nine? I was born in ninety-eight! You cheated on Mom?" Brayden stammered.

Tyler's eyes flickered between his father and his half brother. He felt as if he was an intruder.

"I don't know, probably. I was drunk all the time. She probably did something to piss me off," Jordan said. "Will you quit staring at me? It was almost twenty years ago. Make yourself useful and help Tyler with the dishes."

"My mom recently got sick," Tyler said quietly, turning back to Brayden, "And now she's in the hospital. She told me to contact my fath--our father..."

"So he called and I picked him up," Archer cut in. "He'll be staying with us until Kerry gets better."

Brayden tugged at his hair and silently stormed upstairs to his room, not believing the bomb that had just been dropped on him in the matter of minutes.

—

"What's up, Best Friend," Alex said as she approached Nick at his locker. Nicholas looked up at her and smiled.

"I just talked to Connor," she told him with a wink, "He said he had fun last night. He wants you to go with him sometime. Alone."

Nick laughed and grabbed his math textbook. "I'll talk to him at lunch."

Alex opened her locker, which was next to his ever since she complained to the principal that the kid next to her original locker smelled like fish and it was making her stuff stink.

She threw her small bag into it and grabbed her English notebook. Alex slammed her locker closed while Nick gently closed his. She rolled her eyes at him and then locked their arms.

As they walked down the hall they walked past Shelby, who was dressed in her usual attire, a crop top with jean shorts. She gave Nick a look, which wasn't really friendly, and then continued to talk to her clique.

"She's just mad because you're better than her," Alex said.

"She's mad because Brayden would rather be with me than sleep with her," he muttered. Alex snorted. They walked up to her English classroom.

"I'll see you at lunch, alright?" she said, letting go of his arm. He nodded.

Nicholas continued walking down the hallway to his math class. As he walked past a set of lockers, he couldn't help looking at Brayden's. Usually, he was there waiting for him, but today he wasn't and it made Nicholas' stomach drop slightly.

—

When lunch came around, Nicholas passed Shelby's table. Brayden was still nowhere in sight. Nick sighed and sat down next to Alex, across from Connor.

"What's up?" Connor said and took a sip of his soda. Alex laughed and propped her chin up on her hand. She looked at Nicholas and he shook his head.

"Nothing much," he said and took a bite out of his sandwich.

"Glad to see you're eating," Alex commented.

"Didn't eat breakfast."

Alex noticed that he looked upset and tired. She turned around and looked at Brayden's empty seat a few tables away. Connor watched Nicholas, noticing that he wouldn't look up from his food. Alex grumbled under her breath and looked at her best friend.

"Forget about him, already."

"I'm trying," Nick said exasperatedly. After a moment, he got up from his seat and threw away his lunch. When Connor and Alex looked at him Nick sighed and rubbed his face. "I'm not hungry anymore."

"What's wrong?" Connor asked lightly.

"I, um...nothing. I'm fine," Nick muttered. He noticed Alex's curious gaze and he sighed. "I slapped Brayden last night, on accident. Kind of. But we aren't exactly fighting, so it's fine."

Connor leaned forward, an amused smirk on his face. "What made you slap him?" Alex nodded, prompting Nicholas to talk about this very amusing subject.

"All that matters is what he did after, when I told him where we were last night and why," Nick said, putting his crossed arms down on the table and his head on one of them.

"Can I slap him too?" Alex asked, taking a sip of her water. Nick smiled small and shook his head.

"I told him I'm gay," he said quietly but enough for the two teens to hear, "And then he left."

"And that's exactly why you need to forget about him and find someone better, who is actually, oh I don't know, not an asshole."

"I know," Nicholas sighed.

"Lets go back to the club," Connor suggested, "You can relax and have a good time without any worries. I mean, you had fun, didn't you?"

Alex nodded and smiled at her friend. "Sure," Nick agreed after a second of hesitation. "Maybe tomorrow though, I'm too tired to go tonight."

Connor smiled. "I'll pick you up around six, then."